Top-12 Players By Position

[Meathead 0]

I searched and didn't see a thread like this. List your top-12 players at each position.

I took everything into consideration (injury proness, consistancy, etc.)

Centres

1. Brad Richards- He may not put up points like Spezza and Thornton, but he is a leader, plays both ends of the ice, and puts out in the playoffs.

2. Eric Staal- Already lead the playoffs in scoring and lead team to a Stanley Cup (Crosby or Ovechkin won't be doing this in their second year). Needs to play a little better defensivly and prove he's a leader before I put him over Richards though.

3. Peter Forsberg- If he didn't get hurt so much he would be #1, no doubt.

4. Joe Sakic- Still has the best wristshot in the league. And now with Yzerman and Stevens gone, he may be the best captain in the league.

5. Joe Thornton- He may not be great in the playoffs, yet, but you can't overlook 96 assists. That's getting close to Wayne Gretzky type of numbers.

6. Sidney Crosby- I can't say that I'm a huge fan, but the kid hustles and has the skills.

7. Vincent Lecavalier- Some of the sickest moves in the league and plays defense and hits more than I thought he would coming into the league.

8. Mike Modano- The combonation of size, stickhandling, and skating made him one of the best American players ever. He's already turned his game to a more defensive one much like Yzerman did late in his career.

9. Jason Spezza- Maybe the most talented player in the league. But he doesn't hit or play defense, something I put a premium on.

10. Mats Sundin- Consistancy. A great leader. One of the few European players I like.

11. Olli Jokinen- I don't like him, but he's solid.

12. Scott Gomez- Does it all.

Best of the rest:

John Madden- One of the best defensive players in the league and still maintains decent offensive numbers.

Patrick Marleau- Great skater, has never showed true potential yet.

Daniel Briere- Even at his size, at points in the game he can take control.

Jason Arnott- Great comeback year.

Brian Rolston- Good year offensivly.

Left Wingers

1. Patrik Elias- Best all-around left winger in the league. Great shot, has performed in the playoffs, respectable defensive play, and a team player.

2. Henrik Zetterberg- I usually really don't like Swede hockey players but Zetterberg can shoot and pass with the best of them plus is a great two-way player.

3. Alexander Ovechkin- Most exciting player in the league already.

4. Simon Gagne- Forsberg inflated his stats this year, but he's great offensivly and underatted defensivly.

5. Ryan Smyth- Showed in the playoffs what he can do.

6. Markus Naslund- Had an off-year with 32 goals.

7. Ilya Kovalchuk- Has all the skills but doesn't play defense. Maybe best offensive player in the league but if I'm building a team Kovalchuk is one of the last players I would want to build around despite his abilities.

8. Dany Heatley- He used to play with a little grit, but it disappeared. Can't beat his shot from anywhere inside the blueline though.

9. Erik Cole- With his size and skating, he could be better than he is.

10. Darcy Tucker- This may get some arguments but hear me out. How many other players scored 28 goals, was one of the biggest pests in the league, and still only had 100 PIM's?

Best of the rest:

Brendan Morrow- Just love his game.

Rick Nash- 41 goals as a 19 year old. Top-10 pure goal scorers in the league. But has yet to show anything as far as intangables are concerned.

Brendan Shanahan- Not the power forward he used to be, but there aren't many players I'd rather have on my powerplay.

Paul Kariya- Fairly consistant offensive production, not as much as of a liability defensivly than other LW's, seems like an okay leader/team player.

Alex Tanguay- Not a big fan, but he's a good all-around player.

Right Wingers

1. Jarome Iginla- Scores, hits, fights. Does it all, had he had some linemates last season he would have had numbers that resemble how great he played.

2. Jaromir Jagr- Pretty much lead the Rags to the playoffs singlehandedly but he doesn't play defense or hits at all. He rarely falls, but when he does he usually gets hurt.

3. Marian Hossa- Very consistant. Great shot. Never going to win a Selke, but he's fairly okay as far as two-way play is concerned.

