Here it is PW.
1. GORDIE HOWE: The late Detroit Red Wings general manager Jack Adams liked to refer to Howe as the “Babe Ruth of hockey.” Because of his movie-star handsomeness and chiseled physique, Howe was depicted as a Superman-like athlete in 1950s newsreels Howe scored 801 goals in 26 NHL seasons, and 174 more in six NHL World Hockey Association seasons.
What separated Howe from Gretzky and Orr was an ability and willingness to physically dominate opponent. He was as ruthless as he was skilled.
Howe scored his last NHL goal, at age 52, during the 1979-80 season. Today, a player registering a goal, an assist and a fighting major penalty is said to have achieved a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
2. WAYNE GRETZKY: In today’s NHL, recording 100 points in a season is an impressive accomplishment. Only four players have reached 100 points over the past six seasons.
Gretzky won 10 NHL scoring championships from 1981 to 1994, and never had fewer than 130 points in those heralded seasons. He still holds the NHL record of 215 points in a season, set in 1985-86. He reached 200 points four times.
Gretzky is the NHL’s all-time leader in points (2,857) and goals (894). To put his records into perspective, consider that Jaromir Jagr, turning 45 in less than a month, is No. 2 on the points list at 1,897. Alex Ovechkin, 31, with 547 career goals, would have to average 30 goals for the next 12 season to surpass Gretzky in goals.
It was Gretzky’s hockey IQ that separated him from his peers. He is the NHL’s best playmaker. He had a magical ability to anticipate what was about to unfold on the ice.
3. BOBBY ORR: When Bobby Orr was on the ice, he was like a Lamborghini on a highway filled with four-door sedans.
He wasn’t merely a fast skater. He was a powerful skater. He rocketed up ice like he was strapped to an Atlas booster. He was always a threat to carry the puck end-to-end.
Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman told USA TODAY Sports that Bobby Orr was the fastest player he ever saw.
Orr was a game-changer in the ultimate sense. He turned NHL tradition upside down when he won the scoring championship as a defenseman with 120 points in 1969-70. He topped 100 points six times in his career. After watching Orr dominate, coaches began to experiment with how to utilize defensemen more in offensive attacks.
Nothing illustrates Orr’s dominance more than his winning of eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the league’s top defenseman from 1968-75.
Orr only played 10 NHL seasons because of major knee injuries. He never played after age 30, finishing his career with 888 points in only 631 games played.
4. MARIO LEMIEUX: At 19, he scored on a breakaway on his first NHL shift, stealing the puck from Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque on the play.
It was like a movie trailer of greatness still to come.
Lemieux is the only player in NHL history to score five goals in five different ways in a single game. The Pittsburgh Penguins legend scored an even-strength goal, a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, a penalty shot goal and an empty-netter against the New Jersey Devils in 1988.
Lemieux won six NHL scoring championships, including 1988-89 when he finished with 85 goals and 199 points. He finished his career with a better goals-per-game scoring average than Gretzky.
Because of back pain, Lemieux needed help tying his skates during the 1991-92 playoffs. But that didn’t stop him from registering 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points in 15 games to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Like Orr, Lemieux’s career was undermined by injury. Lemieux also had to conquer cancer. He was diagnosed in January 1993, underwent treatment, then came back in March to score 30 goals with 26 assists in the final 20 games of the season to win the NHL scoring title.
5. MAURICE “ROCKET” RICHARD: The NHL regular-season goal-scoring trophy is named after Richard because his career epitomized what it means to have a scorer’s mentality.
He was the first to score 50 goals in a season, and the first to score 500 goals in his career. He led the league in scoring five times, and finished with 544 career goals.
6. BOBBY HULL: The former Chicago Blackhawks great owned his own brand of Showtime offense in the 1950s and 60s when he terrorized goalies and opponents with a wicked slap shot and blazing speed.
