Ranking the top 25 NHL players of the 21st century
Written by I Dig Sports
We have spent the past week counting down our list of the top 100 athletes of the 21st century and three NHL players made the list, starting with Sidney Crosby at No. 22 overall. We also voted on an overall top 25 just for the NHL.
Who else makes the list of some of the greatest NHL players of the 2000s?
1. Sidney Crosby, C
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest, two-time Richard Trophy, two-time Ross Trophy, two-time Hart Trophy, three-time Lindsay Award, three-time Stanley Cup champion (two-time Conn Smythe), 1,596 points (10th all-time)
Crosby's teammate Kris Letang recalled how, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against San Jose, Crosby vowed he and Letang would team-up on the "biggest goal" of the night. They wound up connecting for a game-winner that secured Pittsburgh's fourth Cup in franchise history. Letang was understandably stunned by Crosby's fortune-telling prowess on such a large stage. But Crosby impresses in the smaller moments, too. Former linemate Conor Sheary recalled Crosby assuring him when they were paired together that Sheary was "there for a reason and to play my game." It was the sort of calming presence Sheary needed and a gesture from Crosby he's never forgotten. -- Kristen Shilton
2. Alex Ovechkin, RW
Key accomplishments: Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest, Stanley Cup champion (Conn Smythe), 2nd all-time w/ 853 goals, NHL-record 312 PPG, nine-time Richard Trophy, three-time Hart Trophy and Lindsay Award, '06 Calder, '08 Ross.
There isn't a player in the NHL that's commanded a slapshot like Ovechkin in his career. Even if Father Time has begun catching up in some areas, the pure power behind his signature shot remains. Ovechkin's success scoring 853 goals (to date) has come in large part because of how he uses a big frame (6-foot-2) to add velocity and power behind a shot that can exceed 100 miles per hour. When Ovechkin puts his weight behind a puck -- particularly from his favorite right-circle spot -- it's a howitzer for any goalie to stop. No wonder so many have failed to keep Ovi from lighting the lamp. -- Shilton
3. Connor McDavid, C
Key accomplishments: Five-time Art Ross Trophy winner, three-time Hart Trophy winner, seven 100-point seasons in first nine NHL seasons, 2024 Conn Smythe winner.
It could be daunting to be touted as The Next One behind Edmonton Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky. McDavid isn't like the rest, though. Edmonton's captain has embraced that spotlight as Gretzky's heir apparent. It was fitting when McDavid broke a record Gretzky set in 1987-88 with his 32nd assist of the 2024 postseason during Edmonton's run to a Stanley Cup Final. McDavid had long been an exceptional playmaker in his own right, but the way he carried the Oilers back from a 3-0 series deficit in the Final to force a decisive Game 7 was spectacular. And it rightly earned McDavid a Conn Smythe Trophy in the losing effort. -- Shilton
Check out some of the best goals that have come from NHL superstar Connor McDavid over the course of his career.
4. Patrick Kane, LW
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), 2007 Calder, 2012 Smythe, 2015 Ross, 2015 Hart, three-time Stanley Cup Champion
A nine-time NHL All-Star Game participant, Kane won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane's goal-scoring exploits made him one of the game's most dangerous players as a well as one of the NHL's most prominent faces. In 2016, he became the first American-born player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and ranks third all-time among U.S. players in points. -- Ryan Clark
5. Nicklas Lidstrom, D
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), seven-time Norris winner, 2002 Conn Smythe winner, four-time Stanley Cup champ, Hockey HOF in 2015
Lidstrom's career had several touch points. He was part of four Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Norris Trophy for the league's best defenseman seven times and became a model that many of today's defensemen look to emulate.-- Clark
6. Nathan MacKinnon, C
Key accomplishments: Three-time 40-goal scorer, two 100-point seasons, 2013-14 Calder Trophy winner, 2022 Stanley Cup Champion
Goals, playmaking, speed and power. Those have allowed MacKinnon to emerge into one of the NHL's superstars as he sits a 101-point season shy of 1,000 career points while still just 28. With one Stanley Cup, the 2024 Hart Trophy winner will look to grab more in a career that could see him end up in the Hall of Fame. -- Clark
7. Martin Brodeur, G
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), NHL all-time leader in wins (691) and shutouts (125)
No goaltender in NHL history has more wins (691) and shutouts (125) than Brodeur. A nine-time NHL All-Star Game participant, he won four Vezina Trophies and guided the New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cups. -- Clark
8. Henrik Lundqvist, G
