Colorado Avalanche superstar and reigning Hart Trophy champion Nathan MacKinnon is well on his way to earning a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame when his career is all said and done, if he hasn’t already. Coming off the two best seasons of his NHL career, the best might still be yet to come. It’s not really a surprise that when ESPN released their ranking of the top 25 NHL players of the 21st Century, MacKinnon made the cut.
But even I was a little surprised to see just how high ESPN put him.
The Avalanche star, who turns 29 in just over a month, comes in at 6th place in the rankings. The five players he sits behind are pretty good if you ask me.
- Sidney Crosby
- Alex Ovechkin
- Connor McDavid
- Patrick Kane
- Niklas Lidstrom
And then you have MacKinnon, ahead of the likes of Martin Brodeur, Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Malkin, and Patrice Bergeron, who round out the top 10. The two that I want to focus on are Brodeur and Malkin, both of whom I was pretty surprised to see sitting behind MacKinnon in the rankings.
While two of Brodeur’s three Stanley Cups came in the 90’s and don’t really come into play for these rankings, he did rack up four Vezina Trophies in the 2000’s, as well as another Stanley Cup. Is there an argument to be made that he benefitted from playing behind a stingy New Jersey team? You bet, but I’m still surprised they put MacKinnon ahead of him.
MacKinnon ahead of Malkin, if we compare their careers right now, is the one I’m struggling with. I think Nate is on his way to besting Malkin’s career by the time he calls it quits, but I think people forget just how good Malkin was in his prime. Now 37, he obviously isn’t the player he once was, but up until this past season, he’s still been a consistent point-per-game player. The brilliance of Sidney Crosby overshadows just how special Malkin has been.
Three Stanley Cups, Two Art Ross Trophies, One Conn Smythe Trophy, One Calder, One Hart Trophy, and One Ted Lindsay Award. That’s one heck of a resume.
A few Avalanche players who did not make the list are Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Cale Makar. I’m sure if they re-do this list in a few years, Makar will be on it, but for now, he’s been left off. Forsberg had a Hart Trophy, an Art Ross, a Stanley Cup (although he missed a few rounds) and the usual crazy production in the 2000’s, but I imagine the lack of longevity is a reason he’s not there. Sakic had the same trophies as well, but most of the 2000’s were the back-half of his career.
I want to hear your thoughts. MacKinnon is an incredible athlete and player, but I’m still struggling to put him ahead of a guy like Malkin right now on a list like this. Maybe that’s the old man in me.