It’s one thing to rank players by skill, scoring, Stanley Cups or individual awards, it’s quite another to determine their importance to the NHL—and the game—as a whole. Here we’ve done exactly that.
It’s not a precise science, but a decade after “Sid the Kid” and Ovie became shining lights for a league coming out of its darkest hour, we set ourselves the task of determining who will carry that torch this season and beyond. We’ve taken into account their abilities and achievements, but also the markets they play in and franchises they play for, on- and off-ice earnings, celebrity status, legacies carved out or those still being created and more.
Through this week, we’ll release the top 50 most important players, ranked by Sportsnet Magazine. Today, we reveal players 40-31.
See also:
Players 50-41
Players 40-31
Players 30-21
20. EVGENI MALKIN
Only Crosby has scored more points-per-hour the past three seasons. With a Cup, a Calder, a Conn Smythe, two scoring titles, a Hart and a Ted Lindsay Award, the 29-year-old is well worth his cap hit—fourth highest in the league—and is integral to the success of the Penguins.
19.PATRICE BERGERON
The poster boy for analytics devotees is arguably the most important player for one of the NHL’s most important franchises. He’s charismatic (see his NHL 15 commercials) and a Team Canada fixture.
18. ERIK KARLSSON
In a small market with a rich fan base, the Sens’ dynamic captain is both the present and the future.
17. CLAUDE GIROUX
The Flyers are the league’s seventh-most-valuable franchise, and Giroux is the engine that powers them. The 27-year-old has the ninth-highest cap hit in the NHL and the 16th-best points-per-hour mark over the past three years.
16. ANZE KOPITAR
A year ago, Wayne Gretzky called Kopitar the third-best player in the game behind Crosby and Toews. He’s a national hero in Slovenia, a two-way dynamo who ranks seventh in 5-on-5 CF% since 2007 and has led the Kings in scoring for eight straight seasons. The pending UFA plays in a massive market for a Western powerhouse.
15. DION PHANEUF
The captain of the NHL’s No. 1–valued franchise ($1.3 billion according to Forbes’s 2014 rankings) is also the Leafs’ most polarizing figure. What happens with the team’s highest-paid player this season will go a long way toward defining it on the ice and off. When the Leafs are good, it’s good for the whole league; when they’re not, everyone suffers.
14. MARK GIORDANO
If last season’s playoff darlings are going to be for real, their captain must again be their best player.
13. CAREY PRICE
Montreal is the NHL’s third-most-valuable franchise, and Price—the best player in the world last season—is key to its success on the ice. He is also Canada’s goaltender for the foreseeable future.
12. ZDENO CHARA
The Bruins captain is big—both literally and figuratively. The six-foot-nine perennial Norris Trophy candidate is the face of a franchise that’s top-10 in overall value, market size and residents’ average income. He’s a big earner and an activist. Chara’s also a trailblazer—he’s the blueprint for how to succeed on the ice with those long limbs. Here’s how he does it. –Kristina Rutherford
With long legs, you might overstride the shorter guy’s steps. If he makes a fake move and you overextend yourself, you’ll be out of balance and way out of position because of your long legs. You have to make shorter strides to be able to turn and react to the shorter players.”
It’s all about the feet, the quickness and how you’re able to use your long legs to make smaller and shorter strides.”
You don’t want to be overreaching with your stick—that creates a big triangle underneath where an opposing player can move and pass the puck. Use your reach in situations you need to, and when you don’t, keep the stick close to your body so you can always be poking pucks away.”
11. JACK EICHEL
The most hyped No. 2 pick since Daniel Sedin in 1999, Eichel arrives in Buffalo as the saviour for a team with a ton of fans and an owner with deep pockets. If all goes according to plan, he’ll be the next face of USA Hockey.
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