NHL Network’s Top 50 Players Right Now (10-1)
Oh my goodness. Are you kidding me? Oh, that was amazing. Hello everybody and welcome
back to our top 50 players countdown right now. We finally made it. This will be it. 10 through
one all the way to number one as we welcome in Brian Bole, Mike Rup. I’m Jameson Coyle. Ruper,
I’ll start with you on this one. We’ve we’ve done these countdowns for the past couple of weeks.
We’ve counted off 40 players so far. We’re down to our top 10. What makes this batch of players
maybe different from the previous 40 that we’ve seen? Um, franchise guys. Um, all these, you’re
talking about the top 50 players right now in the National Hockey League. They’re all they’re all
very good players, great players. This is like all-timers and if you could be in the top 10
I feel like every single year you’ll go down when your career is over probably as being one of
the all-time greats to ever play this game. But uh this is you could play around with where they
are in the top 10, but these are the elite of the elite. Yeah. And you have the argument a lot of
times of who you would start a franchise with, who you would want to build around as a player. And
I think every player in this top 10 especially, you know, has a certain consistency to them year
after year. They have a durability to them year after year. in a winning pedigree that goes along
with, you know, their individual accolades. They they seem to all be part of winning teams or very
very good teams that are close to winning. That’s that’s sort of the uh total. I mean, that that
would be the formula for most of these. And I find that from the forward standpoint in the top
10 every year. This is where we kind of get into positions. Center an important position. We all
know it’s a lot of centers all the time that are in the top 10 there. And it’s for good reason.
Well, we have forwards, we have goalenders, we have defensemen, we have a little bit of
everything. So, without further ado, we’ll kick things off at number 10 right now. We start
on the blue line. At number 10, it’s Quinn Hughes, who missed 14 games because of an injury last
year, as well as the four nations tournament, but still put up impressive numbers, averaging
1.12 points per game. Hughes is currently tied with Alex Edler for the most points by a Conucks
defenseman in franchise history with 409. Here’s the kicker. Edler played 925 games. Hughes has
played just 433 games. So impressive stuff. You can see last year’s rank coming in at number 10
Boiler. This year, no change there. Number 10, Quinn Hughes. Well, and he’s 25 years old, right?
But this is the amount that Quinn Hughes has had to shoulder, the burden that he has taken on as
the captain now with the Vancouver Conucks. You could say it would make sense if his play maybe
dipped a little bit, especially going through the injury last year. How important is Quinn Hughes?
Well, do we remember the four nations saga? Is he going to play? Is he not? people trying to
move mountains just to get him there. That’s how important this guy is. Offensive dynamo. He can,
I think, create and carry a whole offensive scheme with within an organization because that’s how
good he is at moving a puck around. His numbers speak for themselves, but he’s he’s the new age
defenseman. He’s not the biggest guy on the ice, but that’s how talented he is. He’s he’s a he’s
a true leader, too. You listen to him speak, and he seems a lot older, a lot more mature than
25 years old. And um it’s not just one of those captaincies that you just throw on there. He’s our
best player. Like he takes pride in that. I mean, listen to him speak in the offseason and what
he’s looking forward to this year and he’s got the contract situation for himself as well. Uh here’s
the thing with with Quinn. Points. Yep. One of the best. I don’t even think he has to get that many
points to be revered as being great because he’s such an he advances zones. He he’s so good at it.
Exiting his Dzone, entering offensive zone. like to have a guy that can do that. He’s a one oneman
breakout, oneman I I don’t want to say for check, but just getting in there on the rush on the
offense. That’s something there’s not many guys you can do it. He he is one of the best if not
the What separates him from some of the other guys that we’ve seen on our list because he’s not
the biggest, he’s not the strongest, doesn’t have the hardest shot, but what makes him so elite
that he’s one of the top 10 players in our top 50? I just think it’s how much better he makes his
teammates when he’s on the ice. What he can offer and what he can open up for the four other skaters
that are on the ice with him is a tremendous skill that he has. He commands so much attention
because of what he can do at the blue line. He’s he’s pretty fearless with some of the things he
does at the blue line, but for good reason. His his skating ability is unlike pretty much anybody
else in the league, save for maybe one guy. Yeah, I I think that that one guy you’re mentioning in
Kale Mar is is appointment television. He is now, too. Yeah, I think we’ve seen Quinn, he’s been
trending in that direction the last couple years putting those together. You tune into
a Vancouver Canuck game, you’re going to see something special. Puck never leaves his stick. Uh
he does. He moves it around a lot. But my point is it’s always follow him around. Doesn’t have to if
he doesn’t want to. He he is uh he is a fun player to watch in hockey. He certainly is. Appointment
television. You said it best right there. And Kell Mar coming up at some point in the next hour.