4. Marian Gaborik- Great set of tools, I'd bet he'll score 50 goals this in 06-07.

5. Teemu Selanne- Always was great offensivly, but he's finally playing like a team player.

6. Jonathan Cheechoo- Thornton made him, but he still had to score the 56 goals.

7. Milan Hejduk- Can snipe with the best of them.

8. Todd Bertuzzi- I still think he's the best pure power forward in the league. I expect 40 goals next year.

9. Daniel Alfredsson- Overatted.

10. Joffery Lupul- He's going to have a great year. Showed what he can do in spurts in the playoffs last year.

Best of the rest:

Jere Lehtinen- Used to be a great defensive forward. Still is good but I think he's forgotten what made him a multi-time Selke winner.

Brian Gionta- Great last year in the new NHL but his softness is overruling.

Ales Hemsky- Could be top-10 if he shot the damned puck once in a while.

Justin Williams- Played great in the playoffs.

Defensmen

1. Chris Pronger- Only defect is his skating.

2. Nicklas Lidstrom- If he hit something once in a while he'd be #1 easily.

3. Scott Neidermayer- I don't think he's in the Lidstrom/Pronger class like many do but he's undisputed #3 guy in the league.

4. Rob Blake- Still a great powerplay quarterback and still hits like a train.

5. Wade Redden- Very underatted.

6. Zdeno Chara- Although I don't like him, he is still 6'9, can shut down anyone, and can play good offensivly when he want to.

7. Joni Pitkanen- Unknown outside the hockey world, but he's great.

8. Dion Phaneuf- He should be #4 by the end of this season. I just can't rate him that high based on one season.

9. Robyn Regehr- One of the best defensive defensmen in the league.

10. Sergei Zubov- Great quarterback on the PP, super consistant.

11. Bryan McCabe- He isn't the defensive liability like some make him out to be.

12. Ed Jovanovski- Hits and scores.

13. Jay Bouwmeester- Will eventually be considered the second best defensmen in the league behind Phaneuf.

14. Colin White- Shut down.

15. Scott Hannan- Needs to be a little more consistant.

16. Tomas Kaberle- Poor man's Nicklas Lidstrom.

17. Mattias Ohlund- Good, but not great.

18. Darryl Sydor- Underatted. Does every good, not great.

19. Brian Rafalski- I'd love to put the hometown guy higher but he's kind of a wimp.

20. Brad Stuart- He's both underatted and overatted by some. Solid.

21. Matthieu Schneider- Benefited playing with Lidstrom a lot, but still better than most of the league.

22. Bryan Berard- Could have been the next Bobby Orr, thanks Marian Hossa.

23 and 24- Tons of guys here who are pretty equal. Boyle, Visnovsky, Timonen, Liles, Gonchar, Souray, Carney, Leetch, Morris, Jason Smith, Witt, Commodore. Probably more too.

Best of the rest:

Richard Matvichuk- One of the most underatted players in the league for a long time.

Goalers

1. Martin Brodeur- Top-5 goalie ever.

2. Miikka Kiprusoff- Was the best goalie last year.

3. Marty Turco- He wins games.

4. Roberto Luongo-

5. Ryan Miller- Don't like him but he's the reason the Sabres went as far as they did.

6. Jose Theodore- Took a lot of crap in Montreal, next year he will be back in Vezina form.

7. Dominik Hasek- #'s don't show how average he's been.

8. Curtis Joseph- Still one of the best.

9. Cam Ward- Could range anywhere from #5 to off the list, I haven't seen enough of him.

10. J.S. Giguere- Anaheim could have made the finals if he was in net all playoff long.

11. Henrik Lundqvist- I put a lot of stress on performing in the playoffs.

12. Tomas Vokoun- Consistant for the time he's been in the league.

Best of the rest:

Manny Legace- Detroit treated him like crap, he was there best player much of the year.

Marc-Andre Fleury- Pittsburgh treating him like crap, still plays hard every night.

Kari Lehtonen- Tons of potential.

Rick DiPietro- I like him a lot. Needs to play better consistantly.

