Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time (The Third)

[quoipourquoi]

Note: For Part 1 of the discussion, see here. For Part 2 of the discussion, see here. For part 3, see here.

The following is the final list of the top hockey players of all-time as determined by 32 voting members of the History of Hockey community.

Report any errors to @quoipourquoi

Rank	Player	Position	Born	Nation	Birth City
1	Wayne Gretzky	C	1961	Canada	Brantford, Ontario
2	Gordie Howe	RW	1928	Canada	Floral, Saskatchewan
3	Bobby Orr	D	1948	Canada	Parry Sound, Ontario
4	Mario Lemieux	C	1965	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
5	Bobby Hull	LW	1939	Canada	Point Anne, Ontario
6	Jean Beliveau	C	1931	Canada	Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
7	Patrick Roy	G	1965	Canada	Quebec City, Quebec
8	Doug Harvey	D	1924	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
9	Maurice Richard	RW	1921	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
10	Ray Bourque	D	1960	Canada	Saint-Laurent, Quebec
11	Howie Morenz	C	1902	Canada	Mitchell, Ontario
12	Sidney Crosby	C	1987	Canada	Halifax, Nova Scotia
13	Dominik Hasek	G	1965	Czech Republic	Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
14	Eddie Shore	D	1902	Canada	Fort Qu'Appelle, Northwest Territories
15	Nicklas Lidstrom	D	1970	Sweden	Krylbo, Sweden
16	Jaromir Jagr	RW	1972	Czech Republic	Kladno, Czechoslovakia
17	Red Kelly	D / C	1927	Canada	Simcoe, Ontario
18	Denis Potvin	D	1953	Canada	Vanier, Ontario
19	Jacques Plante	G	1929	Canada	Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, Quebec
20	Frank Nighbor	C	1893	Canada	Pembroke, Ontario
21	Mark Messier	LW / C	1961	Canada	Edmonton, Alberta
22	Alex Ovechkin	LW / RW	1985	Russia	Moscow, Soviet Union
23	Guy Lafleur	RW	1951	Canada	Thurso, Quebec
24	Stan Mikita	C	1940	Canada	Sokolce, Slovak Republic
25	Viacheslav Fetisov	D	1958	Russia	Moscow, Soviet Union
26	Sergei Makarov	RW	1958	Russia	Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union
27	Phil Esposito	C	1942	Canada	Sault Ste Marie, Ontario
28	Glenn Hall	G	1931	Canada	Humboldt, Saskatchewan
29	Bobby Clarke	C	1949	Canada	Flin Flon, Manitoba
30	Martin Brodeur	G	1972	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
31	Bryan Trottier	C	1956	Canada	Val Marie, Saskatchewan
32	Joe Sakic	C	1969	Canada	Burnaby, British Columbia
33	Cyclone Taylor	D / R	1884	Canada	Tara, Ontario
34	Bill Cook	RW	1895	Canada	Brantford, Ontario
35	Terry Sawchuk	G	1929	Canada	Winnipeg, Manitoba
36	Mike Bossy	RW	1957	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
37	Larry Robinson	D	1951	Canada	Winchester, Ontario
38	Ted Lindsay	LW	1925	Canada	Renfrew, Ontario
39	Newsy Lalonde	C	1887	Canada	Cornwall, Ontario
40	Steve Yzerman	C	1965	Canada	Cranbrook, British Columbia
41	Chris Chelios	D	1962	United States	Chicago, Illinois
42	Frank Boucher	C	1901	Canada	Ottawa, Ontario
43	Valeri Kharlamov	LW	1948	Russia	Moscow, Soviet Union
44	King Clancy	D	1902	Canada	Ottawa, Ontario
45	Syl Apps	C	1915	Canada	Paris, Ontario
46	Ken Dryden	G	1947	Canada	Hamilton, Ontario
47	Brad Park	D	1948	Canada	Toronto, Ontario
48	Paul Coffey	D	1961	Canada	Weston, Ontario
49	Henri Richard	C	1936	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
50	Vladislav Tretiak	G	1952	Russia	Orudyevo, Soviet Union
51	Peter Forsberg	C	1973	Sweden	Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
52	Evgeni Malkin	C	1986	Russia	Magnitogorsk, Soviet Union
53	Milt Schmidt	C	1918	Canada	Kitchener, Ontario
54	Pierre Pilote	D	1931	Canada	Kenogami, Quebec
55	Charlie Conacher	RW	1909	Canada	Toronto, Ontario
56	Frank Brimsek	G	1915	United States	Eveleth, Minnesota
57	Sprague Cleghorn	D	1890	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
58	Ted Kennedy	C	1925	Canada	Port Colborne, Ontario
59	Chris Pronger	D	1974	Canada	Dryden, Ontario
60	Bernie Geoffrion	RW	1931	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
61	Earl Seibert	D	1911	Canada	Berlin, Ontario
62	Andy Bathgate	RW	1932	Canada	Winnipeg, Manitoba
63	Marcel Dionne	C	1951	Canada	Drummondville, Quebec
64	Scott Stevens	D	1964	Canada	Kitchener, Ontario
65	Tim Horton	D	1930	Canada	Cochrane, Ontario
66	Georges Vezina	G	1887	Canada	Chicoutimi, Quebec
67	Al MacInnis	D	1963	Canada	Inverness, Nova Scotia
68	Dickie Moore	LW	1931	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
69	Teemu Selanne	RW	1970	Finland	Helsinki, Finland
70	Anatoli Firsov	LW	1941	Russia	Moscow, Soviet Union
71	Frank Mahovlich	LW	1938	Canada	Timmins, Ontario
72	Joe Malone	C	1890	Canada	Quebec City, Quebec
73	Dit Clapper	RW / D	1907	Canada	Newmarket, Ontario
74	Clint Benedict	G	1892	Canada	Ottawa, Ontario
75	Charlie Gardiner	G	1904	Canada	Edinburgh, Scotland
76	Jari Kurri	RW	1960	Finland	Helsinki, Finland
77	Max Bentley	C	1920	Canada	Delisle, Saskatchewan
78	Aurele Joliat	LW	1901	Canada	Ottawa, Ontario
79	Cy Denneny	LW	1891	Canada	Farran's Point, Ontario
80	Brett Hull	RW	1964	United States	Belleville, Ontario
81	Elmer Lach	C	1918	Canada	Nokomis, Saskatchewan
82	Bill Durnan	G	1916	Canada	Toronto, Ontario
83	Turk Broda	G	1914	Canada	Brandon, Manitoba
84	Borje Salming	D	1951	Sweden	Kiruna, Sweden
85	Ed Belfour	G	1965	Canada	Carman, Manitoba
86	Boris Mikhailov	RW	1944	Russia	Moscow, Soviet Union
87	Bill Cowley	C	1912	Canada	Bristol, Quebec
88	Sergei Fedorov	C / D	1969	Russia	Pskov, Soviet Union
89	Zdeno Chara	D	1977	Slovakia	Trencin, Czechoslovakia
90	Bill Gadsby	D	1927	Canada	Calgary, Alberta
91	Joe Thornton	C	1979	Canada	St. Thomas, Ontario
92	Nels Stewart	C	1902	Canada	Montreal, Quebec
93	Patrick Kane	RW	1988	United States	Buffalo, New York
94	Duncan Keith	D	1983	Canada	Winnipeg, Manitoba
95	Mark Howe	LW / D	1955	United States	Detroit, Michigan
96	Eric Lindros	C	1973	Canada	London, Ontario
97	Brian Leetch	D	1968	United States	Corpus Christi, Texas
98	Martin St. Louis	RW	1975	Canada	Laval, Quebec
99	Dave Keon	C	1940	Canada	Noranda, Quebec
100	Sid Abel	C / LW	1918	Canada	Melville, Saskatchewan