We’ll uh stay tuned for that. At number nine, how about a goalender inside our top 10? It’s
Andre Vasileleski. This guy’s been here before. He was a finalist for the VZNA Trophy for the fifth
time in his career. The big cat, as they call him, won 38 games last year. He’s won 30 or more games
in eight straight seasons. Now, Basileles became the fastest goalie to reach 300 career wins, doing
it in just 490 games. And a big jump up on our list. Ruper ranked 24th last year, now inside the
top 10 at number nine. And I assume a lot of that had to do with the surgery that he was coming
off of last year. He looked like that big cat, that guy that we saw go to three consecutive
Stanley Cup finals back a couple of years ago. Yeah, I mean this guy’s incredible and his health
has been probably the biggest concern with him, right? His workload has always been there. I
mean he’s him and Connor Halabuck, they’re a dying breed. Like I just not going to see goalies
play the amount of games that these guys play year in year out. And maybe there’s some wear and tear
on that, but he looked healthy again. And when he looks healthy, like all of a sudden, because of
that reason, it’s a good squad he has in front of him. But this year, I really thought Tampa could
make some noise. They obviously ran into the wrong opponent in the playoffs, but a big factor is the
big cat uh being back and being healthy. He is incredible. And and you see goalies sort of their
body structure now, they’re a little bit slighter up top. Vaselki is not. He is he takes care of
himself in a different way. And I remember when he came over, I got to play with him his rookie
year. He would be at the rink for eight, nine hours at some points. He didn’t own a television.
He didn’t have a television at his home. He had a very mapped out routine. The way he took care
of himself, I mean, he looked like a linebacker when he first came in. He’s for the Bucks. Yeah.
He’s built well. He’s a He’s a big strong dude, but his work ethic was unmatched. And I guess
everyone on the list from here on out is going to have that same sort of work ethic. but he’s
dealt with some injuries and he’s come back because that’s how hard he like that’s how well he
takes care of his body. That’s how hard he works. He is so important to this Tampa Bay Lightning
team. We’ve seen it when they’ve had success. He’s been almost unbeatable and I think that’s sort of
what they’re looking for on a consistency basis. They’re going to get it again. They’re going to
get 64 65 games from Vassie. It’s a big plus for Tampa Bay. You mentioned consistency and I feel
like that’s all we talked about when it came to him during those cup runs for Tampa. remember
in the rare occasion that they would lose his numbers following a loss were like lights out
like best of all time. Is this still maybe the best situation for a game? Like if you had a game
seven and you had to pick one guy, would it still be Andre Basilleski? I know a lot of people would
say that would be my starter for a game seven. It it would be that gap is really shortened over
Sergey Barrowski’s last couple seasons. So there’s a conversation there where before I I
don’t think there was a conversation. But yes, I I would still go with Bassie. The odds of
the goalie being Russian, I think, are very high on the list. There’s a lot of that, but he
was a big game player in the biggest of games. Andre Vasileleski, our first goalie inside the top
10, coming in at number nine. When we come back, speaking of goalies, find out where Connor
Helabuk lands inside our top 10 and what winning the heart as well as the VZNA trophies
will do to that ranking. That’s coming up next. Connor Halabuk has just been remarkable
in so many different areas. Work ethic, details, focus, but it’s belief what separates
him from most other athletes. Here’s Sikas. Oh, he’s robbed by Hel. You didn’t know if it could
get any better, but he has been better than he was last year’s. It’s just unbelievable. Walker pass
across. Good stuff. He got enough to keep it out, man. Oh man. Congrats to Connor Halbuck.
He wins the VZNet and the heart trophy, joining very exclusive company. At number eight,
it is Connor Halabuk. Hellabuk was the best goalie in the league last year. Also the best player in
the league, winning his first heart trophy and his third Vzna trophy. He’s the eighth goalie to
win the heart trophy and the first since Carrie Price a decade earlier. How about this? Last
year, Halabuk led all goalies and wins. goals against average, shut outs. He was also second
in save percentage. His rank last year 22, jumping all the way up to number eight this year,
the highest ranked goalender that we have in our top 50 countdown. What do you say about that? I
mean, heart trophy, that speaks for itself. Best player in the league. It’s not supposed to happen.
I mean, the goalending position, it’s very hard to be nominated for a heart trophy, let alone win it.
Uh, so that’s first and foremost. The other thing, let’s run that same thing I said back again on
dying breed. I mean, Vassie was one of 62 game 62 games played. Like it just it doesn’t happen. It’s
not supposed to happen. And you’re not supposed to be able to do it at 32 and do it every year and
do it very successfully and and that’s what he does. I mean, that’s the biggest thing for Connor
Halabuk for me. And maybe we’re seeing the best of him right now, but he’s been very consistent
his entire career. I think that’s what allows him to play those amount of games. I I think about
where the franchise is. if he doesn’t sign that, you know, that matching deal that Mark Shiffley
did, it’s what he what were we talking about with the Winnipeg Jets, what they were going to look
like this year and and then what we saw. I mean, a lot of that almost all of that is due to how good
how well Connor Halabuk played. I had a chance to watch him live from ice level between the benches
one time and he’s just so he’s in such control. He’s intimidating to look at because he’s so big
out there. We called him the octopus because he just had all these arms. He’s kicking and making
saves and I I think the consistency year after year after year with him piling up wins and he’s
a workhorse is there’s something to be said about that. It’s it’s you still have to create you know
a cushion. So Winnipeg has done that with winning games in a certain style of hockey and he’s the
biggest reason why their whole franchise is built around Connor Hobb. you. The one thing that I I
want to you you touched on something that makes a lot of sense for me and they’ve done a heck
of a job in Winnipeg is they know where their strength is in goal, but they play the right way
to make sure that that’s elevated even more. It’s not just a team that’s going to have an elite
goalie and just be like we’re going to play some freelance hockey. We’re going to throw
our goalie. He’s going to save the day. No, like this is why it’s a winning recipe. That’s
why they won the president’s trophy. He he’s he doesn’t have to be going out there and being
in the human eraser. Now, can he do that? Yes, he certainly can do that at times, but I think
that’s what makes Winnipeg dangerous year in year out is they play the right way in front of him
and those two things complement each other really well. And this guy is so good year in year out in
the regular season. And to that point of you being talking about him being the workhorse, some people
would say, well, maybe he plays too many games in the regular season cuz come playoff time, it’s he
doesn’t quite live up to the same expectations. Did he maybe answer all those questions with last
year’s performance in round number one or does is that still kind of hang on his head a little
bit? I think he exercised some demons because, you know, he did get through round number one,
but but it was by no means perfect. It doesn’t really matter at that point. You just have to win
the game and win the series and I think it’s going to do a lot for him and for that team. The fact
that they did get through that now, they lose out. Playoffs are tough once you get to the next
when you get to the second round. There’s only eight teams left and it’s it’s really difficult
to advance. So there is some luck involved there, but getting through that first round, I think was
huge for him and the franchise. And I thought he was very solid in Four Nations. I mean, he he got
into Jordan Bennington. We talked about him all day. He’s a gamer. And Team Canada, they earned
it. They won it. But Connor Halabuk was pretty darn good as well. So yeah, I I I’m parking some
of that stuff. I to me still think he’s team USA’s goalie. I still think he is elite. He should be
the highest rated goalie on our list this year as he is. Um I expect him to be a dominant goalender
again this season. All right. here was some of the uh goalenders at the Olympic orientation camp.
