THN's Top 100 Players Of All-Time By Position (2010)

[seventieslord]

Guys, who is the bigger fool? The fools who put this list together who absolutely will have Messier over Mikita, Lidstrom over Bourque, Brodeur over a whole wack of guys he shouldn't be near, etc.

OR

The fools (myself included) who will go out and buy this magazine, knowing damn well that we will spend weeks ripping our hair out over how bad it is, and going hoarse arguing with friends who take it as gospel?

Well, I subscribe, so I'm going to get it either way. That's my excuse!

Anybody else think he is terribly under-rated and deserves to be in the top 20??

I'm the world's biggest Ullman fan. Let's see if I can find room in my top-20 for him:

Gretzky, Lemieux, Beliveau, Mikita, Morenz, Messier, Lalonde, Taylor, Esposito, Clarke, Trottier, Sakic, yzerman, Schmidt, Nighbor, Apps, Dionne, Malone, Bentley, Stastny.

that's 20 there. I think Ullman is in a group of strong two-way centers, along with Lach, Kennedy, Gilmour, Fedorov, Forsberg, Abel, and Keon, (I'd have him at the top of that group personally) and above the next tier of Lindros, Francis, Delvecchio, Oates, Larionov and Ratelle.

 

[Habsfan18]

Received my magazine in the mail today.

On top of the top 100 players of all-time (20 by position), they also have a section dedicated to each franchises best player of all-time at each position.

 

[MXD]

Well, I subscribe, so I'm going to get it either way. That's my excuse!



I'm the world's biggest Ullman fan. Let's see if I can find room in my top-20 for him:

Gretzky, Lemieux, Beliveau, Mikita, Morenz, Messier, Lalonde, Taylor, Esposito, Clarke, Trottier, Sakic, yzerman, Schmidt, Nighbor, Apps, Dionne, Malone, Bentley, Stastny.

that's 20 there. I think Ullman is in a group of strong two-way centers, along with Lach, Kennedy, Gilmour, Fedorov, Forsberg, Abel, and Keon, (I'd have him at the top of that group personally) and above the next tier of Lindros, Francis, Delvecchio, Oates, Larionov and Ratelle.

The thing is, you forgot Richard, which would already make Ullman 22nd. And I'd really have Forsberg, Lach ahead of Ullman.

 

[MXD]

Top 20 RWs in my opinion, excluding guys who never played in North American (since you know THN will exclude them):

1. Gordie Howe
2. Maurice Richard
3. Guy Lafleur
4. Jaromir Jagr
5. Mike Bossy
6. Bernard Geoffrion
7. Bill Cook
8. Charlie Conacher
9. Jari Kurri
10. Andy Bathgate
11. Brett Hull
12. Jarome Iginla
13. Teemu Selanne
14. Mickey MacKay
15. Pavel Bure
16. Yvon Cournoyer
17. Bryan Hextall, Sr.
18. Cam Neely
19. Babe Dye
20. Punch Broadbent? Didre Pitre? Gordie Drillon? Cecil Dillon? Dit Clapper? Lanny McDonald? (gasp) Daniel Alfredsson?

Honestly, there is absolutely no way Mogilny deserves to be even close to the top 20 RWs of all time, even if you completely ignore guys who starred in Europe like Makarov, Mikhailov, Maltsev, Martinec, and Nedomansky.

I'd take Daniel Alfredsson over Mogilny for sure.

I thought MacKay was a C/Rover...

Taking him away... That would mean probably Pitre.

Then I don't know. Best offensive player was Drillon, but has some flaws. On the other end of the Drillon spectrum would be Hooley Smith -- terrific player, but good enough offensively for a Top-20 spot? And was he enough of an RW anyways? Broadbent is one big season away from being somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Kind of same with McDonald. On the other hand, Alfredsson and Dillon has somewhat similar career tracks -- two-way right-wingers, rather consistent (when Dillon began being used as his team's best RW, but he had Cook ahead of him, so...)... Tempted to rank Dillon ahead of Alfie. I can't see how Clapper could be ranked above Dillon as far as RW'ing is concerned.

I'm tempted to rank Smith 20th (in your ranking...).

