Sportsnet Top 50 Players for 09-10

[Carman 387]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/09/21/...top50_players/#

1. Crosby

2. Ovechkin

3. Malkin

4. Louongo

5. Getzlaf

6. Datsyuk

7. Zetterberg

8. Iginla

9. Chara

10. Pronger

11. Parise

12. Ward

13. D. Sedin

14. Lecavalier

15. E. Staal

16. Heatley

17. Kiprusoff

18. Lundqvist

19. J. Carter

20. Bouwmeester

21. Savard

22. Hossa

23. Alfredsson

24. Toews

25. Kovalchuck

26. St.Louis

27. Lidstrom

28. Havlat

29. Backstrom (caps)

30. Nabakov

31. H. Sedin

32. R. Nash

33. Semin

34. Thomas

35. Green

36. Weber

37. Hemsky

38. B. Ryan

39. MA Fleury

40. M. Richards

41. Thorton

42. Vanek

43. Spezza

44. Doan

45. Phaneuf

46. Franzen

47. Perry

48. Brodeur

49. S. Niedermayer

50. Gaborik

How many things are wrong with that list in your eyes? Also what do you think about he rational over the top 3? I cannot even begin to explain some of the places he put people.

[b.shanafan14 733]

This list is terrible. Crosby above Malkin and Ovechkin? Lidstrom worse than 26 other players including Bouwmeester on D? Franzen better than Brodeur and so is Doan?

Its just silly.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Don't worry I'm working on a better one as we speak

[Rice 42]

Yeah, this really is a horrible list. Lidstrom at 27?

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Not sure what Pronger and Cam Ward are doing way up there.

[hooon 1,089]

there is a lot wrong with that list. Most notable to me on a glance:

Ovechkin is number 1. Period. After that you can debate all you want on Crosby, Datsyuk, and Malkin, but those guys are the top 4, with AO definately number one. Not sure how Getzlaf snuck ahead of Datsyuk and Iginla.

Also, Lidstrom at 27 is an insult, and having 3 or 4 other goalies ahead of brodeur is a joke. While i agree with others in that Brodeur might be a LITTLE overrated, he is easily better than fleury and nabokov.

After looking at the list a bit longer:

Wow there are SOO many things wrong with this.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

lol Canadian bias much?

Bouwmeester and Pronger over Lidstrom. When in either of their careers were they better than Lidstrom? Never. Not even for a single playoff round.

Crosby over Ovechkin and Malkin. Even though he failed to outperform either of those players at any point over the last two years. Crosby was better than Ovechkin one year in his career. Ovechkin was superior in three of the four years, including the last two. Anyone who chooses Crosby in this senario is chosing based on nationality-- there's no other logical explanation because all evidence points to Ovi or Malkin in any consideration of those three players, unless you're talking about lack of durability, lack of personality or lack of professionalism (someone had to tell him afterwords that you shake the hand of the other captain? What is he, 12?).

[Carman 387]

Just noticed no Markov aswell. Man how does TSN have this guy employed?

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Getzlaf over Datsyuk! Haha, I just noticed that. Again, he's never outperformed Datsyuk in any season, nor has he given an indication that he's ready to step past a dominant player like Datsyuk in his prime. If anything, Datsyuk is poised to take another step forward. Getzlaf will continue to get better, but he certainly hasn't given a logical reason why he'd outperform Datsyuk this reason. But he is Canadian!

[Guest E_S_A_D]

lol Canadian bias much?

Pronger over Lidstrom. When in either of their careers were they better than Lidstrom? Never. Not even for a single playoff round.

You're comparing apples and oranges. If you're going by purely points, then that is quantifiable. However, if you are going by the tangibles, then that's not quite as solid of an argument.

I'll get heat for this, but give me Pronger in his prime come playoff time over Lidstrom anyday of the week, and twice on the weekends.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

You're comparing apples and oranges. If you're going by purely points, then that is quantifiable. However, if you are going by the tangibles, then that's not quite as solid of an argument.

I'll get heat for this, but give me Pronger in his prime come playoff time over Lidstrom anyday of the week, and twice on the weekends.

Points, defensive ability, every single tangible other than physical play? Lidstrom wins. Pronger won't be regarded as the greatest defenseman of his generation 30 years from now. Lidstrom will.

Nice try though.

EDIT: Seriously man. I'd love to add Pronger to this team-- he's an elite defenseman. But he doesn't come close to being the level of player Lidstrom is. Lidstrom is a generational talent. He slows the game down and controls the flow of a game. He directs play like a quarterback all game and is simily flawless. Very, very, very few players in the history of the game were as dominant for as long as Lidstrom has been.

Edited September 22, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[Z and D for the C 712]

LOL @ Fleury being over Brodeur. Fleury is a trash goalie.

[aw1340 0]

I saw Crosby at #1 and stopped reading the list.

[BeeRYCE 2]

My favourite part about this list is Daniel Sedin being at #13 while Henrik sits at #31... THEY ARE THE SAME PLAYER.

Edited September 23, 2009 by BeeRYCE

[Lidstrom for Norris 0]

Lidstrom at 27? What a joke.

The person who wrote this should watch the game of hockey for once before making such an uneducated list full of gibberish.

[Lidstrom for Norris 0]

Lidstrom at 27? What a joke.