Key accomplishments: 2012 Vezina, ninth all-time in games played by goalie (887), 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee
Seventh-round picks don't always reach the NHL. Yet Lundqvist not only reached the league but became one of the best goaltenders of his generation. He would win 459 games and In 2012, won the Vezina Trophy for the league's best goaltender. -- Clark
9. Evgeni Malkin, C
Key accomplishments: 2012 Hart, two-time Art Ross, 2012 Ted Lindsay, 2009 Conn Smythe, 2007 Calder, three-time Stanley Cup Champion
Much like how Mario Lemieux had Jaromir Jagr, it was the same with Crosby having Malkin. Having a pair of generational centers helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups. Malkin was crucial to those titles, especially in 2009 when he won the Conn Smythe as the Penguins captured their first Cup of the Crosby-Malkin era. Malkin is also two goals away from 500 for his career and his four points shy of 1,300. -- Clark
10. Patrice Bergeron, C
Key accomplishments: Six-time Selke Trophy winner, third in Bruins history in career goals (427) and career points (1,040)
A Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins in 2011, Bergeron established himself as one of the NHL's best do-everything players. He won the Selke Trophy, the award for the NHL's premier defensive forward, a record six times while his 12 nominations are also an NHL record. -- Clark
11. Zdeno Chara, D
Key accomplishments: 2009 Norris, 2011 Stanley Cup winner, 1,680 games played (7th all-time), played 24 seasons (T-3rd most all-time)
At 6-foot-9, Chara was more than just the tallest player in NHL history. He developed into one of the best defensemen of his generation, which saw him receive six NHL All-Star Game appearances along with the Norris Trophy in 2009. Then, in 2011, he captained the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup since 1972. -- Clark
12. Steven Stamkos, C
Key accomplishments: Two-time Rocket Richard, 2022 Messier, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, 555 career goals is third most among active players
Being the No. 1 pick of any draft comes with hype, and Stamkos more than lived up to those expectations. A seven-time 40-goal scorer, Stamkos has averaged more than a point per game over a career that saw him captain the Tampa Bay Lightning to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and in 2021. Now, the two-time scoring champion will look to win another in his first season with the Nashville Predators. -- Clark
13. Leon Draisaitl, C
Key accomplishments: 2019-20 Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy Winner, three 50-goal seasons, five 100-point seasons
Draisaitl was drafted third in 2014 with the hope he could become a key player for the Oilers' future plans. Instead? He emerged into a second generational center alongside McDavid. A three-time 50-goal scorer, he's had more than 100 points in five of the past six seasons. In 2020, he won the Hart and Art Ross, which further cemented his status as one of the NHL's best contemporary players. -- Clark
14. Joe Thornton, C
Key accomplishments: 2006 Art Ross, 2006 Hart Trophy, T-third-most seasons played in NHL history (24), sixth-most games played in NHL history (1,714)
Forget the 430 goals he scored. Thornton's playmaking ability saw him finish his illustrious career with 1,109 assists. Just on that alone, he'd be 65th all-time in points. Only six players finished with more career assists in NHL history than Thornton, who walked away from the game as one of the sport's greatest playmakers. -- Shilton
15. Auston Matthews, C
Key accomplishments: Three-time Rocket Richard winner, 2016-17 Calder, 2021-22 Hart, first US-born player to score 60 goals (2x), 69 goals in 2023-24 (most since 1995-96)
Matthews has collected accolades at an awe-inspiring rate in his young career, putting him on track to be the greatest -- and most decorated -- Maple Leaf of all time. He's one of just two American-born players to ever win the Hart Trophy, was the first Leaf ever to earn a Ted Lindsay, has three scoring titles and a Calder Trophy. There are few feats Matthews hasn't been able to accomplish thus far. -- Shilton
16. Erik Karlsson, D
Key accomplishments: Three-time Norris Trophy winner (2012, 2015, 2023); Senators' career leader in assists (392) by defenseman; nine seasons with 40+ assists
Karlsson won his third Norris Trophy in 2023 after the kind of resurgent regular season no one predicted from a 33-year-old blueliner. Karlsson was the first defenseman to eclipse 100 points in a season since 1991-92 and became just the ninth player in NHL history to win the Norris three times. The fact he produced so exceptionally for a San Jose team that didn't qualify for the playoffs was all the more impressive. -- Shilton
17. Nikita Kucherov, LW
Key accomplishments: Two-time Stanley Cup Winner, four-time All-Star, two-time Art Ross Trophy, 2018-19 Hart Trophy