 

[markrander87]

Peter Stastny:

Assists

1980-81 NHL 70 (6)
1981-82 NHL 93 (2)
1982-83 NHL 77 (3)
1983-84 NHL 73 (4)
1984-85 NHL 68 (6)
1985-86 NHL 81 (4)
1987-88 NHL 65 (9)

Points

1980-81 NHL 109 (6)
1981-82 NHL 139 (3)
1982-83 NHL 124 (2)
1983-84 NHL 119 (4)
1985-86 NHL 122 (6)
1987-88 NHL 111 (5)

No Top 10's in goals


Norm Ullman:

Goals

1959-60 NHL 24 (10)
1960-61 NHL 28 (7)
1961-62 NHL 26 (8)
1962-63 NHL 26 (10)
1964-65 NHL 42 (1)
1965-66 NHL 31 (3)
1966-67 NHL 26 (6)
1967-68 NHL 35 (4)
1968-69 NHL 35 (7)


Assists

1956-57 NHL 36 (8)
1958-59 NHL 36 (9)
1960-61 NHL 42 (8)
1961-62 NHL 38 (8)
1964-65 NHL 41 (5)
1965-66 NHL 41 (7)
1966-67 NHL 44 (4)
1969-70 NHL 42 (10)
1970-71 NHL 51 (10)

Points

1956-57 NHL 52 (10)
1960-61 NHL 70 (6)
1961-62 NHL 64 (8)
1964-65 NHL 83 (2)
1965-66 NHL 72 (6)
1966-67 NHL 70 (3)
1967-68 NHL 72 (7)
1970-71 NHL 85 (6)

Let's keep in mind as well Ullman saw limited PP time. Yes Im aware that Stastny had tougher competition, but isn't Ullman also known as a way more polished two way center incomparison to Stastny as well?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Peter Stastny:

Assists

1980-81 NHL 70 (6)
1981-82 NHL 93 (2)
1982-83 NHL 77 (3)
1983-84 NHL 73 (4)
1984-85 NHL 68 (6)
1985-86 NHL 81 (4)
1987-88 NHL 65 (9)

Points

1980-81 NHL 109 (6)
1981-82 NHL 139 (3)
1982-83 NHL 124 (2)
1983-84 NHL 119 (4)
1985-86 NHL 122 (6)
1987-88 NHL 111 (5)

No Top 10's in goals


Norm Ullman:

Goals

1959-60 NHL 24 (10)
1960-61 NHL 28 (7)
1961-62 NHL 26 (8)
1962-63 NHL 26 (10)
1964-65 NHL 42 (1)
1965-66 NHL 31 (3)
1966-67 NHL 26 (6)
1967-68 NHL 35 (4)
1968-69 NHL 35 (7)


Assists

1956-57 NHL 36 (8)
1958-59 NHL 36 (9)
1960-61 NHL 42 (8)
1961-62 NHL 38 (8)
1964-65 NHL 41 (5)
1965-66 NHL 41 (7)
1966-67 NHL 44 (4)
1969-70 NHL 42 (10)
1970-71 NHL 51 (10)

Points

1956-57 NHL 52 (10)
1960-61 NHL 70 (6)
1961-62 NHL 64 (8)
1964-65 NHL 83 (2)
1965-66 NHL 72 (6)
1966-67 NHL 70 (3)
1967-68 NHL 72 (7)
1970-71 NHL 85 (6)

Let's keep in mind as well Ullman saw limited PP time. Yes Im aware that Stastny had tougher competition, but isn't Ullman also known as a way more polished two way center incomparison to Stastny as well?

Stastny won the Golden Stick for best player in Czechoslovakia before coming over, so his NHL stats don't tell the whole story.

He also pretty much had to carry the offense on the Nordiques for quite some time, while Ullman obviously wasn't the first guy that opponents thought to check on the Wings.

Want consistency? Stastny is 2nd behind Gretzky in points during the decade of the 1980s.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I thought MacKay was a C/Rover...

Taking him away... That would mean probably Pitre.

Then I don't know. Best offensive player was Drillon, but has some flaws. On the other end of the Drillon spectrum would be Hooley Smith -- terrific player, but good enough offensively for a Top-20 spot? And was he enough of an RW anyways? Broadbent is one big season away from being somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Kind of same with McDonald. On the other hand, Alfredsson and Dillon has somewhat similar career tracks -- two-way right-wingers, rather consistent (when Dillon began being used as his team's best RW, but he had Cook ahead of him, so...)... Tempted to rank Dillon ahead of Alfie. I can't see how Clapper could be ranked above Dillon as far as RW'ing is concerned.

