On Friday, January 27, 2017, the NHL released its list of its 100 Greatest* players of all time. The asterisk is there because for some reason they seemed to forget that more than two or three players came from places outside of Canada. Don’t worry though, we got you NHL. So with the input of nearly every member of the Pensblog staff, we hereby present to you the 100 Greatest Non-Canadians of all time. Now, if while you are reading this you’re asking yourself where is “insert name that obviously didn’t deserve to be on the NHL’s list so didn’t make ours” ask yourself the following: Was he known for being a member of the Saint Louis Blues or Chicago Blackhawks? Well Then you won’t see him on this list. They had their list last night. But you will notice a lot of players who suited up for teams like Detroit. Those are what we called sanctuary teams. They are the teams that seemed to attract some of the greatest non-Canadian players. Don’t worry we haven’t heard that the NHL is going to cut them off from their escrow payments for being sanctuaries…yet.
For the sake of space and time and not making you read a novel here…the top of the list will be broken down like this: The 20 snubbed players lead the list in no particular order with explanations as to why they deserved to be added. Next, there are 15 players who were also on the NHL’s list. The rest of the names will come at the bottom in true list.
Note: the list might not have 100 total players, that is where you come in. Go ahead and tell us some more players we missed! Unlike the NHL we actually care what people who watch hockey think.
Evgeni Malkin
The fact that Evgeni Malkin was not standing up there on stage between teammate Sidney Crosby and countryman Alexander Ovechkin is one of the single greatest errors the NHL has made. I’m not even being facetious when I say it’s probably top 10 mistakes in its 100 year history (glow puck? Come on). You want cups? He’s got two of ‘em. You want scoring titles, oh look two of those too! You want historic pace to scoring? He’s 14th all-time in NHL points per game while playing in the dead puck era. He has a Calder, two Lindsays, two Harts, two Art Ross trophies…would you like me to go on? I can do this all damn day. He’s one of four players ever to have a Hart, Art Ross, Ted Lindsay, Conn Smythe and Calder. The others all made the list (Orr, Lemieux, and Kane). The man actually pulled off a 1980’s style flight from Russia in 2006! As Jesse Marshall said this morning, “I’d be willing to bet if his name was Doug Jones and he was from Brampton, Ontario he’d have made the list.”
Marian Hossa
If the NHL was so dead set on putting three Chicago Blackhawks currently still playing up on that stage there is no reason one of them wasn’t Marian Hossa. The man has three Stanley Cups and went to the Stanley Cup Final every year from 2008 to 2010 and played in five of the eight Stanley Cup Finals from 2008 to 2015. But this is about more than that. He’s played the most games of any Slovakian forward in the NHL and has the second highest number of points. He’s eclipsed 1000 points, 500 goals and 600 assists. He’s behind All-Time Slovakian scoring leader, Peter Stastny, by 120 points and if he plays his current contract to the finish it isn’t insane to think he can pass Stastny.
Daniel Alfredsson
What did Alfie do? Kick someone on the committee picking the NHL’s lists dog? It’s the only thing that explains why the guy below him in all time Swedish scoring got to be on the list and Alfie didn’t. Alfredsson racked up 444G – 785A – 1157 Points good for second all-time in Swedish scoring and is third all-time in games played. Early in his career he turned heads racking up goals and assists and taking home the 1996 Calder Trophy. He meant the world to the Ottawa Senators franchise and in addition to great play on the ice made a name for himself off of it. Later in his career, he won the NHL’s King Clancy and Mark Messier Leadership Awards for contributions off-ice to his team. He’s probably only really not on the NHL list because he didn’t win a cup, though, let’s be real here. After all, of the 100 players last night they averaged 3 cups a piece but that’s a stupid way to judge a person individually so here we appreciate Alfredsson even if he did throw in the towel to the Penguins in 2013 quite early.
Joe Mullen
To quote the movie, Miracle, “Is there any reason why Joey Mullen’s not here?” Sure he was overtaken later by Modano and Housley but he was the first American to ever score 500 goals and rack up 1000 points and is sixth all-time in American scoring today. He’s an important figure and big reason why other guys who did play in the NHL and won more or scored more than him were able to do it. He made his name on his skating ability and balance, which many thought he gained from years of roller hockey, and even garnered the nickname we all love so much “Slippery Rock Joe” for being so escapable. Mullen also played collegiate hockey before it was a professional player factory and he was famously not on the Miracle on Ice team in Lake Placid because he signed professionally.
Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist has more wins than any European goaltender. Ever. He might act like a diaper baby occasionally but he’s still pretty excellent at stopping the puck. I mean it’s not his fault his defense is porous. He’s won Vezinas and Gold Medals and everything a goalie could want – except a Stanley Cup. I’m definitely noticing a theme here with players who haven’t won the cup being left off of the NHL’s list.