Only 10 days had passed after Tampa lost to Colorado in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and Kucherov was already on the ice preparing for next season. His teammate Ross Colton could barely believe it: "I thought, 'Wow, what is he doing?' And then you realize just how committed he is to the game through his work ethic," said Colton. "You see the result of the extra effort he puts in. He's always working on his craft." -- Shilton
18. Marc-Andre Fleury, G
Key accomplishments: 2021 Jennings, 2021 Vezina, three-time Stanley Cup Champion, fourth in games played by goalie in NHL history (1,025), second all-time in wins (561)
There's an elite circle of NHL goaltenders, and Fleury has earned his way among them. The long-time netminder is one of just three goalies to surpass 500 career wins, and one of four to ever dress in more than 1,000 games. He stands in those achievements with Hall of Fame talents Patrick Roy, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur. -- Shilton
19. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G
Key accomplishments: Four seasons of 35+ wins, 2019 Vezina Trophy winner, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy winner
One of Vasilevskiy's greatest strengths is his size -- at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he's a dominant presence in the crease. That stature also earned Vasilevskiy his "Big Cat" nickname because of the reflexes and remarkable flexibility he can wield even while clocking in as one of the NHL's largest goaltenders. It's what's helped turn Vasilevskiy into a Lightning legend. -- Shilton
20. Jarome Iginla, RW
Key accomplishments: Two-time Rocket Richard, 2002 Art Ross, 2002 Ted Lindsay, 2004 King Clancy, 2009 Messier, 2020 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee
It's possible Iginla was the last of his kind. The former Calgary Flames captain was a genuine power forward boasting a rare combination of assets -- he had elite skill and awesome strength, excellent vision and a scrapper's mentality. Iginla could fight as well as he could finish. There aren't many skaters in that mould and certainly almost no one did it all better than Iginla.-- Shilton
21. Anze Kopitar, C
Key accomplishments: Two-time Selke, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Kings franchise leader in goals, assist and points, top 5 in assists and points among active players
Kopitar has been the captain and face of the LA Kings' franchise for good reason. He's one of just six NHL players to ever score 400 or more goals for the team that drafted them, and he's one of just two players (the other being NHL legend Gordie Howe) to ever lead a team in scoring for at least 15 seasons. LA might never have expected that sort of production when it drafted a 17-year-old from Slovenia. -- Shilton
22. Pavel Datsyuk, C
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), three-time Selke winner, four-time Lady Byng winner, two-time Stanley Cup Champ, Triple Gold Club
The Red Wings' stalwart never won a Hart Trophy or a Ted Lindsay. But Datsyuk also never failed to amaze the players he went up against night after night: "He's just one of those players who is special," said Marian Hossa. "He is sick defensively. I think he's the best in the world at stealing the puck. To watch him is fun. Sometimes when you have the puck and he steals it from you, you just have to laugh because of how easy he made it look." -- Shilton
23. Duncan Keith, D
Key accomplishments: NHL 100 Greatest (2017), third-time Cup Winner, two-time Norris Trophy winner, 2015 Conn Smythe winner
What Keith did for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014-15 was something special -- he not only won his second Norris Trophy after a tremendous regular season but was also the unanimous choice for the Conn Smythe Trophy after averaging over 31 minutes per night to lead Chicago to a Stanley cup title. -- Shilton
24. Victor Hedman, D
Key accomplishments: 2018 Norris, 2020 Conn Smythe, six-time All-Star, two-time Stanley Cup Champion, 5th in Tampa Bay career pts (728)
There are not many pages of the Tampa history books that Hedman hasn't etched his name on. He's the first defenseman to ever play more than 1,000 games in a Lightning uniform, is the organization's highest-scoring blueliner and he's among a handful of defenders to ever win multiple Stanley Cup titles, a Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe honors. -- Shilton
25. Jonathan Quick, G
Key accomplishments: Career leader in wins (393) and shutouts (60) among U.S.-born goaltenders, two-time Stanley Cup Champion
Quick may have moved on from the LA Kings, but there's no question he left an indelible mark on the franchise after winning two championships there in 2012 and 2014: "He wears his heart on his sleeve," recalled former teammate Drew Doughty. "He can control his emotions, but he shows them to us, that's something that has always pushed us, how competitive he is and how badly he wants to win games and not lose. That's helped carry our team to success in the past." -- Shilton
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