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Discussion Threads
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 1
(Son of) Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 1
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 2
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 2 (Back in the Habit)
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 3
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 3 (Secret of the Ooze)
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 4
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 5
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 6
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 7
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 8
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 9
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 10
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 11
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 12
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 13
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 14
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 15
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 16
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 17
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 18
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 19
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 20
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Round 2, Vote 21

Preliminary Discussion Threads
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Preliminary Discussion Thread
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Preliminary Discussion Thread (The Sequel)
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Preliminary Discussion Thread (With a Vengeance)
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Preliminary Discussion Thread (Citizens on Patrol)
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Preliminary Discussion Thread (Revenge of Michael Myers)

Round 1 Process
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Aggregate List
Top 120 lists - The Unanimous 66 Players

Voting Records
Top-100 Hockey Players of All-Time - Voting Results
Voting Record - quoipourquoi, Canadiens1958, steve141
Voting Record - ted1971, Dennis Bonvie, pappyline
Voting Record - Sentinel, Hockey Outsider, ChiTownPhilly
Voting Record - Art of Sedinery, ImporterExporter, DannyGallivan
Voting Record - ResilientBeast, Kyle McMahon, ehhedler
Voting Record - Dr John Carlson, TheDevilMadeMe, JoseTheodore2002
Voting Record - Batis, seventieslord, MXD
Voting Record - Johnny Engine, Kreuzer, Iceman
Voting Record - VanIslander, Mike Farkas, tony d
Voting Record - BenchBrawl, bobholly39
Voting Record - blogofmike, TheGeneral, The Macho Man

Click to read more...

