Ranking the 50 NHL Players with the Most Trade Value
With the trade deadline of March 2 almost upon us, we've opted to do for the NHL what Bill Simmons does so well for the NBA: provide a ranked list of players based on their (hypothetical) trade value.
It's important to stress that this is not a list of the best players in the league ranked by how good they are. Talent certainly comes into play, but it's only one of several factors considered.
It's a salary-cap world, so contracts matter a lot; the value of Player X with one year left before free agency is going to be considerably less than the value of the comparable Player Y if Y has four years left at reasonable money. And of course Player Z, with his back-diving long-term deal, might fall at either end of the spectrum depending on specifics.
Age and health naturally matter too; an up-and-coming talent with no issues has more value in trade than an older, declining one with concussion problems, even if the old guy is the better player today.
Finally, this is a subjective list, and of course there are going to be disagreements along the way. Let us know where we've messed up—which players we've overrated, underrated or forgotten entirely.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
50-47: Sedin Twins to Jacob Trouba
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50A. Henrik Sedin and 50B. Daniel Sedin. Vancouver's leading lights are enjoying fine seasons on the Left Coast, but they're being paid accordingly, and we've seen signs over the last few years of slowing production as they move toward their late 30s.
49. Cory Schneider. Perhaps the most criminally overlooked of the NHL's best goalies, Schneider is once again posting ridiculous numbers in New Jersey and has a contract that's long-term without being a straightjacket on the Devils.
48. Alex Steen. A brilliant two-way forward, Steen is signed at a reasonable $5.8 million cap hit. He is, however, only two years away from unrestricted free agency, and his sudden development of a high level of scoring over the past 100 games is sort of a weird thing to happen to a player his age (30).
47. Jacob Trouba. Just 20 years old, Trouba is already playing frankly ridiculous minutes on the Winnipeg blue line and is handling them effectively. He is a do-it-all defenceman who is still miles away from his prime.
46-43: Pavel Datsyuk to Henrik Zetterberg
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46. Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk is a better player today than many of the people above him on this list. He's also 36 years old, only two years away from unrestricted free agency and disturbingly injury-prone in recent years. He'd command a lot in trade from the right team, but his value in trade is not what it once was.
45. Jakub Voracek. The NHL's surprise scoring leader, the 25-year-old has really hit his stride as an offensive talent over the last three seasons; it's easy to forget how young he still is because his NHL debut came so early. This relatively low ranking is a less a reflection of skepticism in his talent and more because he's only one year away from free agency.
44. Mark Giordano. As with Voracek, Giordano's low rating should not be taken as an indictment of his play; he should have been a serious Norris candidate last year, and he's the front-runner to win the award this season and deservedly so. The problem is that his current deal lasts only one more year, making him almost a rental player and thus torpedoing his trade value.
43. Henrik Zetterberg. He should be slowing down given his age, but he's still producing at nearly a point-per-game level for Detroit. He has six years left on a back-diving contract that takes him to age 40, which means any team acquiring him is getting the assurance of a long-term contract but also some risk.
42-39: Rick Nash to Vladimir Tarasenko
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42. Rick Nash. It's remarkable how quickly everyone fell back in love with Rick Nash. Last year's playoff whipping boy, Nash has turned his 3.6 postseason shooting percentage into a 17.3 regular-season shooting percentage. The results have been exactly what one would expect from a player who suddenly discovered he could quintuple his goal total without taking any extra shots. Nash's current contract has three years left to run.
41. Zach Parise. Like Zetterberg, Parise is on a back-diving contract that takes him to age 40, but the difference is that he's only 30 now, which is an awfully big deal. He's a gifted two-way forward who is presently scoring at just south of the point-per-game mark for the Wild.
40. Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty is a good player—he's on pace for just south of 40 goals—and at age 26 he's still in the prime of his career, but another factor is worth considering. For the next four seasons, he will play in Montreal at a modest $4.5 million cap hit. That's not bad for a guy who regularly scores 30-plus goals.
39. Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko has been quite good for the Blues over the past two seasons, but he's exploded this year, scoring 25 goals and adding 25 assists through 49 games. The pending restricted free agent is only 23 years old and an emerging star.
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38-35: Pekka Rinne to Phil Kessel
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38. Pekka Rinne. Rinne has been incredible for Nashville this season as the primary catalyst for the club's surge up the NHL standings. The trouble with the 32-year-old is injury; he's currently sidelined for a significant stretch (which may ultimately cost him the Vezina), and his last two seasons for the Predators have been disastrous as he's fought through ailments.
37. Gabriel Landeskog. Just 22 years old, Landeskog is already an accomplished two-way winger; he was so good out of the box that he earned Selke votes as a rookie. His scoring is good but not incredible, and he's suffering through a down shooting percentage year. He's still several years away from what are likely to be his peak seasons.
36. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Taken one pick before Landeskog in the 2011 draft, Nugent-Hopkins is another well-rounded two-way player. He gets the nod over his Colorado counterpart thanks to slightly better scoring totals and the positional benefits of being a centre rather than a winger.
35. Phil Kessel. The much-maligned Kessel is an elite offensive weapon, comes with the security of a long-term deal and at age 27 has lots of career left in him. One wonders how he'd perform if placed next to a high-end No. 1 centre.
34-31: Ryan Suter to Ryan Johansen
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34. Ryan Suter. Signed to a deal that exactly matches Zach Parise's, Suter has become famous for his ability to soak up a ton of minutes. He routinely plays half of every regular-season game for Minnesota and has been remarkably durable.
33. Matt Duchene. Duchene has at times been an incredible offensive weapon for Colorado; the only problem is that at other times the scoring hasn't come. He's having some difficulties posting points this season after recording a career-high 70 last year, but he's only 24 and will doubtless come around.
32. Victor Hedman. The 24-year-old is finally catching eyes and even earned some Norris votes last year thanks to an emerging offensive game. The truth is, he's been a brilliant two-way defenceman for years; basically all it took was some power-play time and production for his reputation to start matching his results.
31. Ryan Johansen. Johansen is in a unique spot; he has two years left after this one on his contract, after which he will become a restricted free agent. His negotiations with Columbus were acrimonious last time around, and that may well crop up again. Given his formidable two-way game, it's in the Jackets' interest to find something that works.
30. Joe Pavelski
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Vital Statistics: 30 years old, four years to UFA, $6.0 million/year for four more seasons.
A two-way forward with the versatility to line up regularly at centre or wing and on either special team, Pavelski has always been highly regarded but really improved his stock with a 41-goal campaign in 2013-14. He's managed to keep scoring goals in prodigious fashion, thanks to a high shooting percentage and career highs in power-play goals (both of which are obviously related).
He's been a 20-minute-per-game man for one of the NHL's better teams for six seasons now. He's 130 games into scoring a goal every other night and is signed at reasonable money for the next four seasons. There is a lot to like here.
29. Taylor Hall
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Vital Statistics: 23 years old, five years to UFA, $6.0 million/year for five more seasons.
Some of the shine has come off Hall this season. He's not scoring as much as he had in the past, and the Oilers' rebuild has reached a point where the blame for failure is starting to fall on the top draft picks on the team—despite the fact that Hall is still two years shy of 25 and is the oldest of those No. 1 picks.
He should have exceptional value if moved; he's already eclipsed the point-per-game mark in consecutive seasons, and only a PHWA voting snafu prevented him from being named to an end-of-season All-Star team in 2012-13. He's signed long term and at a reasonable rate and has proved himself capable of driving a top line even on a wretched franchise.
28. Logan Couture
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, four years to UFA, $6.0 million/year for four more seasons
Couture is not yet the most valuable player in San Jose in terms of winning hockey games, but given his age there's no rush; he'll still be playing hockey for the Sharks long after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have headed off into the sunset. An exceptional two-way pivot, Couture has yet to run up massive scoring numbers, but that too should come with time.
He is signed at reasonable money and for reasonable term and still may have some upside.
27. Oliver Ekman-Larsson
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Vital Statistics: 23 years old, four years to UFA, $5.5 million/year for four more seasons.
Arizona's No. 1 defenceman has received Norris votes in each of the last two seasons, and it's easy to see why; he combines a strong offensive presence with exceptional defensive value.
But as good as Ekman-Larsson is as a defenceman, his trade value has to be higher still. He's signed at a reasonable cap hit for years to come, and he's a young veteran, having appeared in more than 300 NHL games at age 23. We haven't seen him at his best yet.
26. Nicklas Backstrom
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, five years to UFA, $6.7 million/year for five more seasons.
Alex Ovechkin's assist machine is of course much more than that. The subtly skilled Swedish pivot is an excellent two-way player, and while he's no longer scoring at the ridiculous rates he did early in his career, he's a reliable point-per-game centre who can be counted on at either end of the rink.
He's still in the prime of his career, and he's signed for the long term at reasonable money, all of which helps his trade value.
25. Ryan McDonagh
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, four years to UFA, $4.7 million/year for four more seasons.
Ryan McDonagh is a very good defenceman. If anyone had any doubts on that score, he erased them with a brilliant playoff run last year with the Rangers in which he averaged more than 26 minutes per game and contributed 17 points in 25 games. The offence was a bit of an aberration, but he showed the steady two-way presence he's given New York the last few seasons.
But in the salary-cap world, the other thing that's special is that does it all for less than $5 million per season, a deal the Rangers will be taking advantage of for four more seasons after this one. For the cost of a good second-pairing defenceman, New York has one of the game's top rearguards.
