10 Best Hockey Players of All Time

 Using algorithms, spreadsheets, statistics, and slide rules, I have determined the best ice hockey players ever. Kidding! I don’t even know what an algorithm is. However, I do know my hockey. So, relying solely on my deeply held opinions, I’ve come up with a very subjective list of the top 10 hockey players. Don’t agree with my picks? Well, you get a five-minute major for fighting.

  • Alex Ovechkin

    Alex Ovechkin (Born 1985) playing for the Washington Capitals, January 2009. Russian ice hockey player. Three time winner of National Hockey League Hart Memorial Trophy. NHL In full: Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Ovechkin or Alexander Ovechkin
    Alex Ovechkin
    Alex Ovechkin, 2009.
    Dan4th Nicholas

    My only coworker who follows hockey loves Alex Ovechkin. In fact, he once claimed that Ovechkin was “the world’s greatest human being.” I think he was kidding. But “Ovie” has proven himself a great hockey player. After making his National Hockey League (NHL) debut in 2005 with the Washington Capitals, Ovechkin frequently led the league in scoring, winning the Maurice Richard Trophy, for most goals scored, multiple times (2008–09, 2013–16, 2018–19, 2020). He’s also a three-time recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy (2008–09, 2013), as the most valuable player in the NHL. He also (finally) won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018. All that and he has a colorful personality, entertaining fans with amusing quotes (“Russian machine never breaks”) and stunts (wearing a fisherman’s hat during a skill competition at the 2009 All-Star break). Oh, and the coworker? He’s my boss.

  • Jacques Plante

    Jacques Plante.
    Jacques PlanteWeekend Magazine/Louis Jaques/Library and Archives Canada, accession number e002505659

    Jacques Plante changed the face of hockey. Literally. The Montreal Canadien goalie is credited with popularizing face masks. In 1959 he was hit by a slap shot and needed 21 facial stitches. As the team’s only goalie, he had to return to the game after getting sewn up. However, he refused to take the ice unless he could wear a face mask. The rest is history. Equipment aside, Plante was also a stellar goaltender, helping Montreal win five consecutive Stanley Cups (1956–60). In 1962 he was named the league’s most valuable player, and he was a seven-time winner of the Vezina Trophy (1956–60, 1962, 1969), as the league’s best goalie.

  • Steve Yzerman

    Steve Yzerman speaks at Joe Louis Arena on January 3, 2007, in Detroit, Michigan.
    Steve Yzerman
    Steve Yzerman, 2007.
    © Marty Ellis/Shutterstock.com

    Did I grow up in Michigan? Yes. Am I biased? Definitely. But this is my list, and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings is on it. He helped transform the Dead Wings into one of the game’s most-dominating teams, restoring Detroit as Hockeytown. As the longest-serving captain in NHL history, he brought three Stanley Cups (1997–98, 2002) to a city that desperately needed something to cheer about. In addition to being an all-around player who could score and play defense, he earned respect for his class and quiet leadership.

  • Terry Sawchuk

    Terry Sawchuk.
    Terry SawchukLouis Jaques/Library and Archives Canada (PA-209513)

    Many people have called Terry Sawchuk the greatest goalie in hockey. During a 21-year career he won four Stanley Cups—three with the Red Wings (1952, 1954–55) and one with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1967)—and four Vezina Trophies (1952–53, 1955, 1965). He also registered 447 career wins, which included an unprecedented 103 shutouts, a record that stood until 2009. While he left his mark on hockey, the game also left its mark on him. He received a reported 400 stitches before finally donning a face mask (see number 9). In 1966 Time magazine had a makeup artist recreate all his facial injuries, and the resulting image isn’t pretty (google it). Long suffering from depression and alcoholism, Sawchuk died in 1970 at the age of 40 after a drunken fight with a teammate resulted in fatal internal injuries.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why New York Is Called "The Big Apple" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames

Image
  New York City: the Big Apple New York, New York © TimeHacker/Fotolia New York City  is known by many nicknames—such as “the City that Never Sleeps” or “Gotham”—but the most popular one is probably “the Big Apple.” How did this nickname come about? Although uses of the phrase are documented in the early 1900s, the term first became popular in the 1920s when John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer, started a column about horse racing called “Around the Big Apple.” However, it wasn’t until a tourism campaign in the 1970s that the nickname came to be synonymous with New York City. Geneva: the Peace Capital Palace of Nations The Palace of Nations has served as the headquarters of the League of Nations and the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland. AdstockRF Geneva , the second most populous city in Switzerland, is a city known for its diplomacy. Geneva is not only home to the European headquarters for the  United Nations  but also where international organizations, ...
Read more

Why Is the Indy 500 Held on Memorial Day Weekend?

Image
  The first full year of auto racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was 1910. Races were held over the weekends of   Memorial Day   (then called Decoration Day), the   Fourth of July , and   Labor Day . However, attendance fell off over the summer. The speedway’s management felt there had been too much racing, and the decision was made to do just one long race in 1911. The Fourth of July was considered, but Decoration Day was chosen for several reasons. The Decoration Day races had been the most successful of the 1910 season. Local farmers typically took a break in late May after “haying” (baling hay). Decoration Day was then a fixed holiday occurring on May 30. Because many people worked on Saturday, the first Indianapolis 500 was held on Decoration Day itself, which  occurred on a Tuesday in 1911 . Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Five hundred miles was chosen as the distance for the race because, based on the speed of racing automobiles in 1911, such a ...
Read more

Sekrata

Image
  Sekrata The  Sakalava  people, indigenous to  Madagascar , recognize the gender,  sekrata .  Sekrata  people have male sexual characteristics, but after displaying behavior viewed as feminine during childhood, they are raised as girls by their families.  Sekrata  adopt a feminine appearance in styling their hair and wearing jewelry. As adults, they inhabit a unique niche: they do not occupy traditionally male roles, like soldiering; instead, they undertake other responsibilities, like performing in ceremonies. The  sekrata  are widely accepted within Sakalava society. They are viewed as both sacred and protected by supernatural powers. Two-Spirit two-spirit people Kristina Padilla, a transgender, two-spirit, Apache/Cherokee person posing as part of National Trans Visibility March Day, Sacramento, California, October 2021. In the gender binary system, all people fit into one of two genders: man or woman. Critics often refute the pu...
Read more