 

[salami]

That's my all time favorite pic of Joe Thornton.

 

[quoipourquoi]

That's my all time favorite pic of Joe Thornton.

I want to say that Joe Thornton and Scott Stevens are the only ones that weren’t a straight photograph but rather were a screen grab of an iconic video.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Josh Yohe - local Pittsburgh man - from The Athletic put together his top 25 of all time (could be paywall'd): Yohe mailbag: Ranking the best players in history, the NHL's...

High (?) lights:

1. Lemieux
3. Gretzky
4. Crosby
6. Howe
8. Jagr
10. Ovechkin
11. Bossy
12. Bobby Hull
18. Ron Francis (I know about 20 people here who just spilled coffee onto their crotch)
22. Dionne
23. Bourque
24. Malkin

One-quarter them of spent at least some time in Pittsburgh at a glance...

In the very next line of his mail bag article, he has the Pens winning the lottery and putting #1 pick Alexis Lafreniere on RW, when he's a career LW. So, if it's any consolation, he hates the past and the future...

 

[Johnny Engine]

Josh Yohe - local Pittsburgh man - from The Athletic put together his top 25 of all time (could be paywall'd): Yohe mailbag: Ranking the best players in history, the NHL's...

High (?) lights:

1. Lemieux
3. Gretzky
4. Crosby
6. Howe
8. Jagr
10. Ovechkin
11. Bossy
12. Bobby Hull
18. Ron Francis (I know about 20 people here who just spilled coffee onto their crotch)
22. Dionne
23. Bourque
24. Malkin

One-quarter them of spent at least some time in Pittsburgh at a glance...

In the very next line of his mail bag article, he has the Pens winning the lottery and putting #1 pick Alexis Lafreniere on RW, when he's a career LW. So, if it's any consolation, he hates the past and the future...

An interesting take on the "players you didn't see" debate...

I didn’t see him play, but Scotty Bowman once told me that, other than Bobby Orr, Harvey was the greatest defenseman who ever lived. When Scotty Bowman says something like this, you just trust and move on.

Just move on, folks.

Also, a compelling case for Howe's ranking:

Here’s what I think: Howe is the most important figure in the history of the sport. But he wasn’t better than the people ranked ahead of him. He just wasn’t. He was the Arnold Palmer of hockey. He was beloved. A good man. People adored him. He made the sport popular. And he was an all-time great. But Palmer wasn’t Jack or Tiger, you know?

 

[Michael Farkas]

"He just wasn't"...well, I'm sold...

 

[tarheelhockey]

An interesting take on the "players you didn't see" debate...

Just move on, folks.

Also, a compelling case for Howe's ranking:

The fascinating thing is he ranks Maurice Richard over Howe, so it's not just modernity bias.

 

[Johnny Engine]

The fascinating thing is he ranks Maurice Richard over Howe, so it's not just modernity bias.

He seems to insinuate that one of the two old-ish players ahead of Howe (Richard, Orr) is somehow analogous to Jack Niklaus, in comparison to Howe's Arnold Palmer. Now, I know crap all about golf, but the bullet points I do know about those two don't really help me understand the comparison any better.

 

[tarheelhockey]

He seems to insinuate that one of the two old-ish players ahead of Howe (Richard, Orr) is somehow analogous to Jack Niklaus, in comparison to Howe's Arnold Palmer. Now, I know crap all about golf, but the bullet points I do know about those two don't really help me understand the comparison any better.

I can at least kind of see it with Orr.

It makes no sense with Richard.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Josh Yohe - local Pittsburgh man - from The Athletic put together his top 25 of all time (could be paywall'd): Yohe mailbag: Ranking the best players in history, the NHL's...

High (?) lights:

1. Lemieux
3. Gretzky
4. Crosby
6. Howe
8. Jagr
10. Ovechkin
11. Bossy
12. Bobby Hull
18. Ron Francis (I know about 20 people here who just spilled coffee onto their crotch)
22. Dionne
23. Bourque
24. Malkin

One-quarter them of spent at least some time in Pittsburgh at a glance...

In the very next line of his mail bag article, he has the Pens winning the lottery and putting #1 pick Alexis Lafreniere on RW, when he's a career LW. So, if it's any consolation, he hates the past and the future...

No Paul Coffey in the top 25? What kind of diehard homer does he think he is?