Of course, the Olympics coming up in Milan in February. You kind of alluded to it, Robert. I’ll
start with you then, Boiler. Is he still your starting goalender for Team USA going into the
Olympics based on what we know right now? Based on what we know right now, yes, I would have to say
is. And part of it is because of the experience he had in the four nations. Those are those
are big moments. And then exercising a few of those demons in the playoffs last year. Yes. But
I think a lot of the team is going to be the same. the coaching staff is the same. There’s just more
reps now with that structure in front of him. What you see as a go as a goalie in terms of how
you defend as a team. I think more reps at that having an understanding what that’s going to look
like playing against similar teams in the Canada, Finlands, and Swedes. If it matches up that way, I
I think that is definitely your best bet. It would have to take some seismic shift in the goalending
world for Team USA for it to be different. All right, the guy who’s going to be trying to shut
down in the Olympics for Team Canada is uh well, Cydney Crosby, who’s cracking our list yet again.
Sydney Crosby coming in at number seven. And how about this? At age 37, Crosby coming off his third
consecutive season of 90 or more points with 91 points in 80 games this past year. Crosby averaged
a point per game for the 20th straight season, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 19 years in a
row. Crosby is ninth all time in points with 1,687 and is 36 points away from tying Mariel Lemieux
for eighth all time. Last year last year’s rank uh at number 11. So outside the top 10 and here
he is inside the top 10 at number seven. It’s not supposed to work that way. You’re not supposed to
get older and your ranking goes gets better. Why? Why is that? You guys have both been teammates of
Sydney Crosby. What is it about this guy that it just his game never ever dips? Never has. Yeah. I
I don’t know. I feel like he’s for a guy that is we everybody jokes around that he’s played with
him how superstitious he is, but I I think he’s really a guy that’s so superstitious and set in
his ways. I think he’s really evolved in his game, too. He’s gotten older and he’s decided I remember
when he first came in, he was splitting D on the regular. Every night he was coming in offensive
blue line, splitting the D. You couldn’t stop him. Well, we don’t see that as often anymore. Can we
still see him do it? Absolutely. But he’s changed his game three consecutive 90 point seasons. like
it’s it looks a little different than what it was, but he has been absolutely incredible doing
it with the stick that he does it with too is incredible. There’s no curve on that thing. It’s
stiff as a board. Not the greatest teams, too, the last couple years. It’s truly it’s it’s
hard to describe or hard to even understand, but like Robert said, he’s also a student of the
game and he lives and breathes hockey, wants to find different niche ways. And I think it’s pretty
well documented how he goes through practices, what he works on after practice. Little things
like if he misses a chance that he thought he should have scored. Well, well, that next morning
you see Sid in that same spot doing it 50 times, 100 times, and just finding different ways to find
space or manipulate a goalie where he doesn’t have Shay Weber slapshot, but he finds ways to beat
guys and goalies. And it’s it’s really it’s fascinating to watch. You can learn so much from
him, and he’s not done trying to get better. No, they the one thing I remember when playing I
mean there’s so many things from playing with them that you you notice and you watch you stare
at those guys and wonder what they do that makes them so great and this isn’t necessarily it but
it gets you let you into his mind a little bit. So he had the tape table in the middle of the
room on the road or whether it’s at home up front by the dry race board and he’d go and get
his tape he needed for the game and he’d go in the middle of the room and he’d throw it like a
like a little saucer and he have to land it on the bench and if it hit the back and then rolled
off the bench he’d just walk over, pick it up, walk back to the position. He’d do it if it took
three times, four times, five times, he’d do it. Most likely nail it on the first try. And that
was his thing. And my point in sharing that is he everything’s to perfection. So after practice, he
isn’t working on the crazy like he’s working his he’s a crisp passer. Everything he does is crisp.