Nikolai Khabibulin- Was #2 after he lead TB to cup but wow did he play bad last year.

Manny Fernandez- Product of MIN defense, but still above average.

[kosydar 0]

Here is why I know you're retarded. I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

[Meathead 0]

Here is why I know you're retarded. I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

Ok. I know you guys like to make sweet love to guys who only produce in the regular season and play like ferries, but I actually put emphisis on playoffs and physical play.

[kosydar 0]

I'd say something in response, but lets be real here for a minute: you're too stupid to understand anything that makes sense.

[Meathead 0]

I'd say something in response, but lets be real here for a minute: you're too stupid to understand anything that makes sense.

Ok. Then stop replying to everything I post.

[kosydar 0]

Can't, sorry. Its like my job.

[Chadd 916]

Here is why I know you're retarded.  I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

Ok. I know you guys like to make sweet love to guys who only produce in the regular season and play like ferries, but I actually put emphisis on playoffs and physical play.

Last warning. Next time you post something that stupid, you get banned.

[DEATHTRON 19]

How do you not have Dany Heatley rated above kovalchuk....or Gagne or Smyth. Heatley is the real deal when it comes to a winger. Is big enough to fight well for the puck, wicked shot and then some, but can easily change his play to accomodate guys like Kovalchuk. Plays better defense than Kovalchuk for sure, but still floats around to a degree....I could see Heatley being around #3 or two. He is not quite a complete package by himself, but give him a guy that can pass and its game over. Ovechkin obviously doesnt need any help putting up points....Elias was on a good line so he might be around the same area as Heatley.

Zach

Zach

[Meathead 0]

How do you not have Dany Heatley rated above kovalchuk....or Gagne or Smyth. Heatley is the real deal when it comes to a winger. Is big enough to fight well for the puck, wicked shot and then some, but can easily change his play to accomodate guys like Kovalchuk. Plays better defense than Kovalchuk for sure, but still floats around to a degree....I could see Heatley being around #3 or two. He is not quite a complete package by himself, but give him a guy that can pass and its game over. Ovechkin obviously doesnt need any help putting up points....Elias was on a good line so he might be around the same area as Heatley.

Zach

Zach

Well, I felt that since Heatley really hasn't played well defensivly since getting to Ottawa I would base Heatley and Kovalchuk based on pure offense. Kovalchuk, can take control of a game better than Heatley.

[mack 44]

Here is why I know you're retarded.  I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

Ok. I know you guys like to make sweet love to guys who only produce in the regular season and play like ferries, but I actually put emphisis on playoffs and physical play.

I prefer guys who play like tugboats.

[kosydar 0]

Whatever, I'll bite and do an abridged version.

Center-

1. Thornton

2. Forsberg

3. Sundin

4. Staal

Wingers-

1. Jagr

2. Iginla

3. Ovechkin

4. Kovalchuk

5. Zetterberg

6. Cheechoo

7. Naslund

8. Heatley

Defensemen

1. Lidstrom

2. Jovo

3. Pronger

4. Chara

5. Niedermeyer

6. Kaberle

7. Redden

8. Regher

Goalies

1. Luongo

2. Kipprusoff

3. Turco

4. Belfour

[Cavs019 708]

Smyth is not better than Kovalchuk, Naslund, and Heatley. He is a slop donkey with a crapload of grit, thats about it. Show me anyone who takes him over those three and I'll gladly frisbee one of my one90s at their head.

[jbyun04 7]

Smyth is not better than Kovalchuk, Naslund, and Heatley. He is a slop donkey with a crapload of grit, thats about it. Show me anyone who takes him over those three and I'll gladly frisbee one of my one90s at their head.

well said

as for your defensemen how does it make sense to have someone such as scott hannan whom you said to be inconsistent higher ranked than ohlund who is one of the most underrated consistent defensemen in the league?