I'm tempted to rank Smith 20th (in your ranking...).

I left Smith off because I forgot he played so much time as a RW, but then he was a RW more than MacKay. MacKay was a C/RW/Rover I believe, but his time at RW is probably too limited for this list. Smith would probably be a better choice.

Either way, the point stands that there are a lot of right wings who would be better choices on the list than Mogilny.

 

[MXD]

Peter Stastny:

Assists

1980-81 NHL 70 (6)
1981-82 NHL 93 (2)
1982-83 NHL 77 (3)
1983-84 NHL 73 (4)
1984-85 NHL 68 (6)
1985-86 NHL 81 (4)
1987-88 NHL 65 (9)

Points

1980-81 NHL 109 (6)
1981-82 NHL 139 (3)
1982-83 NHL 124 (2)
1983-84 NHL 119 (4)
1985-86 NHL 122 (6)
1987-88 NHL 111 (5)

No Top 10's in goals


Norm Ullman:

Goals

1959-60 NHL 24 (10)
1960-61 NHL 28 (7)
1961-62 NHL 26 (8)
1962-63 NHL 26 (10)
1964-65 NHL 42 (1)
1965-66 NHL 31 (3)
1966-67 NHL 26 (6)
1967-68 NHL 35 (4)
1968-69 NHL 35 (7)


Assists

1956-57 NHL 36 (8)
1958-59 NHL 36 (9)
1960-61 NHL 42 (8)
1961-62 NHL 38 (8)
1964-65 NHL 41 (5)
1965-66 NHL 41 (7)
1966-67 NHL 44 (4)
1969-70 NHL 42 (10)
1970-71 NHL 51 (10)

Points

1956-57 NHL 52 (10)
1960-61 NHL 70 (6)
1961-62 NHL 64 (8)
1964-65 NHL 83 (2)
1965-66 NHL 72 (6)
1966-67 NHL 70 (3)
1967-68 NHL 72 (7)
1970-71 NHL 85 (6)

Let's keep in mind as well Ullman saw limited PP time. Yes Im aware that Stastny had tougher competition, but isn't Ullman also known as a way more polished two way center incomparison to Stastny as well?

Top-5, please?

 

[seventieslord]

The thing is, you forgot Richard, which would already make Ullman 22nd. And I'd really have Forsberg, Lach ahead of Ullman.

You're right, I forgot Richard. But I'd have him in that same group of debatable two-way guys. There's a case for Ullman being better, I think.

Forsberg was clearly more dominant offensively in his prime but Ullman's offensive longevity is outstanding. That is another one that I feel can go either way.

Peter Stastny:

Assists

1980-81 NHL 70 (6)
1981-82 NHL 93 (2)
1982-83 NHL 77 (3)
1983-84 NHL 73 (4)
1984-85 NHL 68 (6)
1985-86 NHL 81 (4)
1987-88 NHL 65 (9)

Points

1980-81 NHL 109 (6)
1981-82 NHL 139 (3)
1982-83 NHL 124 (2)
1983-84 NHL 119 (4)
1985-86 NHL 122 (6)
1987-88 NHL 111 (5)

No Top 10's in goals


Norm Ullman:

Goals

1959-60 NHL 24 (10)
1960-61 NHL 28 (7)
1961-62 NHL 26 (8)
1962-63 NHL 26 (10)
1964-65 NHL 42 (1)
1965-66 NHL 31 (3)
1966-67 NHL 26 (6)
1967-68 NHL 35 (4)
1968-69 NHL 35 (7)


Assists

1956-57 NHL 36 (8)
1958-59 NHL 36 (9)
1960-61 NHL 42 (8)
1961-62 NHL 38 (8)
1964-65 NHL 41 (5)
1965-66 NHL 41 (7)
1966-67 NHL 44 (4)
1969-70 NHL 42 (10)
1970-71 NHL 51 (10)

Points

1956-57 NHL 52 (10)
1960-61 NHL 70 (6)
1961-62 NHL 64 (8)
1964-65 NHL 83 (2)
1965-66 NHL 72 (6)
1966-67 NHL 70 (3)
1967-68 NHL 72 (7)
1970-71 NHL 85 (6)

Let's keep in mind as well Ullman saw limited PP time. Yes Im aware that Stastny had tougher competition, but isn't Ullman also known as a way more polished two way center incomparison to Stastny as well?