His face offs are crisp because it’s repetition over and over and over again. That’s the way
the guy does everything. He competes. And man, he’s he’s he’s number seven on this list right
now at his age. It’s absolutely incredible. We we don’t practice so we don’t get it wrong. We
we we practice, sorry, we don’t practice till we get it right. We practice until we can’t
get it wrong. And that’s sort of his mantra, his MMO. And he does it and he does it like you
said, Ruper. I’m just thankful I got to play with him because it was really inspiring. Yeah. Awesome
stuff. It’s inspiring to watch what he’s doing at his age. Number seven, Sydney Crosby, number
87. Coming up next on our top 50 countdown, another Tampa Bay Lightning player cracking
the top 10. He finished first in the league in scoring. But where will Nikita Coov finish when
it comes to our top six? Find out after this. Welcome back to the countdown. At number six,
Alexander Barov. captain the Florida Panthers to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship
and third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup final. Despite missing 15 games because of injury,
Bararkov still won his second consecutive Selki trophy and third overall. Last year’s rank number
eight jumps up two spots this year to number six. Uh Boiler, when you look at his stats, 20 goals,
71 points, some would say those numbers don’t quite add up to some of the guys surrounding
him, both, you know, in the top five or maybe after him here. Why does he deserve to be inside
our top 10, especially this high? Please laugh at the people that think that because you know
firsthand what this guy’s like offensively, right? Yeah. Firsthand, it’s it’s incredible to
watch. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense how he’s able to manipulate his body and do some of the
things he can do with his hands. He’s such a big man and such a big presence and he shouldn’t be
able to move like that quite frankly. The other thing is this isn’t a fantasy hockey draft here.
We’re not trying to see who can score the most points all the time. Although that does help in
these rankings a lot of the time. What he’s able to do, his fingerprints are all over the ice in
every aspect of the game from his leadership, how he is in the room, how he treats himself, how
he acts around his teammates. And then on the ice, if your team wants to have the puck, you want
Sasha Barov on your team. He gets the puck back when you don’t have it. And he keeps it and
creates offensively in the right way with a heavy defense defensive conscious conscience. Struggling
with a heavy defensive conscience. He’s able to make Yeah, that was perfect. He’s able to make
plays and make his team better and everybody falls in line after him. Isn’t it funny though when
we watch this team and how many intangibles and they all defend well and you’ve got Sam Reinhardt
who’s up for a selki. You’ve got uh all these all the guys play both sides of the puck really well
and Paul Maurice makes it very obvious that’s the guy. Yeah. And that’s the guy we watch. That’s
the guy we tell I think he said to Anton Lindell when he came in like that watch him play like him
is to your best ability and we’re all good. There this one thing we had to bring this video back
you and I immediately when we saw Barky on this list of six we brought this video backup finals
game what is this game f six game six uh four on four is obviously on the ice but so is Connor and
Leon you’re up one- nothing in this game up in the series and here’s what’s going to happen you’re
going to get a sprung oddman rush for the Florida Panthers and watch Parky blocks that wand right
there he could jump but looks over his shoulder and he realizes Connor and Leon are out here I
don’t need to do anything right now offensively. We are winning one- nothing. Like that is such
a unique mindset that I don’t I honestly I don’t know. Maybe Sid I think Sid would maybe think that
way but I don’t know like no one thinks that way. You get an onman rush you’re thinking hey this is
the nail and lookoff and we make this two nothing. We win the Stanley Cup. He’s like hold on I have
a job to do out here. It’s not to let the two best two players potentially in the world score.
And I found that you very unique. Yeah we both noticed it. that that’s a play that jumps off the
page and it doesn’t go in the score sheet at all. But at home, last change, Barky knows his job that
night and these are the two most dynamic offensive players in the world that you’re playing against.
That was a chance to go on an oddman rush. He saw that his defenseman had the puck and was involved
in the rush. He knew something could go wrong, right? He’s not playing safe, but he’s just
playing the odds there. They had all the momentum. They had a one- nothing lead. It was still only
the first period, but he wasn’t going to give it. That’s tempting for a lot of people to jump.
I would I would have done what Barky did cuz I wouldn’t I was going to get caught by McDavid
anyway. So, I’m just going to hang back here. I’m going to hang back here. Make sure I get
my I would have been on the ice. Come on, Robert. But it it was that was that in and of
itself was so selfless. And the reason he’s crawling up this list, getting higher and higher,
is because if you want wins, you need plays like that and players like that. Yeah. Uh you mentioned
something going wrong and something did go very wrong in practice last week. unfortunately goes
down with an injury. It does not sound good. Could potentially miss the entire upcoming regular
season for the Florida Panthers with his absence. Not just the leadership, he wears the sea, but
all the intangibles we just talked about. Ruper, how much does that impact their chances of going
for the three Pete? I I think it makes them human. I mean, I I don’t think with a healthy Sasha
Barkov, healthy lineup, I don’t think anybody in my mind starting the season was was close. And
and sure, every season takes on its own story lines. anybody could have upended them at some
point, but now they look to be human, but this is also a very very good team through and through.