He was nicknamed “The Golden Jet” because of his blonde hair and raw speed. Hull’s slap shot was clocked at 118 mph and his top skating speed was judged to be 29.7 mph, according to news reports of that era.
Hull used a dramatically curved stick, which prompted others to alter their blades. He hit or surpassed the 50-goal mark five times with the Blackhawks, scoring a high of 58 in 1968-69.
7. JEAN BELIVEAU: Majestic. Classy. Elegant. Stately. Those are all words that could be used to describe the late Believeau as both a player and a person.
Few have played the game with his blend of gracefulness and talent.
Beliveau was the big center all coaches covet. He had the size (6-3), offensive game and defensive discipline. He won 10 Stanley Cup championships as a player with the Montreal Canadiens, and was the league MVP twice (1956-64). He also won the first Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1965.
8. MARK MESSIER: Leadership is such key element of Messier’s hockey contributions that it’s sometimes overlooked that he ranks third all-time in points (1,887) and second all-time in playoff points (295).
Messier was a gifted, gritty center who won six Stanley Cup rings.
He won five with the Edmonton Oilers, but what he is most remembered for is captaining the New York Rangers to the 1994 Stanley Cup. It was the Rangers’ first title in 54 years.
Messier guaranteed a Game 6 victory against the Devils that has made him legendary in New York. He called his shot, then delivered a hat trick to tie the series.
9. GUY LAFLEUR: An electrifying performer, Lafleur became the first player in NHL history to score 50 or more goals and register 100 points for six consecutive seasons (1975-80). In that time, his Montreal Canadiens put together a string of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships (1976-79). He also was a member of the Canadiens’ 1973 Stanley Cup team.
He needed only 720 games to reach 1,000 NHL points, and won three scoring championships and two Hart Trophies. He also won the 1977 Conn Smythe after leading all playoff scorers with 26 points in 14 games.
10. DOUG HARVEY: He won the Norris Trophy seven times and helped the Canadiens win six different Stanley Cup championships (1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960)
Playing in an era when defenseman were obliged to stay back, Harvey found a way to contribute offensively with his passing and anticipation. In 1956-57, he was a 50-point defenseman, an impressive total in that era. Because of Harvey’s strong all-around game, he was the yardstick by which all other defensemen were judged in the 1950s.
11. MARTN BRODEUR :More wins than any goalie in NHL history, and broke Terry Sawchuk's thought-to-be unbeatable shutout record.
12. PATRICK ROY : Always seemed to have an aura of invincibility during the NHL playoffs.
13. NICKLAS LIDSTROM: A near-perfect two-way defenseman who won seven Norris Trophies, four Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy.
14. SIDNEY CROSBY : Two Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies and two scoring championships, a Conn Smythe Trophy, two Olympic gold medals and World Cup MVP. Nothing else to prove.
15. TERRY SAWCHUK : Four Vezina trophies, four Stanley Cups and 103 shutouts in 971 NHL games.
16. RAY BOURQUE: Scored 10 or more goals for 21 consecutive seasons. Five Norris Trophies.
17. STEVE YZERMAN: Elite scorer who altered his game to become of the game’s top playoff warriors.
18. MIKE BOSSY: Scored 51 or more goals in each of his first nine seasons in the NHL.
19. EDDIE SHORE: Only NHL defenseman to win Hart Trophy four times.
20. STAN MIKITA: Dominant center in the 1960s, scoring 24 or more goals for 14 consecutive seasons.
21. ALEX OVECHkIN: Most dangerous goal scorer in the modern era.
22. JAROMIR JAGR: Still playing at a high level and talking as if he intends to play into his 50s.
23. HOWIE MORENZ: Dominant NHL player in the 1920s and 1930s. Scored 40 goals in 44 games in 1929-30.
24. DENIS POTVIN: Three-time Norris Trophy and crucial player in the New York Islanders dynasty.
25. PHIL ESPOSITO: Five-time NHL scoring champion and two-time MVP. Scored 717 goals.