- A proper percentage-based comparison with Gretzky removed would likely show that Stastny's six best seasons were far more dominant, then about even in 7th-8th, and Ullman would start to take over after that. Which has to give Stastny an offensive edge.

- Stastny had no top-10s in goals, but he was actually 11th three times, and would have been 8th-10th if not for Gretzky and his cohorts.

- Ullman was definitely a far, far more polished two way center. Stastny was decent at best.

 

[markrander87]

Stastny won the Golden Stick for best player in Czechoslovakia before coming over, so his NHL stats don't tell the whole story.

He also pretty much had to carry the offense on the Nordiques for quite some time, while Ullman obviously wasn't the first guy that opponents thought to check on the Wings.

Want consistency? Stastny is 2nd behind Gretzky in points during the decade of the 1980s.

What about the fact that Ullman hardly had any PP time, while Stastny saw 1st unit PP minutes??

What about the fact that Ullman Is a much better defensive player then stastny?

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

What about the fact that Ullman harley had any PP time, while Stastny saw 1st unit PP minutes??

What about the fact that Ullman Is a much better defensive player then stastny?

What about the fact that the majority who watched hockey in the Original 6 period ranks Ullman under Sid Abel and Alex Delvecchio?

I also find it hard to believe that Ullman barely saw any PP time in Detroit. Post-dynasty Detroit was not a deep team at all and Delvecchio often played the point on the PP. Who centered the PP then if not Ullman?

I think you're overselling Ullman's defensive ability too. From what I've read, he was quite responsible in his own end, but nothing close to Selke-quality.

 

[seventieslord]

What about the fact that the majority who watched hockey in the Original 6 period ranks Ullman under Sid Abel and Alex Delvecchio?

I also find it hard to believe that Ullman barely saw any PP time in Detroit. Post-dynasty Detroit was not a deep team at all and Delvecchio often played the point on the PP. Who centered the PP then if not Ullman?

I think you're overselling Ullman's defensive ability too. From what I've read, he was quite responsible in his own end, but nothing close to Selke-quality.

Mark's likely wrong that he didn't get much PP time. But he was 1st or 2nd in ES points over a ten-year period with a revolving cast of mediocre linemates.

Also, the NHL coaches did vote him the league's best checker in 1970.

As for why Delvecchio is rated ahead - canon? I can't see any other reason.

 

[Epsilon]

Looking at the centers who didn't make the list, it seems that they were determined come hell or high water to get Crosby on there, if for no other reasons than to have his name on the cover and because they knew Ovechkin would easily make the less deep LWers list.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Anybody else think he is terribly under-rated and deserves to be in the top 20??

Yes and no. Yes he's underrated. He deserves consideration (he has nearly 1,500 career points between the NHL and the WHA, regular season and playoffs). But centre is a stacked position. If we're talking top 60 forwards of all-time, he's there. Top 20 centres, he is not. When you take a long, hard look at who's not there for centres, you realize what a stacked position it really is. My list for "the best of the rest" among centres would probably slot Ullman at 29 or 30.

I rattled off some names earlier - Max Bentley, Peter Stastny, Delvecchio, Lach, Kennedy - for guys who were better players than Ullman.

 

[shazariahl]

It was a weird time for goaltending for sure, but despite the numerous Vezina Trophy winners, I always thought of Smith as the best of the 1st half of the decade and Fuhr the 2nd half. It seemed like just about every year a different goalie would have a career year, but everybody knew who the man was.

Too be honest, having seen him and being a young goaltender myself at the time, I thought Fuhr was amazing. I've seen few goalies make the types of saves he was capable of. Weird as it may seem, his play during the Oilers dynasty, actually impressed me more than Dryden's during the Habs dynasty.

Growing up in Edmonton and watching the Oilers play a lot, I have to actually disagree. I'm sure you saw him play a ton too, so I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, just that I agree with many that he was overrated.

