The Hockey News Top 50 NHL Players

The Hockey News have released it's list of the top 50 NHL players....and quite frankly....I dont agree with alot of it.

Here's the list

1 Sidney Crosby (6)
2 Alexander Ovechkin (5)
3 Roberto Luongo (25)
4 Nicklas Lidstrom (15)
5 Chris Pronger (2)
6 Jarome Iginla (7)
7 Vincent Lecavalier (21)
8 Joe Thornton (4)
9 Dany Heatley (10)
10 Martin Brodeur (11)
11 Patrik Elias (12)
12 Joe Sakic (17)
13 Miikka Kiprusoff (1)
14 Jaromir Jagr (3)
15 Martin St-Louis (47)
16 Marian Gaborik (27)
17 Dion Phaneuf (32)
18 Eric Staal (14)
19 Marian Hossa (24)
20 Ryan Miller (not ranked)
21 Daniel Alfredson (20)
22 Chris Drury (not ranked)
23 Marty Turco (49)
24 Jason Spezza (22)
25 Henrik Zetterberg (38)
26 Jonathan Cheechoo (36)
27 Daniel Briere (Not Ranked)
28 Tomas Kaberle (Not Ranked)
29 Dominik Hasek (Not Ranked)
30 Brad Richards (23)
31 Martin Havlat (26)
32 Daniel Sedin (Not Ranked)
33 J-S Giguere (Not Ranked)
34 Ryan Smyth (33)
35 Simon Gagne (31)
36 Pavel Datsyuk (35)
37 Rick Nash (9)
38 Rod Brind’amour (38)
39 Zdeno Chara (19)
40 Rick DiPietro (Not Ranked)
41 Scott Gomez (Not Ranked)
42 Sergei Gonchar (Not Ranked)
43 Henrik Lundqvist (Not Ranked)
44 Evgeni Malkin (Not Ranked)
45 Zach Parise (Not Ranked)
46 Dan Boyle (Not Ranked)
47 Brendan Shanahan (Not Ranked)
48 Ilya Kovalchuk (18)
49 Mathieu Schneider (Not Ranked)
50 Niklas Backstrom (Not Ranked)

Ok....I have some major issues with some of the names on this list. You cant really argue with 1-10....But lets start with number 11.

Patrik Elias is not the 11th best player in hockey. He wouldn't even crack the top 20 on my list...His line last year was 21-48-69. There are 9 players....not even on this list....that had more points than Elias last year. Read that one again.

Next Gaborik at 16. Sorry....Gaborik is not a better player than Marian Hossa.

Please tell me why Cheechoo, Parise, Shanahan and Niklas Backstrom all are on this list at all?? I can name replacements for all of these guys. Jokinen, Savard, Vanek, and Nabokov. Cheechoo playing with Joe Thornton has a great year 2 years ago....last season 37 goals and 69 points. Jokinen...playing on a horrible Panthers team 39-52-91. Parise 31-31-62...a good season none the less....but Vanek was 43-41-84. Shanahan?....29-33-62 in 67 games....Savard has 96 points on a terrible Bruins team. Backstrom has a fantastic year....but Nabokov has been better over the long run...besides a 29 year old that has a 1.97 could become the next Hasek....or the next Jim Carey.

Also....Kovalchuk is ranked 48th?....Shanahan, Parise, Rod Brind'amour!!, Matheiu Schneider, are all ranked ahead of him?

Here is my list....

