Top 10 players in the world today

[Guest SidneyCrosby]

Alright i was listening to the postgame show with Art Regner and they did the dave tippet news conference and Tippet said the Red wings have 3 of the top 10 players in the world RIGHT NOW in Lidstrom Datsyuk and Zetterberg. My buddy and me were debating this and i wanted to get your guys thoughts. My top 10 in order are:

1. Alex Ovechkin

2. Nick Lidstrom

3. Evgeni Malkin

4. Henrik Zetterberg

5. Pavel Datsyuk

6. Sidney Crosby

7. Illya Kovalchuck

8. Roberto Luongo

9. Joe Thorton

10. Jerome Iginla

[GSBrooks13 204]

1. Ovechkin - The guy is unbelievable.. Never seems to lose a battle or give up on a play and can score with the best ever..

2. Lidstrom - Best defensemen past or present.

3. Malkin - His combination of scoring and playmaking makes him more dangerous than almost any current player.

4. Crosby - Not my favourite player but you can not deny the facts and the facts are that he is one of the best players in the league today.

5. Datsyuk - The combination of scoring ability and the ability to create plays combined with the fact he is the best defensive forward in the league.. that makes him top 5 in my books..

6. Zetterberg - Can score, set up plays and plays great defensivley, hardly ever seems to make a mistake..

7. Iginla - Great scorer and leader. Can take over a game when he needs to.

8. Brodeur - Might have looked a little off lately but is still the best goalie in the league.

9. Luongo - Simply put.. if he played for a better team he would be winning the vezina this year.

10. Thornton - Nearly unstopable when he is motivated. One of the best set up men in the league.

[toby91_ca 620]

Just because you don't agree with him doesn't mean he's biased.

No, but being a Wings fan (which I'm assuming he is) makes him biased. It is "impossible" not to be biased when talking about players on your favourite team.

I try to be as unbiased as possible, sometimes to the point of being negative against Wings players (everyone is that way sometimes though I think). But as unbiased as I try to be, there is no denying that you cannot be totally unbiased when you have a vested interest.

[Datsyerberger 279]

No, but being a Wings fan (which I'm assuming he is) makes him biased. It is "impossible" not to be biased when talking about players on your favourite team.

I try to be as unbiased as possible, sometimes to the point of being negative against Wings players (everyone is that way sometimes though I think). But as unbiased as I try to be, there is no denying that you cannot be totally unbiased when you have a vested interest.

Oh, I'm certainly a Wings fan, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of an unobjective analysis. I knew it was a granted and even said so in my posts that, once I reached my decisions, I knew they were going to make me look like a homer, even if they held up both statistically and realistically. I'm willing to live with that, I think everyone acknowledges how close and difficult of a decision it is. It is important to note that I based my decision off of how good they are RIGHT NOW and thus relied largely on their statistical performances this season. I'm not going to rate Malkin higher than Iginla just because he seems to have more potential when Iginla is clearly putting up all-around better numbers for the time being. That is why the Wings players ended up where they are.. because right now, those top 3 Wings have individually out performed everyone on the list this season (though Zetterberg/Ovechkin/Iginla could easily be argued as a tie for 3rd).

I'll say it again:

Hockey is probably the only sport where you can claim that 2 or 3 of the best players in the league are players on the most dominant team.. and be called a homer for it.

[eva unit zero 271]

The Wings have three of the world's six best players; Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Datsyuk.

The other three spots go to Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin.

I would probably rank them in this order:

1) Lidstrom

2) Ovechkin

3) Zetterberg

4) Crosby

5) Datsyuk

6) Malkin

The members will remain the same, and Lidstrom is likely to remain in first, but if you ask me on a different day I will likely put 2-6 in a different order completely. It's really that close between those five guys. All of them could be #2 or #6.

[VM1138 1,921]

I hate to sound like a homer, but I think Dats and Zetterberg are better than Malkin, and Crosby is better than Malkin.

Don't get me wrong, he's a scoring beast, but Dats, Z, and Crosby are all better all-around players.

Well, if you rank Lidstrom, Dats, Z, Crosby, Ovie, and Malkin in the top 6 like most people have, that means 5 of the top 6 players in the world will be showcased in the Stanley Cup Finals this year.

Badass.