Don't get me wrong - he was a great goalie, and I actually ran into him recently at Hudson's Tap House downtown, which was pretty cool, but I always felt he was only slightly better than Moog. I think Fuhr was better when they were both at their best, but he was also less consistant. Fuhr was very prone to letting in a bad goal, in fact I sometimes thought he let in 1 bad goal a night. Overall, I do think he was better, but many people forget there were seasons where Fuhr and Moog rotated games throughout the season (basically 50-50), though Fuhr usually got the playoff duties.

Still, there are people who think the Oilers would have won most those cups with almost anyone in net. I doubt that personally - no dynasty has ever had bad goaltending - but the 1 year we won with Ranford in net, and another we won with Moog in the finals when Fuhr got injured. While Fuhr was certainly one of the best goalies of the 80's, I'm not sure he's one of the top 20 of all time. Too many weak goals to offset his many amazing saves.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Would be interesting to compare these lists to their 1998 lists and summarizing all the changes. Will give this a go next week if nobody does it first.

There are definitely a lot of similarities. My guess would be that there wasn't much change for the guys who were retired, or nearing retirement, when the original list came out. (That's why, I believe, Lorne Chabot shows up on this list). Then there was jostling among those who have arrived in the league since then, or who have accomplished a lot since then.

 

[seventieslord]

Yes and no. Yes he's underrated. He deserves consideration (he has nearly 1,500 career points between the NHL and the WHA, regular season and playoffs). But centre is a stacked position. If we're talking top 60 forwards of all-time, he's there. Top 20 centres, he is not.

Bingo.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Mark's likely wrong that he didn't get much PP time. But he was 1st or 2nd in ES points over a ten-year period with a revolving cast of mediocre linemates.

Also, the NHL coaches did vote him the league's best checker in 1970.

As for why Delvecchio is rated ahead - canon? I can't see any other reason.

I think cup counting puts delvecchio ahead too.

For me, I think Abel is definitely the best of the three, but am certainly willing to hear arguments for ullman over delvecchio... If we ever finish the top 100 list... Which we won't

 

[God Bless Canada]

Just to answer my old friend HO's question from earlier:

Here are the top 20 goalies for the 2010 THN approach to the top 100 that we have been discussing:

1. Terry Sawchuk
2. Patrick Roy
3. Martin Brodeur
4. Jacques Plante
5. Dominik Hasek
6. Glenn Hall
7. Ken Dryden
8. Bill Durnan
9. George Hainsworth
10. Turk Broda
11. Bernie Parent
12. Frank Brimsek
13. Grant Fuhr
14. Georges Vezina
15. Chuck Gardiner
16. Clint Benedict
17. Tony Esposito
18. Ed Belfour
19. Billy Smith
20. Lorne Chabot

These are the 19 goalies ranked in the THN Top 100 that was released in 1998:

1. Sawchuk
2. Plante
3. Hall
4. Dryden
5. Durnan
6. Roy (He did a lot to cement his legacy after voting was finished in 1996-97)
7. Hainsworth
8. Broda
9. Parent
10. Brimsek
11. Fuhr (He played a few years after 1996. He had a fantastic year in 1995-96, and a great year in 1996-97. Played well in 1997-98).
12. Vezina
13. Gardiner
14. Benedict
15. Esposito
16. B. Smith
17. Chabot
18. Bower
19. Hasek (Obviously he had done a lot since voting in 1996-97 to improve his stature).

As you can see, Brodeur and Belfour moved into the rankings. Roy and Hasek moved up. Bower slipped out of the top 20.

If you remove Roy, Brodeur, Hasek and Belfour, who all made obvious gains in the rankings, the goalie rankings would be:

1. Sawchuk
2. Plante
3. Hall
4. Dryden
5. Durnan
6. Hainsworth
7. Broda
8. Parent
9. Brimsek
10. Fuhr
11. Vezina
12. Gardiner
13. Benedict
14. Esposito
15. B. Smith
16. Chabot
17. Bower

There is zero change in this order from the 1998 list to the 2010 list.

I will post other positions later.

 

[seventieslord]

I think cup counting puts delvecchio ahead too.

