NHL Quarter-Century team: Starting with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin
Cutting this team down to just 20 players total was a challenge. So many players have made a huge impact on the game of hockey in this young millennium, but the players on this team have become icons. For starters, the two players who most define the last 25 years of the NHL are Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Crosby and Ovechkin entered the NHL at the same time, and they’ve served as the faces of the NHL ever since. That duo, once at the center of a heated rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, have climbed the record books and filled trophy cases a couple times over.
A player who has more recently joined the ranks of superstardom is Connor McDavid, who has won just about everything there is to win, except for a Stanley Cup. McDavid has only been in the league for a decade, but he’s already topped 1,000 points and won’t stop anytime soon.
NHL Quarter-Century team: Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin highlight roster of league’s best
There are also some players who really excelled in the early portion of this era. The great Nicklas Lidstrom, arguably the best defenseman in hockey history, rattled off one Norris Trophy after another while leading the Detroit Red Wings to multiple Stanley Cups. Likewise, Martin Brodeur was the standard-bearer at his position, and no goaltender in NHL history has anywhere near his 691 wins.
On the whole, this quarter-century team is littered with Stanley Cups, awards, goals, assists and wins. Here are the 20 players who have made the biggest impact on the NHL over the last 25 years.
Forwards
Sidney Crosby
Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016, 2017
Alex Ovechkin
Stanley Cups: 2018
Steven Stamkos
Stanley Cups: 2020, 2021
Connor McDavid
Stanley Cups: None
Joe Thornton
Stanley Cups: None
Patrick Kane
Stanley Cups: 2010, 2013, 2015
Anze Kopitar
Awards: Selke Trophy (2016, 2018)
Stanley Cups: 2012, 2014
Evgeni Malkin
Awards: Hart Trophy (2012); Conn Smythe Trophy (2009); Calder Trophy (2007); Art Ross Trophy (2009, 2012)
Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016, 2017
Joe Pavelski
Awards: None
Stanley Cups: None
Jarome Iginla
Awards: Maurice Richard Trophy (2002, 2004); Art Ross Trophy (2002)
Stanley Cups: None
Pavel Datsyuk
Awards: Selke Trophy (2008, 2009, 2010)
Stanley Cups: 2002, 2008
Henrik Sedin
Awards: Hart Trophy (2010), Art Ross Trophy (2010)
Stanley Cups: None
Cutting this list down to 12 was a difficult task, but these are the dozen forwards we believe have defined the last 25 years of NHL hockey. Of course, that starts with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, who came into the league around the same time and have been two of the games biggest stars ever since. Those two have combined for 1,488 goals and 1,756 assists, and Ovechkin is within reach of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.
Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar and Patrick Kane are also still going strong, although a couple of them have moved on to different teams after excellent runs with their original franchises. That trio has a combined seven Stanley Cup rings, but they’ve made a name for themselves in different ways. Stamkos and Kane have made a habit of lighting the lamp with regularity, and Kopitar has won the Selke Trophy twice as an elite two-way center.
Malkin is another active player, and he might be slightly underrated due to playing his entire career on the same team as Crosby. It’s easy to forget that Malkin has had a prolific career in his own right with a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Trophy to go along with 1,330 career points.
Like Kopitar, Pavel Datsyuk made his living as a high-caliber player in all three zones.
Not only was Datsyuk an incredible defensive forward, but he was also one of the most skilled and creative players of his era.
Long-time San Jose Sharks teammates Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton make the cut, and both displayed incredible longevity, combining for 42 seasons and 3,046 career games. Few players have ever been able to distribute the puck as well as Thornton, and he knew how to use his length around the net. Pavelski, more of an undersized player, started out as a seventh-round draft pick and went on to become a tremendous all-around player with a knack for finishing near the crease.
Jarome Iginla and Henrik Sedin may get overlooked because of their resumes, in terms of awards and Stanley Cups, aren’t as long as some others. That said, both were superstars over long periods of time. Iginla was a dynamic playmaker, just as capable of scoring as he was finding a teammate with a perfect setup pass. Sedin, on the other hand, was one of the greatest passers of the era. His 830 assists are fourth all-time since Jan. 1, 2000.
McDavid is easily the youngest player on this list at 28, but he has more than earned his spot. McDavid is the best player in the world, and he has been for a few years now. He already has a full trophy case, and now all he needs is a Stanley Cup. That may be on the way sooner rather than later.
 Defensemen :
Â