Edited May 20, 2008 by VM1138

[2forinterferance 0]

1. Alex Ovechkin

2. Nick Lidstrom

3. Sidney Crosby

4. Evgeni Malkin

5. Henrik Zetterberg

6. Jarome Iginla

7. Ilya Kovalchuk

8. Vinny Lecavalier

9. Roberto Luongo

10. Pavel Datsyuk

[dallas27 7]

Crosby and co. may be better offensive players (and in the "new" NHL that is what it's all about) but I feel it would be hard pressed to say that they are better complete hockey players than Datsyuk and Hank.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Alright i was listening to the postgame show with Art Regner and they did the dave tippet news conference and Tippet said the Red wings have 3 of the top 10 players in the world RIGHT NOW in Lidstrom Datsyuk and Zetterberg. My buddy and me were debating this and i wanted to get your guys thoughts. My top 10 in order are:

1. Alex Ovechkin

2. Nick Lidstrom

3. Evgeni Malkin

4. Henrik Zetterberg

5. Pavel Datsyuk

6. Sidney Crosby

7. Illya Kovalchuck

8. Roberto Luongo

9. Joe Thorton

10. Jerome Iginla

I moved to have your list thrown out the second I saw Zetterberg's name above Datsyuk's. You don't make the game look as simple as Datsyuk does and you don't make everyone around you stare in bewilderment at what you are capable of doing without being one of the top 3 forwards in the galaxy. Oh, and Z ain't half bad either.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

The Wings have three of the world's six best players; Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Datsyuk.

The other three spots go to Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin.

I would probably rank them in this order:

1) Lidstrom

2) Ovechkin

3) Zetterberg

4) Crosby

5) Datsyuk

6) Malkin

The members will remain the same, and Lidstrom is likely to remain in first, but if you ask me on a different day I will likely put 2-6 in a different order completely. It's really that close between those five guys. All of them could be #2 or #6.

Nice save Eva, I was about to thrash you on your Z and Dats rankings!

[Doggy 130]

I moved to have your list thrown out the second I saw Zetterberg's name above Datsyuk's. You don't make the game look as simple as Datsyuk does and you don't make everyone around you stare in bewilderment at what you are capable of doing without being one of the top 3 forwards in the galaxy. Oh, and Z ain't half bad either.

WTF???

[norrisnick 1]

GST has a hardon for Pasha's dangle. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Vincanni 1]

Odd how many of you place Lidstrom #1 or #2 and yet not another defense men on the list. Forwards are always so ridiculously overrated compared to the efforts of the defense men.

[Dano33 41]

1. Alex Ovechkin

2. Nick Lidstrom

3. Sidney Crosby

4. Evgeni Malkin

5. Henrik Zetterberg

6. Jarome Iginla

7. Ilya Kovalchuk

8. Vinny Lecavalier

9. Roberto Luongo

10. Pavel Datsyuk

Please explain why you have Datsyuk below Kovalchuk

[Datsyerberger 279]

Please explain why you have Datsyuk below Kovalchuk

KOVALCHUK SCORED TEH MOAR GOALZ!!11one

[Datsyerberger 279]

Odd how many of you place Lidstrom #1 or #2 and yet not another defense men on the list. Forwards are always so ridiculously overrated compared to the efforts of the defense men.

I think my list is the only one that included not only more than 1, but 3 defensemen (not to toot my own horn or anything >_>). I also made sure to give forwards with immense defensive talent credit where due--which is why Dats, Zets, and Iggy are all in my top 5.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Mikael Samuelson

Jamie Pushor

Andreas Lilja

after that its debatable

[Graybeard 0]

I think my list is the only one that included not only more than 1, but 3 defensemen (not to toot my own horn or anything >_>). I also made sure to give forwards with immense defensive talent credit where due--which is why Dats, Zets, and Iggy are all in my top 5.

You're fighting a losing battle dude. The makers of these lists in general have a hardon for pure goal scorers. We all know that cups are decided by defense. D and Z will never get their due (even from a lot of Wings fans)and you'll just be called a homer by people with dreams of flashing red lights in their heads.

If I had to pick any two players to lead a team to the cup, right here right now, throwing out all thoughts about future potential and all that, Z and D are the top picks to take you there hands down. Z is tied in scoring with Crosby and in every other aspect of the game he is just on a whole different lvl. Malkin is a scoring machine, but once again, Dats is right up there and beats him in every other aspect.