Uh I’m interested to see what they’re going to do with that kind of found space, unfortunately. But
man, that is a tremendous loss for the Florida Panthers. Yeah. And for team Finland, too, in
the Olympics. And it’s I feel bad for Barney. I gutted for Barky because it’s just been such a
long time coming for them to finally be able to go back. He’s obviously named their captain. I just I
feel so terrible for him. But again, yes, Florida has depth and that is why they’ve had success, but
this is a crater, a huge crater that they’re going to have to figure out a way to fill, especially
until at least like Matthew Kachchuck can come back, right? First couple of months of the season,
too. So, two main pieces of that uh championship caliber lineup. Sasha Barov, maybe the biggest
coming in at number six. At number five on our countdown, he makes everybody better around him.
He’s the best shooter from the right circle. Here’s and he scores in. This is why I say coach
bang. Oh, what a move by one of the best alltime playmakers setup guys ever. What an unbelievable
pass. No one sees the ice the way this guy does. Nikita Cucharov coming in at number five on the
countdown. Cucharov recorded 121 points last year, winning his third Art Ross trophy and second in
a row. This was Cooerov’s fifth 100point season. He’s the only Lightning player with multiple
100point campaigns. He also won his second career Ted Lindsay award voted on by the players as the
most outstanding player in the NHL. Another guy who’s jumping up a couple of spots. You can see
last year’s ranked number seven on our countdown up two spots to number five. And Boiler, another
former teammate of yours in Nikita Cucherov. Yeah, I taught him everything he knows. And these these
guys should thank me at some point. But Nikita Cuchov, all the things we just said about Bararkov
in the 200 foot game and so I’m not attacking his defensive game. I’m just going to say he is so
elite offensively. He can run a power play from anywhere. He puts up video game numbers that he
is allowed to take some risk because their engine offensively is number 86. They do have a number
of great players offensively, but what Nikita Cucharov can do, especially from that right flank,
is pretty special in the National Hockey League. And there’s a reason he can do it. He practices
harder than most. That’s why he’s on this list. A lot of these guys do, but he does it in his own
way. There are times he’s on the ice for hours by himself running through plays almost like a a
pro football quarterback going over things and where he might see them, manipulating defenses.
He can score, he can certainly pass. Obviously, you’ve seen his assists and he’s very, very
dynamic and that’s why just sheer offensive ability has him on this list at number five.
You’ve seen him up close and personal. Pat Maroon was talking about going and skating
with him and him just taking rims on the board, just taking them cleanly and then getting into
a passing position, shooting position. Like I I just don’t feel like elite players those are the
things they’re thinking about. But he does like he wants to field the puck cleanly to make that
next play. And uh he’s a student of the game that you could see and just by watching him out there
and how he picks things apart. You brought up a great point because I love two-way players and I
think you have to have certain levels of defensive play to maximize your value. Not him. I I don’t
care if he plays defense. And he does, you know, I’m not saying he doesn’t play defense. Uh usually
the top end players in the league, they they’re paid to score and and and get offensive numbers,
but when you do it consistently like he has 500 point seasons, like you live you live with those
things. like he tilts the scale so much in your favor in so many different ways offensively. Man,
this guy is absolutely elite. I love that the Ted Lindsay award went to him again cuz the players
I feel like this guy’s kind of gotten jipped on a a heart trophy. I feel like that should
have been in his category at this point, but uh he’s a uh he’s one of those players. You flip
it on to Washington Ke. What does it mean when you win the Ted Lindsay and that that award comes
from your peers? What does that say about maybe his perception inside the rooms? Well, the guys
see it on the ice and they’re like, “Holy crap.” Like this guy like this isn’t supposed to happen
like this. And you see it and you have a respect ice level of what he does on a night-to-ight
basis. Yeah. They just for your peers to anoint you as that. It It’s tremendous. That’s probably
one of the most humbling awards you can get when your peers do recognize you like that. And these
aren’t just random people. And these guys you get to go against every single night. You’re actually
in the arena battling against them. It’s it’s high high praise. All right. And that’s why he’s coming
in at number five on our top 50 countdown. Coming up next, Kale Mar also back inside the top 10 as
our highest ranking defenseman. Find out where Colorado’s top guy on the blue line ranks among
the best of the best when our countdown returns. There is a gap between the rest of the defenseman
in the league and Kale Mar. He’s won a cup. He’s won a con spike. He’s one ands. He’s the best
defenseman in the world. Short handed slapper. He scores. You got to be kidding me. Kill Mar
in the slot. Jes scores. But he’s controlling the puck. He’s controlling the play. He is just on
another level. That’s one of the best you’ll see this season. The stuff he’s done to this point is
so remarkable. And his legend continues to grow. It certainly does. At number four, it’s Kale Mar.
Mar won his second Norris Trophy after leading all defenseman in goals, assists, points, power
play goals, power play points, and short-handed goals. He’s been a Norris Trophy finalist the
last five years and just the 14th defenseman in NHL history to win the Norris multiple times.
By the way, he’s only 26 years old. Last year’s ranking number four. This year’s ranking number
four. Ruper, the highest ranking defenseman we have in our top 50 countdown. Uh why does he
deserve that honor? He’s he’s a unicorn. I mean, they’re not supposed to have defenseman like
this. And and we gave a lot of praise on this entire list for great outstanding franchise type
defenseman. This guy’s just a little different. And 30 goals. That hasn’t happened since Mike
Green did it back with the Caps. That was the biggest thing I thought is like, wow, he got 30
goals. Like Kale does so many things out there. had that 13-point run to start a season, a streak
uh point uh streak or game streak. Uh it’s it’s impressive what the guy does on a night-to-ight
basis. I I thought he I think the way that season started for Colorado, him and Nate McKinnon every
night was like who’s going to win the MVP from this team. They they needed to too. They were thin
to start that season. Look, growing up, you’d have a picture in your head of what a prototypical
defenseman was and then sometimes you’d be like, “How would you want to build a defenseman?” We
wouldn’t even think of the things that this guy could do because no one had done it. Sort of a
game changer in a way. He broke the mold in a lot of different ways for how we view defenseman
now. And he’s changed the position. Quite frankly, he really has. And I’m not comparing him to Bobby
Y because I think when I get home, my dad will yell at me, but this is sort of similar to that.