1. Sidney Crosby (Best player...hands down)
2. Roberto Luongo (Vancouver is going to be dangerous this year)
3. Vincent Lecavalier (Has become an all around threat)
4. Alexander Ovechkin (Will become automatic 60 goal scorer)
5. Nicklas Lidstrom (Best defenseman of our generation)
6. Chris Pronger (No one can match his size and skill on the blueline)
7. Jarome Iginla (Ferocious player and a born leader)
8. Joe Thornton (Best passer in the NHL, anyone who plays with him is going to score)
9. Martin Brodeur (If you had to win one game...can you think of another goalie you'd rather have play?
10. Dany Heatley (Dynamic scorer....seems to be getting better)
11. Joe Sakic (scored 100 points at 40...now he has Ryan Smyth on his line)
12. Mikka Kiprusoff (Sometimes seems to get lost in the shuffle....phenomenal goaltender)
13. Jaromir Jagr (If he played every shift every game...could probably score 200 points)
14. Martin St.Louis (Amazing player with an amazing story)
15. Marian Hossa (Scoring, passing and going into his contract year)
16. Jason Spezza (Number 1 center on the best team in the east...and is only 24)
17. Daniel Briere (He's not playing with a powerhouse offense this year....but is still good for 90 pts)
18. Dion Phaneuf (Best young dman in the NHL...explosive hitter and has a booming slap shot)
19. Henrik Zetterberg (Plays an amazing 2 way game...2nd best player in the crease)
20. Olli Jokinen (Gets overshadowed...another Mike Milbury nightmare)
21. Ilya Kovalchuk (With some maturity....could be a top 5 player)
22. Marian Gaborik (Needs to stay heathy...but was having his breakout year)
23. Pavel Datsyuk (Unbelievable offensive skills with a top team)
24. Zedno Chara (huge defenseman, good hands....hard hitter....complete player)
25. Scott Niedermayer (hasn't retired yet...is still a top 5 defenseman in the NHL)
26. Marc Savard (Went from playing with Kovalchuk to Boston...and had 96 points....amazing)
27. Tomas Vanek (43 goals....now is the number one option in Buffalo)
28. Patrick Marleau (Is a number 2...behind Thornton....always good for 30g and 85 points)
29. Ryan Smyth (No one is better in the room....or in front of the goalie)
30. Tomas Kaberle (awesome offensive skills....smooth skater....fantastic player)
31. Eric Staal (Coming off a down season....is always dangerous enough to score 100 points)
32. Evgeni Malkin (Can score at will...has great size...plays second fiddle to Crosby)
33. JS Giguere (at 27 has been to 2 finals...and has a Stanley Cup)
34. Mike Cammalleri (2 80 point seasons at 24....undervalued in LA)
35. Daniel Alfredsson (Clutch player....still good for a point a game)
36. Simon Gagne (fantastic scorer....now he has Briere)
37. Rick Nash (Plays on a terrible team....will be a 50 goal scorer for years to come)
38. Brad Richards (Complete player...clutch....does it all)
39. Rick DiPietro (Has a huge heart and is growing into his game...can steal a game)
40. Henrik Lundquist (As fundamentally sound as any goalie in the NHL great rivalry with #40)
41. Chris Drury (Clutch scorer....now is on the big stage)
42. Ryan Miller (Has fantastic numbers....needs to be better in the clutch)
43. Kimmo Timonen (has been under the radar in Nashville....fantastic player)
44. Martin Havlat (If he can stay healthy....he'll be in the top 25)
45. Dominik Hasek (At 42 is a top 5 goalie)
46. Scott Gomez (Will now get a chance showcase his offensive skills with an offensive club)
47. Patrik Elias (Is a talented scorer....but now is missing a center his center)
48. Sergei Gonchar (not the greatest defender....but has fantastic scoring ability)
49. Dan Boyle (another player you dont think of....but his 20 goals and 65 points and top notch)
50. Zach Parise (Great young scorer....will only get better....imagine how many goals he would have scored if he didn't play for the Devils)

I would love to hear your comments and discussions on both the Hockey News' list and mine.

Notes...

Bravo to Isles GM Garth Snow for taking a flyer out on a very talented Bryan Berard and inviting him to camp.

Berard...(a former Islander fan favorite)...if healthy would give the team it's most needed replacement for the departed Tom Poti. A puck rushing defenseman who has very good offensive skills.

September 13th can't get here fast enough....

Tony

Islanders sign Defenseman Andy Sutton

Late Friday night the Islanders signed 6'6 Andy Sutton to a 3 year contract.

Sutton will essentially take the place of the departed Sean Hill on this year's blueline. Though rumors swirled that the Islanders would in fact sign Danny Markov, they could never come together on a contract. GM Garth Snow found out what many other GM did a while back, that Markov wanted ridiculous money and he wouldn't budge on his demands. After realizing that....Andy Sutton was a no brainer.

Sutton plays a similar game to Sean Hill, he's physical, blocks a ton of shots, and has a hard shot from the point. The fact that he's 5 years younger than Hill and is 6 inches shorter and about 35 lbs. lighter all makes his 3 year $9 million deal a solid one.

Whats next you ask??

Well all signs point to the Isles bringing in a 3rd line Center with offensive potential. Last year Garth did just that with Viktor Kozlov, this season it's looking like it will be Josef Vasicek. Vasicek split last season between Nashville and Carolina getting 22 points in 63 games. Vasicek is still young as he'll turn 27 next month, and displays the type of work ethic that this team is trying to achieve. Though nothing is set in stone....rumors point to this getting done.

An interesting rumor floating around is that the Islanders kicked the tires on Peter Forsberg. Now from what I understand Forsberg is still recovering from offseason foot surgery and wouldn't even be able to play regularly until around Christmas time, but the fact that we have inquired and even gone so far as to keep a pulse on the Forsberg situation....is a very positive sign.

If anyone looks at Greg Logan's blog today....you'll get a little more insight into the day most Islander fans dubbed "Black Sunday". It appears that Garth Snow out bid teams for both Ryan Smyth and Chris Drury, he also had a big offer in on Scott Hannan and remember he contact Bill Guerin on that day as well.

At least we know that Garth had a big plan going into UFA and it just seems that the players he was gunning for were already set on where they wanted to go. As for this coming season....with UFA's like Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Marian Hossa...and others....it's looking like the Isles will be in a position to offer those deals again. Also, another season like last year would further the cause, showing players that the Islanders will be a contending team for years to come.

Enjoy this beautiful weather!

T