 

[buffalowing88]

This writer was paid to put that list together?? Jesus. Francis being at 18 is insane enough but what is Bossy doing at 11?

 

[Johnny Engine]

This writer was paid to put that list together?? Jesus. Francis being at 18 is insane enough but what is Bossy doing at 11?

With a list like this, you're asking someone who clearly isn't a history guy (and this is not me just disagreeing with his conclusions, the amount of "because I said so" and "because Scotty Bowman says so" shows that well enough), but since he's getting paid and publishing widely, there's gotta be something resembling work and thought involved, so you get some sophomoric thinking ("hey, have you noticed that if you divide Bossy's goals by his games, you get a more impressive number than just his goals?") that seems better than just looking at goal totals, but only barely.
Same sort of thinking that leads one to look at Francis's totals, observe that no one ever seriously thought he was a generational player, and conclude that "most underrated ever" is the only explanation available.

It's the confidence of a person who has learned one additional thing.

 

[quoipourquoi]

It's the confidence of a person who has learned one additional thing.

That is such a fantastic way of putting it.

When it’s your first time making a list, it gets so easy to get caught up in the surface-level-smart choices that haven’t been challenged and re-challenged and re-challenged.

It’s been at least since Windows 95 that I’ve been making top player lists, and I would say my quality of list has steadily improved over time while my confidence in each list is probably more parabolic.

It’s easy to be confident when you don’t know better. Then you get humbled and steer towards group think. Then you break free a little and make less conventional choices that you start to see others pick up on too, but this time, those out-there choices come from places of knowledge rather than places of ignorance.

 

[Perennial]

If you're going to vote for Sakic at #32, what's the rationale for not voting for Yzerman at #33? They essentially had the same career...

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

No Paul Coffey in the top 25? What kind of diehard homer does he think he is?

 

[Nick Hansen]

If you're going to vote for Sakic at #32, what's the rationale for not voting for Yzerman at #33? They essentially had the same career...

In many ways they did, but I think Sakic was a stronger playoff performer and he aged better as well. He scored a 100 pts when he was 37! New rules or not, that is pretty darn impressive. I also think Yzerman's Selke reputation was quite a bit overstated.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

The difference between 32 and 40 on an all-time list isn't really much.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

If you're going to vote for Sakic at #32, what's the rationale for not voting for Yzerman at #33? They essentially had the same career...

Sakic was a top scorer in the regular season more often than Yzerman - in fact, Sakic's consistency as a regular season scorer is among the best ever.

Sakic was at his offensive and defensive best at the same time. Yzerman wasn't.

Yzerman was great in the playoffs, but Sakic was even better.

For more details, see the discussion threads from the rounds the guys were voted in.

 

[adsfan]

I might swap Mark Howe out for Mike Modano. He seems like an oversight to me.

I was surprised to see the top player from the USA, is Chris Chelios, at 41. More surprising, he was right behind Steve Yzerman. I am not a Detroit fan, but I think that Yzerman should be a little higher.

 

[Perennial]

In many ways they did, but I think Sakic was a stronger playoff performer and he aged better as well. He scored a 100 pts when he was 37! New rules or not, that is pretty darn impressive. I also think Yzerman's Selke reputation was quite a bit overstated.

Sakic may have aged better, but Yzerman started stronger...

Sakic scored 100 points when he was 37, Yzerman scored 155 points when he was only 23!

It all evens out, IMO

And Sakic may have been a marginally better playoff performer, but I don't think the difference - if there is one - warrants the disparity in their ranking

What makes Cylcone Taylor, Bill Cook, and Newsy Lalonde worse than Sakic, but better than Yzerman? I just don't see the logic to it...

 

[Toronto Maple Beast]

Biggest snub on this list is Pavel Bure. Incredible peak, comparable to Lindros in that aspect. I think those few legendary seasons put him above guys like Thornton, Mark Howe, Keon and Abel if not higher.

 

[quoipourquoi]

If you're going to vote for Sakic at #32, what's the rationale for not voting for Yzerman at #33? They essentially had the same career...

In what way?

Sakic was a three-time 1st Team All-Star, whereas Yzerman took one selection. Yzerman had two seasons in 1989 and 1990 that would be 1st Team selections most years, but Sakic also has 1996 (2nd in scoring among Centers behind Lemieux), 1999 (2nd in scoring among Centers behind Forsberg), 2000 (1st in scoring among Centers).

Ultimately, Yzerman’s range as a top-10 per-game scorer lasted just 7 years (1988-1994) compared to Sakic’s range of 17 years (1991-2007).