He’s changed a position. He’s physical. He He is an abrasive player. He defends. He definitely
defends and he creates so much with his legs, but he can also wire the puck by. 30 goals is no
joke. He was fourth last year. He’s fourth this year. I guess he needs to get 40 goals to move up
on this list, but he has been a tremendous piece for this Colorado team, but also for the league
because again, we’ve talked about appointment television and guys that bring you out of your
seat. Kale Macar is one of those guys. They I felt like, and we’ve said this before on the
show, where just looking back in the history of the game and Bobb’s got to be the number one guy
where you’re like, he changed the position. And I think there’s guys who you can argue maybe did
maybe not to the level of Bobby or but I started thinking of like Paul Coffee then uh Ray Bourc
Brian Leech at different time like you have these different defenseman who’ve come along like this
is kind of our generation of a guy who changed the position you know I thought Eric Carlson did
that in some regards in a totally different way. He seemed like a rover like a forward. Kale does
it differently and that’s the big point I wanted to make. He defends like Kale defends but still
puts up 92 points you know 30 goals. It isn’t supposed to happen that way. So how he so Bobby
or right when he came in he changed that position and you guys are kind of comparing him not not to
that degree. We don’t want to offend Mr. Bole out there watching at home but how how has maybe yes
that as well too. Uh how has he kind of reinvented the defenseman position for the modern defenseman?
I just think how dynamic he is skating wise both forward and backwards. You can’t really beat him.
His edges are so unique. He’s so quick and nimble with his with his edge work and how he’s deceptive
with the puck. You take all the attributes of a dynamic number one firstline player offensively
and then you add his defensive acumen to go on top of that and it’s just it’s so hard to perfect all
those things. I think he’s done it. I think he’s had it done perfected. He’s not perimeter either,
you know, and those are things he he plays hard. He’s a competitor. I mean, maybe it’s he sees Nate
every day and he he’s got that he’s got a little edge to him, too, but I don’t know. Maybe he
had that in him before because he he came in the playoffs for Colorado and had that from day one.
So he’s just a different breed. It certainly is. Kale Mar at number four. At number three, this guy
different breed as well. How about Leon Dryidle? Dryidle the only 50 goal scorer in the league last
year. He finished with 52 goals despite missing 11 games in the regular season. He’s one of 15
players in NHL history to have four seasons of 50 or more goals. He also had another great playoff
run for Edmonton, scoring a career-high 33 points in just 22 games. Last year’s ranked number five,
jumping up two spots this year to number three. Uh we talked about this earlier on one of our
countdown shows. You just love the 50/50 club. He’s certainly part of that. 52 goals, 54 assists.
Is he a better goal scorer? Is he a better passer, distributor? How would you define Leon Dryside? I
have no idea, but he doesn’t have any weaknesses offensively. So 50 to50 club. So this is his
fourth time being in that club. He’s had a couple really close to getting it done. Obie,
let’s use this as a comparison. Obie’s done it three times in his career and those were all
fairly earlier on in his career, but Leon’s just a different animal like in in that regard. Like
the players poll always comes out best passer in the league or he was right there with Nikita
Cuchov seems like every year. But the one thing I don’t think he gets enough credit for he wins his
first rocket this year for league’s most goals. He is like number two or three I feel like every
single year and I don’t think he gets enough love in that category. Uh the 5050 club is something
special man and and it not many players have have done that in this side of history. Yeah. And his
game translates to the playoffs as well. You’ve seen his success and how he’s able to produce
in the playoffs. I think he doesn’t get enough credit for his skating ability. Looks a little
different. He is a big man and he’s able to play on his backhand, you know, at that level of like
Crosby and Cucherov. Cuchov can do it really well. sit obviously we’d probably put at the top and and
I think Leon Dry settle is right there with them. 52 goals he missed 11 games. I know it’s great.
