Top 100 NHL Players

[Staggy]

John Buccigross created his own list of the top 100 players in the game today. It's a pretty good read if you have some time. Obviously with a list like this there will be a lot of disagreement but it's still pretty interesting.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7502429/john-buccigross-ranks-top-100-current-players

Top 5 is:

1. Sid
2. Toews
3. Geno
4. Datsyuk
5 Giroux

Bucci has a major man-crush on Toews.

6 Pens are in the top 100. Letang is at 12, Fleury 31, Staal 55, and Neal 75.

[MRandall25]

I don't think Toews or Giroux deserve to be up there in the Top 5.

Top 10? Maybe. Top 5 is pushing it.

[mikey287]

Toews being #2 makes me not click the link...

[Froggy]

staal at 55 is way way way way way way way too high.

[SolidSnake]

Alex Semin is the 50th best in the world? IN GEORGIA

[penscup]

staal at 55 is way way way way way way way too high.

5 spots ahead of 40G 45A/year Iginla.

Letang way too high as well to be honest.

[Gaucho]

Toews and Staal too high? Why?

[pittsports87]

Toews #2? Huh? Probably not in my top 5.

[Gaucho]

Oh, Toews 2nd, I somehow thought he was 5th.

[Rylan]

Letang is extremely highly respected in the NHL. He is well placed IMO.

[Staggy]

It's a pretty decent list overall, I think. Making a list like this would be hard as hell so I give him credit there. Two major problems I have with it though. Backstrom (WSH) and Rinne at 94 and 93 respectively. Both should be way higher, IMO

[Rylan]

Though, what is with the Toews love in the world?

[pittsports87]

Though, what is with the Toews love in the world?

The world may never know.

[Froggy]

It's a pretty decent list overall, I think. Making a list like this would be hard as hell so I give him credit there. Two major problems I have with it though. Backstrom (WSH) and Rinne at 94 and 93 respectively. Both should be way higher, IMO

yeah, im not part of the camp that thinks backstrom is amazing or anything, but he should be well ahead of jordan staal on anyone's list. and i think staal is a hell of a player. just not 40 places higher than backstrom

[mikey287]

Backstrom (WSH) and Rinne at 94 and 93 respectively. Both should be way higher, IMO

No way are they down there! Glad I didn't click the link after the top 5...

[Rylan]

For the record, it was players you would want for the 2012 playoffs. Rinne has been a less than stellar goalie in the post season.

[Staggy]

For the record, it was players you would want for the 2012 playoffs. Rinne has been a less than stellar goalie in the post season.

Oh, I didn't see that. That would make more sense about why him and Backstrom are so low and some proven playoff performers are much higher.

[André]

I don't think Toews or Giroux deserve to be up there in the Top 5.

Top 10? Maybe. Top 5 is pushing it.

I think Giroux is establishing himself as the third best forward in the world.

[brwi]

For the record, it was players you would want for the 2012 playoffs. Rinne has been a less than stellar goalie in the post season.

He's only been in the playoffs in his career the last two years and has been pretty good. A helluva lot better than Quick's two years in the playoffs and Quick is 40+ places ahead of Rinne. That's a joke, though Toews being that high is more of a head-scratcher.

[Gaucho]

Toews won a Conn Smythe, that's why he's rated so high.

[Kraftster]

These are so hard to do.
Ones that stand out to me more than any others.
Nash at 19... lolololol
Jeff Skinner at 25 - way too early
Tomas Vanek at 39 - maybe where Nash should be with Vanek then being proportionately furthe down the list.
Matt Moulson at 49 - great story, super consistent past three years, but, yeah, no.
Mikko Koivu at 57 - way too high/low (should be top 25)
Jimmy Howard at 68 -- put him on another team and see him fall out of the top 100
Christian Ehrhoff at 72 -- should not be on this list
Loui Eriksson at 77 -- switch him with Vanek
Rinne at 93 -- has he ever watched the Preds?
Backstrom at 94 -- worst on the list, are you kidding, Bucci? (Behind the likes of Mike Fisher, Tomas Plekanec, Joe Pavelski)

[André]

These are so hard to do.
Ones that stand out to me more than any others.
Nash at 19... lolololol
Jeff Skinner at 25 - way too early
Tomas Vanek at 39 - maybe where Nash should be with Vanek then being proportionately furthe down the list.
Matt Moulson at 49 - great story, super consistent past three years, but, yeah, no.
Mikko Koivu at 57 - way too high/low (should be top 25)
Jimmy Howard at 68 -- put him on another team and see him fall out of the top 100
Christian Ehrhoff at 72 -- should not be on this list
Loui Eriksson at 77 -- switch him with Vanek
Rinne at 93 -- has he ever watched the Preds?
Backstrom at 94 -- worst on the list, are you kidding, Bucci? (Behind the likes of Mike Fisher, Tomas Plekanec, Joe Pavelski)

I usually don't want to get into the "x should be that much higher than y ZOMG!!" rants but fisher ahead of Backstrom?

[Gaucho]

Bobby Fisher maybe.

[mikey287]

Mike Fisher is really higher on the list than Nicklas Backstrom? That's embarrassingly, that can't be serious.

[Pitt87]

I don't think Toews or Giroux deserve to be up there in the Top 5.

Top 10? Maybe. Top 5 is pushing it.

I think Giroux is establishing himself as the third best forward in the world.

You have to be that good in more than just one season to make that case, and he's not really even done it once. Could have made this argument for Backstrom before the decline of Ovechkin.