Yzerman was a lesser playoff performer, not as notable internationally, and didn’t balance defensive responsibility with offensive output simultaneously to the same level.

They had the same jersey number and played on rival teams, and that makes people want to compare them. But they didn’t have similarly structured careers. Sakic was better quicker, longer, and their respective Finals series against New Jersey couldn’t be any more different.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Sakic may have aged better, but Yzerman started stronger...

Sakic scored 100 points when he was 37, Yzerman scored 155 points when he was only 23!

It all evens out, IMO

And Sakic may have been a marginally better playoff performer, but I don't think the difference - if there is one - warrants the disparity in their ranking

What makes Cylcone Taylor, Bill Cook, and Newsy Lalonde worse than Sakic, but better than Yzerman? I just don't see the logic to it...

Yzerman had six top-10 finishes in points. Five of those took overlapped the transition from the 80s to the 90s, the last one was a bit surprisingly around the millenia:

1988-89 NHL 155 (3rd)

1989-90 NHL 127 (3rd)

1990-91 NHL 108 (7th)

1991-92 NHL 103 (7th)

1992-93 NHL 137 (4th)

1999-00 NHL 79 (10th)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Sakic on the other hand, had ten top 10-finishes in points, going back to 89-90 up until 06-07:

1989-90 NHL 102 (10th)

1990-91 NHL 109 (6th)

1994-95 NHL 62 (4th)

1995-96 NHL 120 (3rd)

1998-99 NHL 96 (5th)

1999-00 NHL 81 (8th)

2000-01 NHL 118 (2nd)

2001-02 NHL 79 (5th)

2003-04 NHL 87 (2nd)

2006-07 NHL 100 (6th)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

If we look at goals and assists, Sakic was five times top 10 in goals:

1990-91 NHL 48 (6th)

1995-96 NHL 51 (5th)

1998-99 NHL 41 (6th)

2000-01 NHL 54 (2nd)

2003-04 NHL 33 (10th)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

and nine times top 10 in assists:

1991-92 NHL 65 (9th)

1994-95 NHL 43 (3rd)

1995-96 NHL 69 (8th)

1998-99 NHL 55 (5th)

1999-00 NHL 53 (4th)

2000-01 NHL 64 (5th)

2001-02 NHL 53 (3rd)

2003-04 NHL 54 (4th)

2006-07 NHL 64 (6th)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Yzerman was six times top 10 in goals:

1987-88 NHL 50 (6th)

1988-89 NHL 65 (3rd)

1989-90 NHL 62 (2nd)

1990-91 NHL 51 (2nd)

1991-92 NHL 45 (6th)

1992-93 NHL 58 (6th)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

But only five times top 10 in assists:

1986-87 NHL 59 (7th)

1988-89 NHL 90 (3rd)

1989-90 NHL 65 (10th)

1992-93 NHL 79 (7th)

1996-97 NHL 63 (3rd)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Notice how many years there are between Sakic's first top ten finish and his last in these categories compared to Yzerman. Sakic simply aged better, he was more consistent over a longer time period. And even if you take into account the Gretzky/Lemieux thing with Yzerman, Sakic still struggled with his own teammate Forsberg, Lindros, Jagr, too some extent Lemieux still also was relevant, you could also mention Bure, Kariya and Selanne.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Biggest snub on this list is Pavel Bure. Incredible peak, comparable to Lindros in that aspect. I think those few legendary seasons put him above guys like Thornton, Mark Howe, Keon and Abel if not higher.

Good man!

Had Bure 76th on my list.

 

[Perennial]

In what way?

Sakic was a three-time 1st Team All-Star, whereas Yzerman took one selection. Yzerman had two seasons in 1989 and 1990 that would be 1st Team selections most years, but Sakic also has 1996 (2nd in scoring among Centers behind Lemieux), 1999 (2nd in scoring among Centers behind Forsberg), 2000 (1st in scoring among Centers).

Ultimately, Yzerman’s range as a top-10 per-game scorer lasted just 7 years (1988-1994) compared to Sakic’s range of 17 years (1991-2007).

Yzerman was a lesser playoff performer, not as notable internationally, and didn’t balance defensive responsibility with offensive output simultaneously to the same level.

They had the same jersey number and played on rival teams, and that makes people want to compare them. But they didn’t have similarly structured careers. Sakic was better quicker, longer, and their respective Finals series against New Jersey couldn’t be any more different.

From '87 - '93, Yzerman lead the Red Wings in scoring each year by an average of 35 points per season

Sakic was never asked to carry the offense to that extent, and in many seasons during his prime he wasn't even the best offensive player on his own team