You know what I mean? It’s like you don’t even know how special that season maybe could have
been. It’s the what should have, would have, could have, whatever you want to say. It it’s
impressive what he’s doing right now. I mean, he could be the best goal scorer in hockey. I mean,
he was last year. We’ll see how he follows it up, but it’s impressive. We love seeing him play with
97. Sometimes they play together. Sometimes they play separately. If they were not on the same
team, would his stock be even higher than it is right now? Leandre Settle, that’s that’s hard
to say, but I I do think that his IQ or he might even get knocked a peg or two because he gets
to play with the old excuse, oh, he’s playing with the best player in the world. It’s, you know,
you heard it a little bit with with Malcolin. How good would Gino be if he separated from Sydney
Crosby? Well, you saw them go down different times and that player’s play would elevate. I
think this is the same category. Leon is he’s such a cerebral player. He sees the game. He
plays at different paces as well. If you want to check him a certain way, he can adjust to the
game. Is he overshadowed by Conor McDavid? Well, well, you know, Conor McDavid’s Conor McDavid
everybody in the league, right? And I think we’re giving Leon his his due flowers and three is
it’s no slouch. No, he’s he’s uh he’s nasty, too. That’s what that’s what I love about him. He’s
got a little bite, a little bite to the media, too. Keeps everybody honest. And I think that’s
really important for Edmonton’s success. They’ve got Connor and Leon who are junkyard dogs and uh
he brings it. All right, Leon Dryettle at number three. When we come back, the top two McKinnon
McDavid. Do things stay the same from last year or is there a massive shakeup when it comes to the
top spot in our countdown? Find out after this. A guy that’s on pace for some record numbers
this year. Nathan McKinnon McKinnon shoots score. Nathan McKinnon for McKinnon. Last year was yet
another special year. He’s tireless. He’s one of the few forwards in the league that can play
22 minutes plus and still be an unbelievable individual effort by the superstar center. As good
at the at the end of the game that he was at the beginning of the game. The Mac attack is back. The
Mac attack is back at number two Nathan McKinnon who finished with 32 goals and 116 points last
season. It was McKinnon’s third straight season with 100 plus points. His 84 assists was also tied
for the most in the NHL, which made him just the second player in Colorado history to lead lead
the league in helpers. McKinnon also showed up big time for team Canada. He was named MVP of the
four nations faceoff after leading the tournament with four goals and helping team Canada to win
gold. Last year’s ranked number two. This year, same spot at number two. Boiler, what makes Nathan
McKinnon such a special player? I think his engine and his internal drive to build that engine up
and get better every year. I don’t think he would, if he was honest, be happy being number two. I
think he has a skill set and a talent ability to be number one, but unfortunately there’s just an
all-world generational player one notch ahead of him. He is, we’ve talked about it, he skates
violently. He plays abrasive. His hands are ridiculous around the net. He can obviously move
the puck and pass the puck with the best of him with 84 assists. He’s got a bomb of a shot. It’s
accurate owing his skating ability is topnotch. His edges, his power, his speed. It’s fun to
watch Nathan McKinnon play. It is. It’s It’s intimidating, too. Uh for players like how do you
I mean all these great players we’re talking about on this entire list, you’ve got to approach them
uniquely at times. Like what do you do? I mean, a pass first guy, of course, I’m going to try
to play him a certain way or a goal scorer. I’m going to try to take him away. How do you play
Nathan McKinnon? I mean, you can say that very easily about any of these top 10 guys, but he’s
a unique one. You want to play him hard the way that you try to, oh, let’s get bodies on him. You
think that guy cares? No way. That guy’s going to throw you off. Yeah. I mean, you don’t want to
be in the train tracks for Nathan McKinnon. And uh but then to add that with that that elite skill
is incredible. And and one of my favorite parts of last year, even being an American, watching
Four Nations, we waited so long for Connor, Sid, Nathan McKinnon, all be on the same
team for team Canada. Took what it took, like six seconds for him and Sid to connect on
the power play. I was like, “Oh, this,” you know what I mean? Like that’s what makes it, this guy
is just uh I He’s just He’s different because of his physical attributes that he brings. There’s
no way you can play him. He’s going to have his way. He’s different for a lot of reasons. They’re
all built different. this top 10 list especially, but he he’s the drive is there obviously and
you heard it before they won their Stanley Cup how he had had enough in this post game even
after winning a Stanley Cup and the stories you hear about him training with Sid and Marian
up in Canada in the offseason how everything’s a competition absolutely everything is a competition
that he wants to win with Colorado kind of being I don’t want to say out of the mix but not
going to the Western Conference final the last couple of years do you think that drive what
do you think that drive looks like for a Nathan McKinnon coming into this season. You mean his
running mate stealing the show in games five, six, and seven and Miko Ranton in the playoffs? Like
that is that you don’t think that this guy thought about that this this past summer? I’m not going to
put words into his mouth, but he it’s almost I I I always go back to the Michael Jordan. I took that
personally. Like you’re going to find a way to manufacture it to drive you. That just seems like
that’s who he is. I don’t know that for a fact, but the way he approaches the game, I would
expect him to come out of the gates this year, pretty much like every year, but this year just
maybe a finding another gear when we don’t think there is one to find. If you’re a road team and
you get Colorado in the first week or two of the season, just it’s it’s going to be a tough night
for you. That’s all he’s ready to go. Obviously, it’s I’m ready for I’m ready to see it
again. He obviously wants to be the best. So, you’re going to see a motivated 29 Colorado
and that’s why he comes in at number two, which means we’re at number one. When I see 97
on the ice, you almost hold your breath. To me, this is the best player that’s ever played the
game. Conor McDavid. It’s not real. Went right down the pipe. He attacks with so much speed.