[Eazy_b97 1]

Alright off the top of my head

Centers

1. Foppa

2. Staal

3. Thornton

4. Lecavalier

5. Crosby

6. Sakic

7. Richards

8. Sundin

9. Jokinen

10. Marleau

11. Datsyuk

12. Modano

Wingers

1. Jagr

2. Ovechkin

3. Elias

4. Iggy

5. Gaborik

6. Alfie (underrated)

7. Zetterberg

8. Hossa

9. Cheechoo

10. Kovalchuk

11. Nash

12. Drury

D-men

1. Pronger

2. Lidstrom

3. Jovo

4. Niedermayer (excluding international play)

5. Kaberle

6. Redden

7. Blake

8. Zubov

9. Pitkanen

10. Timmonen

11. McCabe

12. Andrei Markov

[Michael9 57]

Center

1-Forsberg

2-Thornton

3-Crosby

4-Staal

5-Sundin

6-Zetterberg

7-Richards

8-Sakic

9-Datsyuk

10-LeCavalier

11-Gomez

12-Jokinen or Marleau

Wingers

1-Jagr

2-Ovechkin

3-Elias

4-Iginla

5-Kovalchuk

6-Naslund

7-Nash

8-Heatley

9-Gaborik

10-Hossa

11-Alfredson

12-Gagne or Cheechoo

Defence

1-Lidstrom

2-Pronger

3-Niedermyer

4-Kaberle

5-Chara

6-Redden

7-Zubov

8-McCabe

9-Zidlicky

10-Phaneuf

11-Shnieder

12-Regher

goalie

1-Kipper

2-Luongo

2-Brodeur

4-Lunquist

5-Ward

6-Miller

7-Roloson

8-Fernandez

9-Vokoun

10-Turco

11-CuJo

12-Huet

[Patrick67 1]

Kosydar: You didn't even have Brodeur on your top5 list?

[althoma1 574]

Center:

1. Eric Staal

2. Peter Forsberg

3. Henrik Zetterberg

4. Joe Thornton

5. Brad Richards

6. Vincent Lecavalier

7. Daniel Briere

8. Joe Sakic

9. Mats Sundin

10. Patrick Marleau

11. Pavel Datsyuk

12. Sidney Crosby

Left Wing:

1. Alexander Ovechkin

2. Rick Nash

3. Simon Gagne

4. Alex Tanguay

5. Dany Heatley

6. Ilya Kovalchuk

7. Markus Naslund

8. Marian Gaborik

9. Patrik Elias

10. Steve Sullivan

11. Paul Kariya

12. Eric Cole

Right Wing:

1. Jaromir Jagr

2. Daniel Alfredsson

3. Marian Hossa

4. Teemu Selanne

5. Alex Kovalev

6. Ales Hemsky

7. Brian Gionta

8. Patrice Bergeron

9. Maxim Afinogenov

10. Pavol Demitra

11. Jarome Iginla

12. Jordan Cheechoo

Defence:

1. Nicklas Lidstrom

2. Wade Redden

3. Mathieu Schneider

4. Lubomir Visnovsky

5. Sergei Zubov

6. Scott Niedermayer

7. Zdeno Chara

8. Marek Zidlicky

9. Joni Pitkanen

10. Andrei Markov

11. Tomas Kaberle

12. Chris Pronger

Goalies:

1. Miikka Kiprusoff

2. Henrik Lundqvist

3. Roberto Luongo

4. Tomas Vokoun

5. Ryan Miller

6. Martin Brodeur

7. Manny Legace

8. Jean-Sebastien Giguere

9. Cristobal Huet

10. Cam Ward

11. Manny Fernandez

12. Ilya Bryzgalov

[Sniper15 0]

Whatever, I'll bite and do an abridged version.

Center-

1. Thornton

2. Forsberg

3. Sundin

4. Staal

Wingers-

1. Jagr

2. Iginla

3. Ovechkin

4. Kovalchuk

5. Zetterberg

6. Cheechoo

7. Naslund

8. Heatley

Defensemen

1. Lidstrom

2. Jovo

3. Pronger

4. Chara

5. Niedermeyer

6. Kaberle

7. Redden

8. Regher

Goalies

1. Luongo

2. Kipprusoff

3. Turco

4. Belfour

Belfour at #4?