For me, I think Abel is definitely the best of the three, but am certainly willing to hear arguments for ullman over delvecchio... If we ever finish the top 100 list... Which we won't

For the record, I sent a PM to FF just after his last post in that thread, asking for whatever documents and files he could provide to help me get this finished.... I never heard back.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Defence:

Top 20 in 2010:

Defensemen

1. Bobby Orr
2. Dough Harvey
3. Eddie Shore
4. Ray Bourque
5. Nicklas Lidstrom (Lidstrom has obviously augmented his stature since voting occurred in 1997-98).
6. Denis Potvin
7. Red Kelly
8. Larry Robinson
9. Paul Coffey
10. Chris Chelios
11. Dit Clapper
12. Tim Horton
13. Brad Park
14. Al MacInnis (MacInnis had a Norris and two first-team all-star nods in the final six full seasons of his career)
15. King Clancy
16. Scott Niedermayer (The head scratcher, but Niedermayer was terrific in the second half of his career)
17. Scott Stevens (Few have done more to augment their legacy after the age of 30)
18. Brian Leetch (He was in the top 75 in 1998, but that might have something to do with forecasting)
19. Pierre Pilote
20. Chris Pronger (A contentious, but debatable selection. A polarizing figure to be sure)

Top 20 in 1998:

1. Orr
2. Harvey
3. Shore
4. Bourque
5. Potvin
6. Kelly
7. Robinson
8. Coffey
9. Chelios
10. Clapper
11. Horton
12. Park
13. Clancy
14. Pilote
15. Leetch
16. Seibert
17. Salming
18. Savard
19. Cleghorn
20. Pratt
Also in top 100: Black Jack Stewart, Bill Gadsby

If you remove Lidstrom, MacInnis, Niedermayer, Stevens and Pronger, the top 15 is:

1. Orr
2. Harvey
3. Shore
4. Bourque
5. Potvin
6. Kelly
7. Robinson
8. Coffey
9. Chelios
10. Clapper
11. Horton
12. Park
13. Clancy
14. Leetch
15. Pilote

One change, with Leetch moving ahead of Pilote. Seibert, Salming, Savard, Cleghorn and Pratt fell out of the top 20 to make room for Lidstrom, MacInnis, Stevens, Niedermayer and Pronger. (Incidentally, on a top 20 NHL defenceman list, I would probably have Lidstrom, MacInnis and Stevens in my top 20, along with Seibert and Gadsby).

 

[God Bless Canada]

The centres:

2010 Top 20:

Centers

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Jean Beliveau
4. Mark Messier
5. Howie Morenz
6. Stan Mikita
7. Phil Esposito
8. Steve Yzerman (A very big riser, and for good reason)
9. Bobby Clarke
10. Joe Sakic (A very big riser, and for good reason)
11. Milt Schmidt
12. Henri Richard
13. Bryan Trottier
14. Newsy Lalonde
15. Syl Apps
16. Marcel Dionne
17. Peter Forsberg (Found his way into the top 20, and presumably, the top 50 or 60)
18. Sidney Crosby (The controversial one)
19. Joe Malone
20. Gilbert Perreault

The top 20 centres in 1998:
1. Gretzky
2. Lemieux
3. Beliveau
4. Messier
5. Morenz
6. Mikita
7. Esposito
8. Clarke
9. Schmidt
10. Richard
11. Trottier
12. Lalonde
13. Apps
14. Dionne
15. Malone
16. Perreault
17. Bentley (Note: Bentley was the final centre in THN's 1998 Top 50).
18. Nels Stewart
19. Bill Cowley
20. Eric Lindros (Note: Lindros' selection was largely a reflection of forecasting. If he would have had more years like 1998-99, he's probably in the top 10. He would be nowhere near the top 20 now).
Other centres in the top 100: Peter Stastny, Teeder Kennedy, Frank Boucher, Elmer Lach, Dave Keon, Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio, Sid Abel, Norm Ullman, Joe Primeau, Darryl Sittler, Sakic, Frank Nighbor)

For what it's worth, there were 33 centres in the THN Top 100 in 1998.