Doesn’t even miss a beat. And it doesn’t matter what the competition is. Doesn’t matter who the
opponent is. at some point. It’s just unfair. 1,000. What can you say? Getting it done in the
regular season. Getting it done in the playoffs. Conor McDavid. Unbelievable. Player for the
ages. Who else? Conor McDavid. At number one, despite missing 15 games a year ago, he still had
100 points for the fifth straight season and the eighth time in his career. He also became the
fourth fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points, doing it in 659 games. Over the last
four playoffs, he has 128 points in 75 games. So, his career 1.56 playoff points per game. That’s
the third highest in NHL history behind some pretty good guys. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Last year’s ranked number one. No change to that ranking this year. Number one as well. And
you both were saying in the meeting earlier, there isn’t a league good enough for number 97
right now. Conor McDavid, his game is just so far beyond anybody else that we see on the ice. That
stat that you mentioned that McDavid 1.56 playoff points per game. I mean to be that close to
Mario, Mario being at 1.61 and and Gretzky at 1, it’s supposed to be a different game now. Like
there’s so many 50 goal scorers. I don’t want to say back in the day. I’m not trying to disrespect
that time. It was an incredible time. But the game has changed and a lot of different factors
come into play. It’s not supposed to happen. He could be running away with this generation, but
when you compare numbers to prior generations, it’s not supposed to be that close. And that
just shows you how different this guy is. It paints a great picture because of the technology
and video, the technology and how the goalending position is played, how defending is done now. It
really does show you just the eyepopping numbers that Conor McDavid is able to put up. It It’s I I
truly believe this. If he played an 82 game season against six skaters on the ice every time he was
on the ice, he’d still have a point a game. I honestly think that I think that there’s no way to
contain him legally. I think that he probably gets a penalty taken against him every third shift he’s
on the ice, but they’re not called all the time. He has such an elevated level of ability with his
hands, with his speed, how he sees the game at the rate of speed he’s going. He’s so fast. There’s
times he crashes the net and I get nervous if if he loses an edge or the ice isn’t great. It’s
scary. It’s It’s incredible what he’s able to do. You can’t compare him to anybody else because he
doesn’t look like anybody else that I’ve ever seen play. No. No. He’s do what he’s doing. I I find
with him, he’s he’s so unique in what he does. And the fact, I hate to say it this way because I
I I like a lot of attributes that Edmonton and and what they’ve done to try to complement him, but
the fact of the matter is that team, even though they have Leon, that team getting drugged to two
Stanley Cup finals, says to me a lot about this guy almost to the degree where I will go and say
it’s not close who’s number one. Because I don’t know if there’s any other guy in the league that
if you took him and put him in Edmonton that that team would make to the finals two years in a row,
get one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. It also shows me that Edmonton just needs another
they’ve got Leon. They’ve got Connor. Well, Evan Buchar does pretty well in the playoffs, too.
But they they they just need one other thing to go right for them. Maybe that’s a hot PK. Uh maybe
that’s a goalender that gets going. Maybe it’s a third line depth. One of those things goes,
that team is going to the finals. That’s how special this guy is. Yeah, he he he truly is
an incredible talent. I again, Ruper, I just think that what he’s what he’s able to do with
the expectations that were brought on him since day one is it’s remarkable. What he’s able to do
for a franchise like Edmonton is remarkable. And the humility that he goes through his whole career
with so far is what makes him also a role model, which is a fantastic thing for the league as well.
Now, yeah, rep, you said you don’t even think it’s close. It it probably isn’t close because the
consistency this guy doesn’t get in slumps, right? He the most human I’ve ever seen Conor McDavid
was the final game of the Four Nations. I said, “This guy looks different today. He looks almost
like he’s human. He’s made a couple mistakes and then what happened? He scored the game winner
and and that’s the end of that, right?” So, this he’s a superhuman hockey player. It’s evident
by his consistency every single year. All right, we saw the top 10 right there and we cap things
off with Conor McDavid who’s at number one for the ninth straight year. What will it take for
us to do one of these top 10 countdown shows and number 97 not be in that top spot? When does
that happen? We were kind of talking about this. I I don’t I don’t know. I don’t know what it will
take because you’re not supposed to a younger guy. It’s going to take some time to build up. He came
in the league, played one year, and then overtook number one spot over Sydney Crosby, which there
would be the similar situation we’re talking about here. I just don’t I don’t know. I don’t know if
we’re going to see that anytime soon. He doesn’t look like he’s going to let that up. No, he’s 28
years old, so unless unless the Monstars come down like Space Jam and take away his talent. I think
you’re you’re going to be seeing a lot of number one for 97. All right. Makes our job easy here
on the NHL Network. And that’ll do it for our top 50 countdown for everybody watching. Uh we
want to thank those of you who uh work behind the scenes as well. A lot of work goes into this
research department putting together our list and stuff. So thank you to the uh men and women
behind the scenes who make all this happen. So all that’s left to do, fellas. Drop the puck.
The regular season’s coming up soon October 7th. Let’s get it going. Thanks for watching our top
50 countdown. Quinn Hughes makes things happen so quickly. I don’t think there’s any defense
in the league that has as quick a feet in his ability to move left to right. Oh, what a save by
Vaselki. A tremendous stop. What a save, man. Oh, man. Oh, he made another save. Cindy Crosby,
you are ridiculous. And who didn’t think he’d have some magic left? Just set the table. Crosby
will take care of the rest. Let’s go home, baby. Incredible. And manov shoots, scores. Nikita made no mistake with that one. The
future remains bright for Kale Mar. is on another level when it comes to thinking
of the game and when it comes to speed Nathan a silencer here a player of the ages can’t stop
him you can’t contain them you can’t do anything with 97 I can’t believe what we’re watching we are
seeing something really really special right now.
Watch the crew on NHL Network break down the top 50 players in the NHL right now, concluding with numbers 10-1.
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2 comments
Yay 14 minutes ago
One through four are correct