Jarome Iginla
Before you say THIS ISN’T Candians I’d like to point out to you that Jarome Iginla was clearly traded from Canada to the USA, you just missed it. Trust us, it happened. Iginla is… well so many things. While in Pittsburgh he was mishandled but he was still Iggy. He’s fun, charismatic and at one point while a member of the Calgary Flames, donated $2,000 to the children’s charity Kidsport for every goal he scored. He’s scored more than 600 goals and tallied more than 1200 points in his NHL career that still isn’t over. Name an award and he’s won it: Art Ross, Rocket Richard, King Clancy, Ted Lindsay, NHL Foundation, Mark Messier Leadership…the list goes on. The only thing he’s missing is a cup. Seriously, what’s the obsession with the cups… it’s not his fault he wasn’t exactly on the most talented flames teams at one point and at another lost in the Stanley Cup Final. Jarome Iginla is also one of the most high profile players who come from African descent (his father emigrated from Nigeria) and has one of the coolest full names ever – Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla.
Joe Thornton
Joe Thornton must be American, too, right? Sure. Let’s go with that. Jumbo Joe, as he’s known was a first overall pick by the Boston Bruins at one time but they were a mess when he was there so in 2005 he decided to make like a tree and left for San Jose. Since then, Joe has become synonymous with the Sharks. He’s been instrumental to their success and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2016. He’s played 1300 plus games and has 1300 plus points. He’s won the Art Ross and Hart and is one of the best passers the game has ever seen even to this day. His goals this season are way down but he’s still got 28 assists which speaks to how fantastic his vision is even now. Again we have just another all world player who is completely ignored because he didn’t get on the right team at the right time. It’s genuinely absurd how much having or not having a cup means to individual recognition when the Stanley Cup is the ultimate team award…
Sergei Gonchar
Sarge is one of the most influential defensemen of recent hockey history, I can’t believe this is something that actually needs to be pointed out but apparently it does. Gonch played for 11 years in the NHL and racked up more games played, goals and points than any other Russian born defender. He played more than 1000 games, tallied more than 100 power play points and won the Stanley Cup. What were the smoking when they left him off of their list anyways?
Alexander Mogilny
Widely regarded as the more talented of the line he played on with Pavel Bure and Sergei Fedorov, Mogilny was quite the trailblazer. His career included a lot of firsts: first Russian player to defect from the Soviet Union, first non-North American to lead the NHL in goals (w/Selanne), the first Russian named to the NHL All-Star Team, and was the first Russian to be named captain of an NHL team. He was also just the second Russian-born player to eclipse 1000 points and is second in Russian scoring all-time.
Alexei Kovalev
Kovalev is one of those special players. You just watch him and you know how special even late in his career when he had his second stint with the Penguins it was noticeable. Unfortunately, he seems to have done whatever Alfredsson did, as players less prolific and who had shorter careers somehow were given more attention than him. He was the first Russian-born player to be drafted in the first round and won a Stanley Cup in his first season in the NHL which led him and three of his teammates to become the first Russians to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup. And sure, cups aren’t everything but being one of the first to win it? Is definitely an all-time level accomplishment. His third all-time in points for a Russian (only three behind Mogilny) and most games played sure don’t hurt either.
David “Sweeney” Schriner
On a list that seemed almost too hard to include the early generations of the NHL Sweeney Schriner was noticeably absent. Schriner, who grew up in Canada after his family emigrated, was actually the first Russian-born player to make a name in the NHL. He was rookie of the year in his first year in the NHL and totaled 405 points in 484 NHL games.
Ulf Samuelsson
Known more as a bruiser than a scoring player Ulf Samuelsson was a huge part of the 1990’s in the NHL. His nickames included Robocop and Tuffe Uffe and is still known to this day for that hit we all know about on Cam Neely. He was a big acquisition by the Penguins who prior to his addition lacked much of the nastiness he was known for bringing. He played in 1080 games and amassed 2453 penalty minutes and 332 points. He also went through issues with his Swedish citizenship around the Nagano Olympics and currently coaches the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.
Ziggy Palffy
If you’re looking for big numbers Palffy won’t have them but that’s not his fault. He played his entire career in the dead puck era including the height of it just before the 2004-2005 lockout. He still somehow manged to be a point per game player, is top ten in Slovakian scoring and is second all-time among Slovakian-born players in points per game behind only Stastny.
Miroslav Satan
Like Palffy his numbers aren’t gaudy by Satan’s NHL career was still prolific in it’s own way. Prior to the breaking of his record by Hossa and Chara, Satan had the second-longest NHL career ever for a Slovakian. He played more than 1000 games and put up more than 700 points in a time when goal scoring had reached its lowest point. And he is fourth all time in power-play points for a Slovakian.
Zdeno Chara
Speaking of Slovakians, Zdeno Chara is like Sergei Gonchar, what is the guy gonna have to do to get some attention as an all-timer? He’s the greatest Slovakian defender of all-time, period. He’s played more than 1300 NHL games and still finds a way to be effective because that’s right he’s still playing. He will easily be the first Slovakian defender to reach triple digits in power play points (he’s at 91 right now) and has almost 100 more points than the next best guy on the list. He’s the first player to Captain a Stanley Cup winning team who was born and trained in a country from behind the Iron Curtain (born in Czechloslovakia in 1977). He’s got the hardest slapshot of all-time. He’s the tallest player to ever lace up in the NHL. And he’s not done. Exactly what did they need him to do?