If you remove Yzerman, Sakic, Forsberg and Crosby from the 2010 Top 20, the remaining 16 centres would be:
1. Gretzky
2. Lemieux
3. Beliveau
4. Messier
5. Morenz
6. Mikita
7. Esposito
8. Clarke
9. Schimdt
10. Richard
11. Trottier
12. Lalonde
13. Apps
14. Dionne
15. Malone
16. Perreault

Absolutely no change in those rankings.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Left wing:

2010 rankings:

Left Wingers

1. Bobby Hull
2. Ted Lindsay
3. Frank Mahovlich
4. Dickie Moore
5. Johnny Bucyk
6. Busher Jackson
7. Luc Robitaille (Outside of setting a career LW scoring mark, and a couple great comeback years in LA, Luc didn't do much else to cement his legacy).
8. Alex Ovechkin (Obviously, he's done a lot since 1998).
9. Cy Denneny
10. Aurel Joliat
11. Toe Blake
12. Brendan Shanahan (Shanny won three Cups, and established himself as one of the top leaders of his generation, after the original Top 50/Top 100 voting was completed).
13. Michel Goulet (The puzzling one, since Goulet went from unranked in 1998, to finishing ahead of ranked players, even though he was already retired)
14. Doug Bentley
15. Bob Gainey
16. Sweeney Schriner
17. Steve Shutt
18. Bill Barber
19. Ilya Kovalchuk (A surprising part of this list, since he's moody and he's never won a playoff series)
20. Henrik Zetterberg (Another surprising addition to this list).

The rank LWs in the 1998 list:
1. Hull
2. Lindsay
3. Mahovlich
4. Moore
5. Bucyk
6. Jackson
7. Denneny
8. Joliat
9. Blake
10. Bentley
11. Gainey
12. Schriner

If you remove Robitaille, Ovechkin, Shanahan, Kovalchuk and Zetterberg from the equation, the LWs you are left with are:

1. Hull
2. Lindsay
3. Mahovlich
4. Moore
5. Bucyk
6. Jackson
7. Denneny
8. Joliat
9. Blake
10. Goulet
11. Bentley
12. Gainey
13. Schriner
14. Shutt
15. Barber

Goulet is the first player who was retired before 1996 that we have seen make a big gain. He went from outside of the top 100 that was released in 1998, to moving ahead of Bentley, Gainey and Schriner, who were top 100 players in 1998. Outside of that, the LWs in the top 100 from 1998 have maintained their order.

 

[seventieslord]

Looks like they wanted to maintain the "integrity" of the original list and only make adjustments with guys who played since then.

Problem with the left wings is, what they did with Robitaille was a MAJOR stretch, and of course Goulet's ranking was completely contrary to the process they appear to have used.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Right wingers:

2010 Top 20:

1. Gordie Howe
2. Maurice Richard
3. Guy Lafleur
4. Jaromir Jagr (It was a future consideration position in 1998, but unlike Lindros, Jagr proved and improved his 1998 placement)
5. Mike Bossy
6. Brett Hull (While not the player he was for much of the 90s, had some fine years after voting for the original top 100 was finished, and he won two Cups)
7. Charlie Conacher
8. Bernie Geoffrion
9. Jari Kurri
10. Teemu Selanne (He would have been wraping up his fourth year, or early in his fifth year, when voting was finished)
11. Bill Cook
12. Andy Bathgate
13. Pavel Bure (He entered the league just one year before Selanne)
14. Babe Dye
15. Mike Gartner
16. Yvan Cournoyer
17. Jarome Iginla (Iginla played his first full season in 1996-97)
18. Cam Neely (He finished just outside of the original top 100 list, according to a THN cover story in the 1996-97 season)
19. Alex Mogilny (A head-scratcher, considering he did very little to augment his legacy after 1996)
20. Lanny McDonald

The RWs who made the top 100 that was released in 1998:
1. Howe
2. Richard
3. Lafleur
4. Bossy
5. Conacher
6. Jagr
7. Geoffrion
8. Cook
9. Kurri
10. Bathgate
11. Hull
12. Dye
13. Gartner
14. Cournoyer

If you remove Jagr, Hull, Selanne, Bure, Iginla and Mogilny from the equation, you're left with a standings of:

1. Howe
2. Richard
3. Lafleur
4. Bossy
5. Conacher
6. Geoffrion
7. Kurri
8. Cook
9. Bathgate
10. Dye
11. Gartner
12. Cournoyer
13. Neely
14. McDonald

Kurri swapped a spot with Bill Cook, a little surprising since Kurri was essentially washed up after the lockout year. Also worth noting is that Jagr only moved up two spots from his standing in 1998 to his current standing, which justifies Steve Dryden's comment that Jagr's spot in the original THN ranking was partially a reflection of Jagr's future potential.

The other rankings remain unchanged.