Ranking the 10 Most Consistent Veterans in the NHL

The NHL is definitely a young man's league. Your scoring leaders and superstars are guys like Tyler Seguin, Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby, but there are some NHL veterans who still play critical roles on their respective teams.

Looking at guys who are in their 30s who are putting up strong numbers, we rank the 10 most consistent veterans in the NHL. Offensive numbers, consistency in contribution and durability are all taken into consideration.

There are plenty of guys in their late 20s who would have easily made this list, but the starting point for these rankings begins at 30. Others you might consider, like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, are eliminated because of durability issues, despite the fact their point-per-game averages might be higher than some that are ranked.

Click ahead to see who made the cut.

10. Rick Nash, New York Rangers

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This season: 28 games, 18 goals, 13 assists, 31 points, 96 shots

Previous four: 266 games, 109 goals, 84 assists, 193 points

The skinny

Good team or bad, Rick Nash has been one of the league's most consistent snipers. He's the second-leading goal scorer in the league this season and is two shy of 20—a mark he's hit in 10 of his 11 NHL seasons. Nash has seven seasons with 30 or more goals and two with 40-plus. All the while, his shooting percentage has only dipped below 10 or above 15.2 in two seasons.

He missed 17 games with a concussion last year but has been healthy aside from minor bumps and bruises since 2005-06, missing 30 games across seven seasons—an average of a little more than four per season.

9. Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks

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This season: 32 games, seven goals, 20 assists, 27 points, 100 shots

Previous four: 294 games, 117 goals, 121 assists, 238 points, 965 shots

The skinny

Not only has Patrick Marleau not missed a game since the 2008-09 season, he's continued to be quietly productive. I say quietly only because the soft-spoken former Sharks captain doesn't receive much in the way of fanfare. He does plenty in terms of offense, scoring 30 or more in the last five non-lockout seasons.

Pro-rated totals from the shortened campaign would have seen him hit 29, and he's hit at least 20 goals in 12 of his 15 non-lockout years.

8. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

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This season: 30 games played, seven goals, 19 assists, 26 points

Previous four: 274 games, 99 goals, 159 assists, 258 points

The skinny

Daniel Sedin hasn't been as durable as his twin brother Henrik but has been just as reliable to produce points in a big way. He had a down season under coach John Tortorella a year ago and missed nine games after a hit from behind in March but has bounced back to his old ways and is on pace for a 70-plus-point season.

He missed 11 games over the previous two seasons and 18 in the 2009-10 campaign with a broken foot but has played five full 82-game seasons and four more with three or fewer missed.

7. Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers

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This season: 29 games, four goals, 14 assists, 18 points, 58 shots

Previous four: 294 games, 34 goals, 133 assists, 167 points, 540 shots

The skinny

The 37-year-old Swiss product hasn't missed a game since 2009 and has somewhat quietly been one of the league's best and most durable veteran defensemen over the past half-dozen seasons. Mark Streit has put up six straight 40-plus-point seasons, including the lockout-shortened campaign, which, pro-rated, would have seen him net 46. He's landed in the top 10 or 15 scorers from the blue line dating back to 2008.

He missed the entire 2010-11 season because of a torn labrum in his shoulder after a hit during a training-camp scrimmage but has otherwise been extremely dependable. He hasn't missed any games the last five seasons and has only been absent nine times since becoming a full-time NHLer.

6. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

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This season: 21 games, 11-7-3 record, four shutouts, .909 save percentage

Previous four: 236 games, 132-85-18 record, .924 save percentage

The skinny

This might be the blip on Henrik Lundqvist's career radar with what's currently the lowest save percentage of his career and highest goals-against average as a member of the New York Rangers. Taking his body of work into consideration, along with the fact the Rangers simply are not as good a team as last season, it's discernible that Lundqvist is hands-down the most consistent goaltender of the past decade.

The 32-year-old has started no fewer than 62 games since his rookie season—excluding the lockout years—and had posted a save percentage of at least .920 in the past five campaigns. He has had at least 30 wins (or the pro-rated equivalent) in every one of his nine NHL seasons.

5. Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

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This season: 30 games, six goals, 20 assists, 26 points

Previous four: 282 games, 55 goals, 215 assists, 270 points

The skinny

Last season was a blip on the radar for Henrik Sedin, who posted his lowest point total in a non-lockout season since 2004. He also missed a dozen games with knee and oblique injuries. Those were the first games he'd missed since 2004.

The 34-year-old has been one of the league's top setup men for a decade and has been at or near a point-per-game pace since his fourth year in the league.

Sedin has six seasons with at least 60 assists, falling three shy in 2006 and finishing with 34 in 48 games during the 2012-13 lockout season—which projected to 58 over an 82-game schedule.

4. Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

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This season: 30 games, six goals, 12 assists, 18 points, 74 shots, plus-11

Previous four: 282 games, 20 goals, 153 assists, 173 points, 426 shots, plus-52

The skinny

Duncan Keith has twice won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman and has put up at least 35 assists and 40 points in the last five non-lockout seasons. The 31-year-old has been among the top 10 blueliners in assists in four of the last five years, topping the category in 2014 and finishing second in 2010.

The iron man has missed just 18 games in his entire career, spanning 10 seasons.

3. Jarome Iginla, Colorado Avalanche

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This season: 30 games, seven goals, 11 assists, 18 points, 54 shots

Previous four: 286 games, 119 goals, 128 assists, 247 points, 883 shots

The skinny

Thirty-seven-year-old Jarome Iginla has been a model of consistency over his career. He has scored 30 or more goals in 12 consecutive non-lockout seasons. He's behind that pace at the moment in his first season with the Avalanche, but he is a notoriously strong finisher and could make it 13 this year. He's also missed just eight games in the past five seasons.

2. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

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This season: 32 games, eight goals, 20 assists, 28 points

Previous four: 292 games, 57 goals, 206 assists, 263 points

The skinny

Joe Thornton hasn't finished at a point-per-game pace since the 2010 season but has been up near that mark every year and has always placed among the top dozen assist leaders. The 35-year-old has often been first or second in that playmaker race. Thornton has played three consecutive full seasons with no absences and has missed just five games over his last eight years.

1. Martin St. Louis, New York Rangers

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This season: 27 games, 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points, 55 shots

Previous four: 288 games, 103 goals, 199 assists, 302 points, 755 shots

The skinny

Martin St. Louis is on the cusp of turning 40, but he is still pivotal to his team's success and excelling in both point categories. The 5'8", 180-pound winger is on pace for his eighth 30-goal season and has been over or very near a point-per-game average the past eight years.

He has been extremely reliable over his entire career, missing only eight games in the past 11 seasons after suffering a broken leg in his second full-time year with the Tampa Bay Lightning.