Miikka Kiprusoff
Kipper owns the modern NHL low of full-season NHL GAA of 1.69…yet somehow he got skipped. He’s got the best numbers of any Finnish goalie and led a long and prolific career most notably with the Calgary Flames. He owns the lowest GAA for all retried Finnish goalies at 2.49 (GAA fluctuate so much for currently playing goalies it’s easier to just toss them out in this case) and is top 10 all time in save percentage. He’s the Flames’ franchise leader in wins (305), shutouts (41) and games played by a goaltender (576) and won the Vezina and William M. Jennings trophy both in 2005-2006.
Teppo Numminen
And now that we’re talking about Finns, let’s talk about one of Finland’s great defenders. Teppo Numminen played more NHL games than Jari Kurri and would probably get more attention if he hadn’t had the misfortune of playing on some very middling to bad teams. He played most of his career with the Winnipeg Jets/(Phoenix) Arizona Coyotes franchise lacing up for 15 years there including seven years in the desert. He was named to three straight All-Star games and is tied with Kimmo Timonen for most goals by a Finnish defender and speaking of Timonen look for him down below.
Henrik and Daniel Sedin
I mean them as two separate players but it’s really hard to describe them individually when their careers are so intertwined. Henrik and Daniel sit fourth and fifth all time in Swedish scoring respectively. Henrik just hit 1000 points earlier this year and the only reason Daniel is still 31 points away is because injuries have caused him to play close to 100 games less than his twin though he could crack 1000 before season’s end. As for games played, they’re fourth and fifth there as well and most notably have played their entire NHL careers with the same team. Henrik won the Hart and Art Ross in 2010 and Daniel won the Art Ross and Ted Lindsay in 2011 and have shown that their skill level (though not so much their individual skills as each has their own specialties) are as identical as the twins are.
Viacheslav Fetisov
What is it with the NHL ignoring all the great USSR players? Is it because it hurt their feelings how long they played in the USSR before running away to play in the NHL? Who knows! But Slava Fetisov was part of the great soviet migration. Slava was not the very first Russian to come to North America to play but the method he did it by paved a more legal way for USSR and all European players to come over. Less known for offensive numbers Fetisov has one of the best +/- differentials and while this isn’t the best stat when only two people have a better one all-time, you’re probably pretty good. Fetisov was also on the USSR team that lost to the USA in the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.
Guys who made the NHL List who also made ours (hey even a blind squirrel finds a few nuts)
Teemu Selanne – Played so long he was a Jet then 20 years later played the “new Jets” in the playoffs
Dominik Hasek – The Dominator, that’s it.
Alex Ovechkin – He’s got more goals than any other Russian-born NHLer.
Börje Salming – One of the first real impactful Europeans to play in the NHL.
Pavel Bure – The Russian Rocket, you know.
Pavel Datsyuk – They didn’t call him the Magic Man for nothing.
Peter Forsberg – as Rich Miller said “for his shootout move only”
Jaromir Jagr – Why didn’t he make the list twice?
Jarri Kurri – Though we would like to point our Kurri was more that Gretzky’s winger.
Brian Leetch – First American to win the Conn Smythe get all the way out of here.
Nicklas Lidstrom – The longevity he had is just absurd and he could probably still play, too.
Mike Modano – Highest scoring U.S.- born player in NHL history.
Peter Stastny – Good to see at least one player known for defecting wasn’t ignored.
Sergei Fedorov – Leads all Russians in points and assists, led in goals until Ovechkin broken his record.
Mats Sundin – Has the most points ever by a Swede in the league.
The Best of the Rest
Darius Kasparaitis
Philip J. Kessel
Jimmy Paek
Richard Park
Conor Sheary
Taro Tsujimoto
Konstantin Koltsov
Markus Naslund
Maxim Affinogenov
Kimmo Timonen
Saku Koivu
Ian Moran
Mike Ramsey
Dave Christian
Henrik Zetterberg
Nicklas Kronwall
Kjell Samuelsson
Mark Howe
Erik Karlsson
Alexei Morozov
Sergei Zubov
Keith Tkachuk
Tom Barrasso
Mike Grier
Oleg kolzig
Marty Straka
Phil Housely
Neal Broten
Ken Morrow
Tomas Holmstrom
Brian Rafalski
Phil Housley
Mathieu Schneider
Tomas Sandström
Olli Jokinen
Joe Pavelski
Ryan Miller
Esa Tikkanen
Ruslan Salei
Patrik Elias
Milan Hejduk
Petr Sykora
Mikko Koivu
Tomas Surovy
Ryan Whitney
Josef Melichar
Marco Sturm
Uwe Krupp
Yutaka Fukufuji
Nikolai Antropov
Sandis Ozolinsh
Peter Bondra
Pavol Demitria
Frederik Olausson
Calle Johansson
Viacheslev Kolzov
Alexei Yashin
Igor Larionov
Brooks Orpik
Kevin Stevens
Graeme Townshend
Peter Lee
Jan Hrdina
Robert Lang
Phil Borque
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