So THN has once again graced us with their "Top 50 NHL players" list and as usual
there are so many weird, wacky, and downright embarassing rankings that it makes
for good chat fodder. In order to not run afoul of copyright laws, I will be posting
the list in five blocks of 10, with comments on each block. Each player's ranking
from the previous list is on the right. And away we go:
Well things are starting out pretty well at least. All of these guys have a
pretty legitimate claim to being top 10 players, top 20 at the least. This
is an improvement over last season whith nonsense like Nash in the top 10
while Lidstrom and Brodeur were out of it. I'd make a few cosmetic changes
(Lidstrom at #1, Luongo and Pronger ahead of Ovechkin, Thornton ahead of Iginla
and Lecavalier, Brodeur a bit higher, and Jagr in the top 10 over Heatley) but
overall this was pretty good. Of course if Scott Neidermayer doesn't retire then
he goes in the top 10, probably in the 5-7 range. Now the fun starts.
11 Elias 12
12 Sakic 17
13 Kiprusoff 1
14 Jagr 3
15 St-Louis 47
16 Gaborik 27
17 Phaneuf 32
18 Staal 14
19 Hossa 24
20 Miller NR
Where to begin? I really like Patrik Elias, but after a so-so season and playoffs
(by his standards), he really shouldn't have gone up, and really really shouldn't
be ahead of guys like Sakic, Jagr, Kiprusoff, and others. Sakic, Kipper, Jagr,
St-Louis, Staal, and Hossa are all pretty good picks for the 11-20 slots. Gaborik
is a fantastic player but this might be too high for him considering all the time
he's missed in the past couple of seasons, especially looking at some of the
similarly talented players who are well behind him and have better numbers (Spezza,
Malkin, Kovalchuk, etc.). Now for the two biggest offenders. Phaneuf in the top 20,
and moreover the third defenseman listed, is an absolute joke. I've said plenty
about why Phaneuf is overrated in the various Phaneuf threads, so I won't rehash it
here unless it comes up later. And finally, how on earth does Miller go from not
being on the list to the top 20, and the 4th goaltender listed? If playoff success
is being used to rank Miller ahead of goalies he's been inferior to in the regular
season (most notably Lundqvist - I guess two straight Vezina nominations isn't
worth much to the THN writers), then why is Miller so far ahead of Giguere, and
why isn't Ray Emery on the list? Miller is a fine goaltender but this ranking just
doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
21 Alfredson 20
22 Drury NR
23 Turco 49
24 Spezza 22
25 Zetterberg 38
26 Cheechoo 36
27 Briere NR
28 Kaberle NR
29 Hasek NR
30 Richards 23
This is where I started to think that THN based at least part of this list on who got
the most buzz during free agency. Drury at 22 is one of the most obvious overratings
on the whole list. I know the thing to do this offseason has been to extol the virtues
of Drury's "intangibles" ad-nauseum, but this is getting ridiculous. A 60+ point scorer
(I refuse to call him a 70 point scorer until he actually gets there) with good playoff
numbers, one Stanley Cup win, and who's a part-time captain, is the 22nd best
player in the NHL? How, just for one example, is he ahead of Brad Richards, a player
who is consistently above 70 points, has a career high in the 90s, is a Conn Smythe
trophy winner (recently), and has good leadership and defensive abilities? Chris Drury
is a Brad Richards-lite if anything. How does Cheechoo move up 10 spots when his
numbers go down and it becomes even more clear that he's largely a product of his
linemates? On the positive side, nice to see Kaberle get some deserved recognition
from the press, Spezza, Zetterberg, and Briere are all in pretty appropriate spots,
and kudos to them for having the balls to put Hasek on the list. Turco might be a
little too high, but after his breakout playoff performance (albeit with a series loss)
a jump is appropriate for him.
31 Havlat 26
32 D. Sedin NR
33 Giguere NR
34 Smyth 33
35 Gagne 31
36 Datsyuk 35
37 Nash 9
38 Brindamor 38
39 Chara 19
40 DiPietro NR
Nice to see THN admit they made a big gaffe with their absurd top 10 ranking for Nash
last season, and yet once again he's still too high. Notice how all the guys around him,
and most of the guys below, put up better and more consistent numbers? Smyth is once
again too high, continuing the trend of ranking guys for how many times Eklund mentioned
them in June and July. Datsyuk puts up another great offensive season and breaks out in
the playoffs and he drops a spot? He should be top 25 at this point. I like Daniel Sedin
but he's too high, ditto Martin Havlat. Datsyuk and Brindamour have displayed consistency
and high-level performances in the playoffs; both deserve to be ranked over those two.
Giguere making the list is definitely warranted, as is Chara being on the list but taking
a big drop. DiPietro shouldn't be ahead of Lundqvist, but otherwise he belongs. Gagne is
ranked at about the right spot.
41 Gomez NR
42 Gonchar NR
43 Lundqvist NR
44 Malkin NR
45 Parise NR
46 Boyle NR
47 Shanahan NR
48 Kovalchuk 18
49 Schneider NR
50 Backstrom NR
The last ten looks so randomly thrown together it's like THN slotted in all the guys they
wanted to, then picked a few out of a hat to fill the last few positions. As mentioned
several times already, Lundqvist that far down is absurd, especially with so many other
goaltenders ranked ahead of him. Kovalchuk deserved to fall after an off-season, but that
many spots? Not to mention there are a ton of guys ranked ahead of him that couldn't even
match his "off year" numbers. Malkin is just way too low, especially if they are trying to
project for this season (which seems to be the case when you consider many of the previous
rankings). Also, do the people who work at THN ever talk to each other? In their pool guide
they have Malkin and Kovalchuk as top 10 scorers - and neither of them is in the top 40
players? Speaking of Malkin, he's also way too low. In particular, how does he rank below
his teammate Gonchar (who probably shouldn't even be on the list at all). Gomez goes from
not ranked after a great season to ranked after a mediocre one? Oh right, he signed this
offseason for a lot of money, so he must belong on the list! Parise seems like an odd choice
after a 60 point season and one good playoff series. And Mathieu Schneider? Really?