[McCabe24 0]

Centers:

1. Thornton

2. Forsberg

3. Staal

4. Lecavalier

5. Sundin

6. Crosby

7. Marleau

8. Gomez

9. Richards

10. Datsyuk

11. Spezza

12. Briere

Wingers:

1. Jagr

2. Ovechkin

3. Iginla

4. Elias

5. Kovalchuk

6. Heatley

7. Hossa

8. Gagne

9. Zetterberg

10. Gaborik

11. Alfie

12. Cheechoo

Defencemen:

1. Pronger

2. Lidstrom

3. Niedermayer

4. Jovonovski

5. Redden

6. Zubov

7. Karbele

8. Regher

9. Blake

10. McCabe

11. Chara

12. Ohlund

Goalies:

1. Kiprusoff

2. Luongo

3. Brodeur

4. Turco

5. Vokoun

6. Lundqvist

7. Miller

8. Nabokov

9. Giguere

10. Roloson

11. Ward

12. Khabibulan

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Here is why I know you're retarded.  I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

Ok. I know you guys like to make sweet love to guys who only produce in the regular season and play like ferries, but I actually put emphisis on playoffs and physical play.

If you put emphasis on playoffs, Kovalev has to be in your right wing group.

[McCabe24 0]

Canadian Made is the exact opposite of you, no way does he even respect Kovalev for what he does bring to a team.

[kosydar 0]

Here is why I know you're retarded.  I read the first category (probably a mistake) and you have the league MVP as the 5th best player at his position.

Ok. I know you guys like to make sweet love to guys who only produce in the regular season and play like ferries, but I actually put emphisis on playoffs and physical play.

If you put emphasis on playoffs, Kovalev has to be in your right wing group.

I was surprised to see how much higher Kovy's PPG is in the playoffs than in the regular season.

[EBondo 233]

I'll take a stab at this...

Centers

1. Peter Forsberg

2. Joe Thornton

3. Eric Staal

4. Sidney Crosby

5. Jason Spezza

6. Joe Sakic

Left Wingers

1. Alexander Oveckin

2. Dany Heatley

3. Markus Naslund

4. Ilya Kovalchuk

5. Henrik Zetterberg

6. Simon Gagne

Right Wingers

1. Jaromir Jagr

2. Jarome Iginla

3. Daniel Alfredsson

4. Jonathan Cheechoo

5. Brian Gionta

6. Marian Hossa

Defense

1. Chris Pronger

2. Niklas Lidstrom

3. Scott Niedermayer

4. Bryan McCabe

5. Ed Jovonovski

6. Joni Pitkanen

Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur

2. Miikka Kiprusoff

3. Cam Ward

4. Marty Turco

5. Roberto Luongo

6. Ilya Bryzgalov

[LetsGoWings13 0]

Your list is fairly accurate I dont agree with alot of things but I cant get over the fact you say that brodeur is one of the top 5 goalies ever. I think there are many goalies who out play him while not having the amazing team he has had to play with. Look at luongo while he was playing with florida he got a TON of shots tooken at him and still kept his team in the game to be able to stop that many shots with no support is just amazing.

[EBondo 233]

Your list is fairly accurate I dont agree with alot of things but I cant get over the fact you say that brodeur is one of the top 5 goalies ever. I think there are many goalies who out play him while not having the amazing team he has had to play with. Look at luongo while he was playing with florida he got a TON of shots tooken at him and still kept his team in the game to be able to stop that many shots with no support is just amazing.

I would keep Brodeur at number 1, just because throughout his career, he has consistently put up fantastic numbers. All-defense or not, he still puts up fantastic numbers. Perhaps I would change the order a little to something like:

1. Brodeur

2. Kipper

3. Roberto Luongo

4. Marty Turco

5. Cam Ward (mainly on the fact he's a rookie)

6. Ilya Bryzgalov

I'd like to think my list is one of the most accurate so far. haha