The person who wrote this should watch the game of hockey for once before making such an uneducated list full of gibberish.

[VM1138 1,921]

Crosby at 1? Why are we still discussing this guy as one of the elites? He's talented, sure. One of the best right now, but I really don't even see how it's debatable that he's always ranked number 1 when Ovechkin outdoes him, Zetterberg shut him down two years in a row, he's not the best player on his team, and other players have better leadership qualities.

EDIT: And Fleury over Brodeur? Wow....just...wow. I wouldn't take Fleury over Osgood, let alone Brodeur. The kids has had a couple of good games and streaks and a lot of bad games.

EDIT 2: I'm surprised they put Franzen on the list. It doesn't seem to me that anyone outside the Wings would really appreciate him.

Edited September 23, 2009 by VM1138

[Drake_Marcus 890]

My favourite part about this list is Daniel Sedin being at #13 well Henrik sits at #31... THEY ARE THE SAME PLAYER.

This is an excellent point.

[StevieY'sguy 1]

lol Canadian bias much?

Bouwmeester and Pronger over Lidstrom. When in either of their careers were they better than Lidstrom? Never. Not even for a single playoff round.

Crosby over Ovechkin and Malkin. Even though he failed to outperform either of those players at any point over the last two years. Crosby was better than Ovechkin one year in his career. Ovechkin was superior in three of the four years, including the last two. Anyone who chooses Crosby in this senario is chosing based on nationality-- there's no other logical explanation because all evidence points to Ovi or Malkin in any consideration of those three players, unless you're talking about lack of durability, lack of personality or lack of professionalism (someone had to tell him afterwords that you shake the hand of the other captain? What is he, 12?).

I'd take Crosby over AO and Malkin and I'm not Canadian. I'm not going to get into a full on debate with you mainly because we have been over this exact topic before and I know you're too thick headed and hypocritical to listen to reason (For example, you've called Sid a whiner repeatedly in the past and yet you are the one who is still whining about a missed handshake 3 months after it happend...who's the 12 year old?).

All I am going to say is that it's funny how everyone in the hockey world outside of Detroit and Washington consistently raves about Crosby and what kind of a once-in-a-generation type player he is...and the only people who refuse to give the guy credit is fans of the team that he has faced the last two years in the finals, and the fans of the team that has his biggest personal rival on it...call me crazy but I'm thinkin all of the smartest people in the hockey world do not live exclusively in Detroit and Washington.

With all of that being said i do agree that most of this list is a travesty.

[Doc Holiday 0]

I'll get heat for this, but give me Pronger in his prime come playoff time over Lidstrom anyday of the week, and twice on the weekends.

Well Pronger isn't even close to in his prime, and Lidstrom has outperformed him easily in the past few seasons. In the playoffs they are just about equal, but Lidstrom doesn't miss playoff time like Pronger does.

Pronger should not be ahead of Lidstrom under any circumstances based on their current ability.

[BeeRYCE 2]

1. Crosby

2. Ovechkin

3. Lidstrom

4. Datsyuk

5. Malkin

6. Luongo

7. Iginla

8. Zetterberg

9. Parise

10. Getzlaf

11. Brodeur

12. Kovalchuk

13. Lecavalier

14. Thornton

15. Heatley

16. Chara

17. Hossa

18. Lundqvist

19. Alfredsson

20. Kiprusoff

21. Thomas

22. Spezza

23. M. Richards

24. Backstrom (WSH)

25. Phaneuf

That's half of MY list (done in like 2 minutes), and I think a closer, more realistic view.

[egroen 384]

I'll get heat for this, but give me Pronger in his prime come playoff time over Lidstrom anyday of the week, and twice on the weekends.

Deserved heat. That's pretty downright stupid.

[BeeRYCE 2]

Does anyone else find Thornton vastly under-appreciated these days? I mean I understand his playoff failures, obviously... But it shouldn't bring him down to the bottom of the list, he's still a perennial all star, and the cornerstone of a talented team like the Sharks. If he did at least a bit better in the playoffs, I think it would have a significant impact on his rankings bringing him to guaranteed top 5-10... But regardless, nowadays Thornton still deserves a spot in the top 15.

[waitahochiminute 2]

This is a pretty lame list. At least sperate the goalies...

[Drake_Marcus 890]

1. Crosby

2. Ovechkin

3. Lidstrom

4. Datsyuk

5. Malkin

6. Luongo

7. Iginla

8. Zetterberg

9. Parise

10. Getzlaf

11. Brodeur

12. Kovalchuk

13. Lecavalier

14. Thornton

15. Heatley

16. Chara

17. Hossa

18. Lundqvist

19. Alfredsson

20. Kiprusoff

21. Thomas

22. Spezza

23. M. Richards

24. Backstrom (WSH)

25. Phaneuf

That's half of MY list (done in like 2 minutes), and I think a closer, more realistic view.

No way should Crosby be posted above Ovechkin or Malkin. I'd even argue he doesn't deserve to be above Datsyuk given that he's good for, what, 10% more points than Dats but can't provide a quarter of the defensive strength Dats has. It's pretty impressive that Datsyuk can put up almost the same number of points as Crosby AND win the Selke in the same season. If you prevent 30 or 40 goals a season isn't that better than being involved in 10 more on the offensive side?