I'm sure I have plenty of other overall thoughts to add, but I'm getting a bit tired so I
will end with this final question: where the hell is Sergei Zubov? And I'm sure he's not
the only player missing.
I think its a joke that Vanek isnt on the list over the likes of Parise and Backstrom. They give a little blurb at the start of the article saying that the players past performances are taken into account, but yet they put a goalie who played 35 good games last year 50th comapred to a sophomore who has had 2 solid seasons now, including a respectable playoffs last year. I dunno why...
Parise is good, he had a good year too, but not as good as Vanek... yeesh.
Heatley has put up better numbers than Iginla ever has (twice!) and is far more consistent. Iginla is one good year....one bad year....one decent year....one bad year....one good year...
Vinny has one good year after 7 years of not living up to his hype....and suddenly he is a top 10 player in the league? Please...
Good breakdown of the good and bad points about this list.
The Drury one for me is the biggest mistake. It's okay to hold those "intangibles" up as being so important. But, if you are going to let that be a determining factor to have Drury as the 22nd best player in the NHL, how do you explain things like Alfie being well below Dany Heatley. I love Heater, but, in terms of those intangibles that gets Drury his recognition (solid two way play, leadership type, big, timely goals), Alfie holds that in spades. Those intangibles are the reason why the vast majority of Ottawa fans hold Alfie in higher regard as a player than Heatley, yet, this list doesn't seem to recognize that.
But, if they are going to hold up Drury so high based on intangibles, the question is, how does Drury, with his career high 69 point season, get placed that far ahead of Rod Brind'amour. Brind'amour has a better offensive game, has won the last two Selke's and, was the captain and leading goal scorer on a cup winning team. There isn't one area where I'd give Drury the edge over Brind'amour, yet, Drury is ranked well above him.
Phaneuf belongs in the top40, but not that high. Drury should be in the 40's. Lundqvist should be a top20 and Vanek could at least sneak in there instead of Schnneider or something.
Also, what's up with having D. Sedin 32nd but no H. Sedin at all?
Good breakdown of the good and bad points about this list.
The Drury one for me is the biggest mistake. It's okay to hold those "intangibles" up as being so important. But, if you are going to let that be a determining factor to have Drury as the 22nd best player in the NHL, how do you explain things like Alfie being well below Dany Heatley. I love Heater, but, in terms of those intangibles that gets Drury his recognition (solid two way play, leadership type, big, timely goals), Alfie holds that in spades. Those intangibles are the reason why the vast majority of Ottawa fans hold Alfie in higher regard as a player than Heatley, yet, this list doesn't seem to recognize that.
But, if they are going to hold up Drury so high based on intangibles, the question is, how does Drury, with his career high 69 point season, get placed that far ahead of Rod Brind'amour. Brind'amour has a better offensive game, has won the last two Selke's and, was the captain and leading goal scorer on a cup winning team. There isn't one area where I'd give Drury the edge over Brind'amour, yet, Drury is ranked well above him.
I would imagine they are expecting Brind'amour to have a decline in play.
At the age of 36, Brind'amour had one of the best seasons of his career. It's a pretty big stretch to think that a guy who was better in every single aspect is going to decline that much over a guy who isn't exactly a player that's hitting his upward slope.
At the age of 36, Brind'amour had one of the best seasons of his career. It's a pretty big stretch to think that a guy who was better in every single aspect is going to decline that much over a guy who isn't exactly a player that's hitting his upward slope.
Oh I agree...I would rather Brind'amour than Drury, especially if salary is included...im just saying that may be what they are thinking.
A top ten point producer over the past two seasons can't even crack the list (Savard). What else does he need to prove to get the respect of a top teir offensive player in this league. You could argue playoff experiance, but a good number of players on that list either have no experiance, or are proven busts in the post season.
What has Parise done to deserve sitting one behind Malkin?
31 Havlat 26
32 D. Sedin NR
33 Giguere NR
34 Smyth 33
35 Gagne 31
36 Datsyuk 35
37 Nash 9
38 Brindamor 38
39 Chara 19
40 DiPietro NR
DiPietro shouldn't be ahead of Lundqvist, but otherwise he belongs. Gagne is
ranked at about the right spot.
actually IMO depietro should be higher than what he was, but only by a little id say swap Datsyuk and move Dat to 40th.
If you saw how bad the Rangers and Islanders d's were last year, (both being as mediocre this year, also)then you could see easier that Lundy should be at 40-45 and he is not better than DP or Giguere, having Giggy ahead of DP and DP ahead of Lundy is about right.but Miller should be behind them all he should be 47-50th not 20th, that is what i am most upset about.
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No love for the panthers..... Olli Jokinen should def be top 25, and hes not even top 50.... Jokinen is way better then Brad Richards!!! Bouw and Vokoun, no love
-Broduer should be a few spots higher
-Elias is ahead of way too many players, his ranking is just awful IMO
-Drury is also too high
-Lundqvist is confusingly below where he should be
but Miller should be behind them all he should be 47-50th not 20th, that is what i am most upset about.
