Top-5 Snubs from NHL-100 List

#66 #10 #68 -Pittsburgh Penguins 1997 first line…..almost unstoppable 😀💪 pic.twitter.com/i3ikirAmN6

— Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) January 29, 2017

The NHL-100 list was always going to have some snubs.

Where the voting among the 58 member panel ended up was with too much weight towards the pre-1967 players, the 1970’s Montreal Canadiens dynasty went a bit overboard, and not enough weight towards players from the 1990’s-Present

There’s just no way players 50 to 70 years ago are as good as players over the last 25 years where players are bigger, faster and stronger, not mention players over the last 20 years have faced a significantly higher level of goaltending compared to pre-1990 years that should have also been a consideration during the voting.

There’s arguments that five to six more active players should have been included.

The question is who should have been left off.

Serge Savard, Jacques LeMaire have been mentioned among the Canadiens 70’s dynasty that were regarded as questionable picks but I never saw either so I don’t feel qualified to comment on those two but it comes back to that there’s no way players pre-1967 were even close to the level that players have been the last 25 years.

Here are three players from the 1990’s-present group that didn’t deserve to make it:

— Joe Nieuwendyk is one players from the 1990’s list that stands out. He’s won multiple cups and a Conn Smythe winner but is 55th all-time in points, 112th all-time in points per game. Last 12 NHL seasons he had 0 seasons of 70 points or more. A good player but an all-time great? Evgeni Malkin, Joe Thornton are better players and it’s not even close.

— Adam Oates was another one from that era. He has the numbers, 7th all-time in assists but was such a one-dimensional player.

— Jonathan Toews – No explanation needed there.

Top-5 Snubs

1. Dale Hawerchuk | 19th all-time in points and 13th all-time in points per game. Six-100 point seasons, and recorded at least 81 points or more in his first 13 NHL seasons where he averaged 1.26 points/game during that span.

2. Zdeno Chara | Norris Trophy winner who was the NHL’s most intimidating shutdown defenseman for several seasons. Two Stanley Cup appearances, winning one Cup. Just a unique player with his size and strength who also has nine seasons with at least 40 points and runs a No. 1 power play unit. You won’t see many defensemen like him.

3. Evgeni Malkin | Malkin’s omission was surprising just from a numbers standpoint. 14th all-time in points per game, two-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, one-time Hart Trophy and Conn Smythe winner. Malkin’s not an all-time great as he takes seasons off which has hurt his reputation in recent years but how many of these centers who were selected from the 1980’s – present group were actually better than Malkin?

Among them:

4. Jarome Iginla | 617 career goals (16th all-time) and excluding lockout shortened season, had 12-straight 30 goal seasons. Adjusting for era, he is sixth all-time in adjusted goals. Elite goal scoring power forward in a defensive era.

5. Henrik Lundqvist | One Stanley Cup appearance. 5th all-time in save percentage, seven straight seasons with a save percentage of .920 or better. 12th all-time in wins. Had a 5-6 year stretch where he was the consensus No. 1 goaltender in the NHL. Has had good teams but not great teams around him. An organization that has consistently lacked a franchise center in an era that’s a key ingredient to winning a Stanley Cup.

Penguins/NHL

Pittsburgh Penguins

Top-5 Snubs from NHL-100 List

By William DePaoli