Input Sought: The Top 36 Hockey Players of All Time

by Jes

Joe Pelletier, the Legends of Hockey Blogger, is asking for input on the Top 36 Hockey Players of all time.

Now, I can barely rank my favourite Spice Girls, let along hockey players, but I can provide SOME input. Perhaps some of you can as well, so leave comments here or over at Joe's site.

Here is a sample list he provides ...
"

1. The Pantheon - Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr. One could make a good case for any one of these gentlemen to be in the #1 spot, but nobody comes close to these three players.

2. Gordie Howe - Mr. Hockey is a definite #4. Longevity, dominance, and forever changing the way the game was played by introducing the Power Forward concept.

3. Tretiak and Kharlamov are out. The only evidence we have is the games they played on a loaded 'amateur' Russian team against the rest of the world. I realize that this list doesn't have to be exclusively NHL players, but I don't believe there is sufficient evidence to show that these two belong. If we are to add Russians, I'd be more comfortable with the likes of Fetisov and Larionov (Though he is far from the Top 36 of all-time).

4. The list will be skewed towards the current generation. Not only do we have more familiarity with the players of the past 20 years, but the NHL, and hockey world-wide, has expanded over the past 2-3 decades. There are simply a lot more skilled players to choose from.

5. Rank the positions first, and then combine them. If you think Patrick Roy is a better goalie than John Vanbiesbrouck, than Roy shouldn't be behind the Beezer in your master list.

6. I can scratch off a few players easily from the list above: Chris Chelios (good, but not nearly one of the elite), Ted Lindsay (great support player, but not one of the very best), and Bob Clarke, who is notorious and nefarious, but not at all elite.

7. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. If you make a Top 10 or top list of anything, you better not have any doubts about something belonging there. If you feel that Brett Hull shouldn't be there, automatically scratch him off.

8. Ranking the goalies first, I'd go with Hasek, Plante, Roy, Dryden, Hall, Brodeur, and Bill Durnan.

9. Defenseman? Orr, Bourque, Lidstrom, Harvey, Potvin, Coffey, MacInnis, Stevens, and Red Kelly.

10. Forwards? That's a bit too busy for me, but I would consider Bryan Trottier and Pavol Demitra ;)

Once that is done, start combining and formulating your lists. Everyone has their own opinion, so hardly anyone will agree on the same list of players.

The NBA is in Trouble? Good! Now is the NHL's Chance to Shine!

by Jes

I am sure that I wasn't the only hockey fan that was filled with glee over this NBA/Donaghy/Point-shaving scandal. In case you haven't heard, some dumb ref called a lot of fouls to affect the scores of certain games, all to help some bookies make money on betting on games.

Of course, now the NBA is under an intense firestorm of criticism and backlash that it wants no part of. Whoever said that no publicity could ever be bad would obviously be wrong about this situation. The NBA has taken a Brad May shot to the head that it may take years to recover from.

Now that the very integrity of NBA games is at stake (Does anyone seriously believe that only one ref was doing this?), and the NFL is under fire for Michael Vick's dog-fighting activities and crime culture, and the MLB has this whole Barry Bonds/steroids cloud over its head, this is the perfect time for the NHL to capitalize on the misfortune of these other leagues.

For years and years, we know the NHL has been dumped on by the American mainstream media for being violent, irrelevant, etc etc etc... With all of the 'bad news' being reported these days, the worst thing that NHL has against it is the Staal brothers getting a bit too jolly at a bachelor party.
(No, Mirtle, most people don't give a rat's ass about Operation Slapshot. The media might, the league might, but fans do not)

Of course, this NBA scandal will lead to the question of how above-the-level the NHL refs are. Over at The FanHouse, I have an in-depth look at why it would be near-impossible for the NHL to ever face this kind of scandal.

The NHL has worked very hard to improve and standardize their officiating. As much as we might want to wring the neck of Kerry Fraser, we can be assured that an NHL game would never be fixed in quite this matter without it being discovered.

With the other leagues reeling in bad publicity, I'd like to see the NHL capitalize. How? I'm not sure, but promoting the integrity of its referees, the players, and the sport would be a good start. Hell, even a TV commercial where the refs are like "Unlike certain other leagues, we don't believe in fixing games" would be a huge slap to the face of the NHL and totally get the NHL some much-needed attention.

I just hope that all of this darkness in the sports world doesn't negatively affect the NHL as a side effect. If people get turned off of sports, on a mass scale, it could affect the NHL if people just decide to ignore pro sport altogether.

So, NHL, now is the time to rise above the sludge and come out like a white dove.