While hockey fans cheer on the remaining teams left in the hockey playoffs, the NHL is enjoying their milestone year, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the league. Among the many ways they are celebrating the year, the league announced a prestigious list of the 100 greatest hockey players of all-time as voted on by a panel of experts. And of course, you have the usual suspects you would expect to see like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Ken Dryden, but, as with a complex list like this, there are also a few notably absent names. So who are the biggest snubs on the list of the 100 greatest hockey players?
Ed Belfour
With only `15 goalies on the top 100 list, there’s only room for the very best to rank among them. Even having said that, it is a bot of a shock Belfour hasn’t earned a spot. With career accomplishments include two Vezina Trophies, four Jennings Trophies, a Calder Trophy and a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999. He also ranks third all-time in goaltending wins with 474 and ninth all-time in shut-outs with 76.
Dale Hawerchuk
Based solely on stats, Hawerchuk seems like a shoe-in. He ranks 19th all-time in career points with 1,409, 21st all-time in assists (891) and 36th all-time in scoring with 518 goals. In the 1980s, he racked up 100 or more point in six different seasons. Could it be the thing that kept him off the list was not winning a Stanley Cup in his career?
Jarome Iginla
Like Hawerchuk, Iginla has yet to win a Cup in his long a storied career. Also like Hawerchuk, he stats still put him in contention for one of the best to play the game. An amazingly effective power forward with more than enough size to throw around. He has been a dominant scorer in the league for many years with more than 30 goals listed for 12 consecutive seasons. His career stats to this point sit at a very impressive has 617 goals, and 1,285 points.
Evgeni Malkin
Currently one of the very best players right now, and this playoff season’s MVP in many people’s eyes. In his 11-year career to this point he has collected a Hart, a Calder, a Conn Smythe and two scoring titles. He has 814 points in 691 games, which is second only to teammate Sidney Crosby among current players and ranks ahead of many legends who did make the list. Too current? Perhaps, but younger and less impressive players made the list, making Malkin’s exclusion look like an oversight.
Joe Thorton
Probably, the most puzzling omission on the list. An all-star among the current players and a truly accomplished veteran. He’s led the league in assists in three different seasons. He’s a former NHL Hart Trophy winner and scoring champion and ranks second among active players in points. Why he’s not on the list is a complete mystery.