BT's Top 50 NHL Players: Let the Argument Begin!

3. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings—If Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque didn't exist, then  I'd believe that we're witnessing the only reincarnation of a holy deity (I don't want to descriminate here) to ever play defense in the National Hockey League.

Screw Scott Niedermayer, Nick Lidstrom should retire—it's not fair to the rest of the NHL.

I could never know the name of any three other defenseman, and I'd still feel like the most priveleged fan in the NHL to have been able to see two of the three play.

Once time machines are invented, I'm going back to watch Bobby Orr play. That, and maybe convince Pat Quinn not to clean his clock.

Sidenote: I just thought of this, and I'm curious to hear everyone's response: Who's your All-Time defense from your hockey watching career. Of all time I'd have the aforementioned Orr, Lidstrom, and Bourque, but of people I've been alive to see play?

Maybe...

Lidstrom, Bourque, Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Phil Housely, and Paul Coffey, with Al MacInnis as a sub. What worries me, is that I didn't even give that any thought. Between 1988 and today has there been any better defensemen than those six? Better yet, who would want to play against that lineup?

My head hurts...I need to sit down.

Let's play a game of would you rather...

This one is straight personal preference to whomever is choosing. You knew it would come down to these two, and you know that whomever is chose as number one, the other side is going to argue why "their boy" is the real number one.

So here we go...

2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins—I won't like. Despite my not-liking Sidney Crosby, I had him ranked number one on other drafts of this list.

The fact is, Crosby doesn't just make his line inevitably better...he makes his entire team better. His playmaking ability forces teams to double-shift some of their best players in an effort to shut down Sidney Crosby. He's unstoppable: His passing, his accurate shot, and his hilariously ludicrous vision.

In history, I've only ever witness two teams that could shut Crosby down entirely. The 2005 Memorial Cup London Knights, and the 2007/08 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings—and those teams were ridiculously talented in their own respects.

This debate is going to go on for years though, and it may come down to a year-to-year thing, based on whomever does better the year before.

To be honest, I don't really care. I may not like Crosby, but I feel privileged to be able to see him, and the number one contender on this list in the NHL at the same time.

So without further ado...

1. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals—One of the reasons I had Crosby number one for a few times, was because I didn't want to be accused of my "not liking Crosby" bias.

As I talked to a few other fans though, I found that most of them, given the option, would take Ovechkin over Crosby.

While Crosby can lead with offensive flair, Ovechkin has done it all for longer. While Crosby will slide on one knee, punching his fist after a goal, we're more attracted to Ovie tossing himself through the glass after scoring. While most of us enjoy Crosby dangling on the end boards, we like Ovechkin crunching the opposition all the more.

There's just something about Alexander Ovechkin that attracts people to him, and it's probably the same reason for Crosby and his supporters.

Neither player is really comparable, as they're both different. That's why number one's on these lists will differ.

But again, who really cares who gets the number one spot on so-and-so's list—just feel lucky that we're gifted with two dynamic talents that only come along once in a lifetime, and 48 other players who would have the league in pretty good shape if those two weren't there.

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and an NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. If you want to get in contact with Bryan, you can do so through his profile, while you can catch more of his previous work in his archives.

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