It's all based on your own opinion but I think that anyone who pushes these two guys down the list because someone else has a few more goals than them is thinking one dimensionally.

It seems funny that someone would have a complaint about the top three on a guys list being all Wings. You think maybe there's a reason we've been the dominant team in the league for almost two decades now?

Come to think of it though. I'm glad they are overlooked so much. If they were ever given the credit they were due someone else would have scooped them up long before we got em with our lowly draft picks.

[Datsyerberger 279]

You're fighting a losing battle dude. The makers of these lists in general have a hardon for pure goal scorers. We all know that cups are decided by defense. D and Z will never get their due (even from a lot of Wings fans)and you'll just be called a homer by people with dreams of flashing red lights in their heads.

If I had to pick any two players to lead a team to the cup, right here right now, throwing out all thoughts about future potential and all that, Z and D are the top picks to take you there hands down. Z is tied in scoring with Crosby and in every other aspect of the game he is just on a whole different lvl. Malkin is a scoring machine, but once again, Dats is right up there and beats him in every other aspect.

It's all based on your own opinion but I think that anyone who pushes these two guys down the list because someone else has a few more goals than them is thinking one dimensionally.

It seems funny that someone would have a complaint about the top three on a guys list being all Wings. You think maybe there's a reason we've been the dominant team in the league for almost two decades now?

Come to think of it though. I'm glad they are overlooked so much. If they were ever given the credit they were due someone else would have scooped them up long before we got em with our lowly draft picks.

Oh, I'm with ya there. I know I'm fighting a losing battle, I make that rather clear in some of my previous posts in this thread... goalscoring and point totaling will always be the standout statistic in almost any major sport. It's the easiest contribution for any casual fan to see. Judging and validating defense takes more knowledge. I could flip to some basketball and after watching a couple of games, tell you who's a hot s*** forward by how many goals they score, but I'd have a much, much harder time telling you the best defensive players.

I'm quite glad they're overlooked as well, heh.

[Doggy 130]

KOVALCHUK SCORED TEH MOAR GOALZ!!11one

Aaaaahahahaha!!!

That's great. I just imagine some bug dumb guy with cross-eyes, a lisp and crumbs on his face saying it and laugh. Someone perhaps, like Milo Kerrigan:

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[poxer 0]

My top 10 in order:

1. Lidstrom

2. Ovechkin

3. Datsyuk

4. Zetterberg

5. Crosby

6. Malkin

7. Thorton

8. Iginla

9. Chara

10. Kovalchuk

My list carries only 2 defensemen and 2 two-way players. I can't think of any other D's that deserve to be on top 10. Give Phaneuf a few years and he can be up in top 10 in my book any day.

Edited May 21, 2008 by poxer

[timsummers 0]

1. Sidney Crosby (Can't forget the 120 point season last year. He'd have a repeat if it wasn't for the injury.)

2. Alex Ovechkin (The guy can score, no doubt about it.)

3. Evgeni Malkin (He was second in the league in scoring with 106 points and 47 goals.)

4. Nicholas Lindstrom (Doesn't need explained.)

5. Henrik Zetterberg (Close to Malkin, 92 points and 43 goals.)

6. Pavel Datsyuk

7. Martin Brodeur (He should always be mentioned in the top 10.)

8. Illya Kovalchuck

9. Jerome Iginla

10. Roberto Luongo

Maybe a little Pens bias, but they do have the stats to prove it. I think Malkin will turn out to be the best player in the league down the road though. If he didn't have to share ice with Crosby (unlike Ovechkin), he'd beat out Ovechkin every season.

lol.

[Frozen-Man 144]

Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin are on the same level..

Ovechkin is the best shooter.

Crosby is the best playmaker.

Malkin is combination of both, better shooter than Crosby, better playmaker than Ovechkin. He is the best player atm imho.

Then Heatley, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Iginla, Thornton, Kovalchuk, Hossa, Gaborik, Lecavalier..

No Lidstrom?

[Reds4Life 51]

No Lidstrom?

I only considered forwards. No defenseman.

Of course that Lidstrom is the best player in the World.

[eva unit zero 271]

Nice save Eva, I was about to thrash you on your Z and Dats rankings!

I don't see why; Z is the better player at both ends of the rink. Not by much, and not every night...but overall yes.