The best thing? At 25 years of age, McDonagh may still be improving.
24. Nathan MacKinnon
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Vital Statistics: 19 years old, five years to UFA, $3.775 million/year for one more season.
The first overall pick from the 2013 draft blazed on to the NHL scene last season, scoring 63 points as a rookie and running away with the Calder Trophy in the process. The scoring has slowed a little this season, thanks in large part to a brutal 5.9 shooting percentage, but MacKinnon has shown flashes of what he can do, and that combined with his draft pedigree is enough to secure his value.
23. Alex Pietrangelo
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, five years to UFA, $6.5 million/year for five more seasons.
The St. Louis Blues' No. 1 defenceman is at the point where he's no longer one of the league's best young defencemen—he's one of its best defencemen, period. He's handling a massive workload for one of the best teams in the league.
Pietrangelo is a complete talent, offering exceptional ability at either end of the rink. He's also in the prime of his career and on a reasonable, long-term contract.
22. Jamie Benn
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, two years to UFA, $5.25 million/year for two more seasons.
The only real problem with Jamie Benn is that he's not locked up for as long a time as some of the other players on this list, which means that he might potentially bolt for free agency if the team acquiring him wasn't a great fit. But otherwise, there's a lot to like.
A left wing who has also played centre at the NHL level, Benn is the complete package. He's big and plays a physical game, checking off the "power forward" box so many NHL teams love. He's a reliable two-way player who is trusted in key defensive situations and on the penalty kill.
He has a well-rounded offensive toolkit; he was only two points shy of the point-per-game mark last season. He's also the team captain in Dallas.
Aside from the quibble over contract length, there's nothing to dislike about Benn.
21. Henrik Lundqvist
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Vital Statistics: 32 years old, six years to UFA, $8.5 million/year for six more seasons.
Lundqvist is generally recognized as the best goaltender of the current era; he leads the league in wins with 334 since the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and his 0.921 save percentage over that span is also one of the best totals in the game.
He's still performing well too, with a 0.922 save percentage this season. The question is at when we'll start seeing a drop-off in his play; he's 32, and while there are several examples of goaltenders playing well even as they approach 40, there are also plenty of examples of goalies falling off.
That risk hurts Lundqvist's value a little, but at the moment he's a franchise goalie. Even if he slows down a little, he'll still be a very good starter.
20. Tuukka Rask
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, six years to UFA, $7.0 million/year for six more seasons.
The NHL's reigning Vezina winner seems to have recovered after some significant troubles in the first half of the season. A fantastic January has him at a 0.921 save percentage on the season, and while that doesn't match his efforts of the last three seasons, it's a respectable number.
He's one of the top goaltenders in hockey. He's signed for the long term, and at age 27 he should still have many productive years in front of him.
19. P.K. Subban
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, seven years to UFA, $9.0 million/year for seven more seasons.
Subban's status as an elite NHL defenceman is often surprisingly controversial—we're only a year removed from a polarized debate as to his role on Canada's Olympic team, where he mostly settled in as the fourth option on the right side—but he's also logs massive minutes already, has sterling underlying numbers and combines offensive upside with a physical presence.
After a near run with arbitration last summer, the Canadiens opted to give him the kind of contract only a franchise cornerstone gets, a long-term deal with a massive cap hit. It was the right decision for a player who is already one of the best defencemen in the game and who at 25 isn't going to get worse anytime soon.
18. Carey Price
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, three years to UFA, $6.5 million/year for three more seasons.
Carey Price has been simply outstanding this season. He's always been an exceptional goaltender, but he's found another level in 2014-15, posting a 0.932 save percentage that leads all NHL goalies and puts him in contention for not only the Vezina but also the Hart Trophy. That he's doing it in Montreal with a team not typically known for its shutdown style makes it even more remarkable.
It's enough to move him to the front of the list of NHL goalies in terms of trade value.
17. Erik Karlsson
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Vital Statistics: 24 years old, four years to UFA, $6.5 million/year for four more seasons.
Karlsson has a lot of similarities to Subban, but what ultimately ended up separating the two was dollars. Both are young defencemen with lots of upside, lots of offensive game and strong underlying numbers; the difference is that Karlsson comes in $2.5 million per season cheaper, and in a close race that's definitive.
The other item in Karlsson's favour is that as a pure offensive defenceman, he's close to being without peer; he's had 70-plus points in two of the last three years, and the only time he missed that mark was during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
16. Anze Kopitar
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, one year to UFA, $6.8 million/year for one more season.
Early on in his career, there were complaints that Kopitar didn't score the way a No. 1 centre really would in a perfect world. But after years as the two-way centerpiece of an exceptional Los Angeles roster, it's generally accepted that he makes up for his somewhat shy scoring with his exceptional attention to defensive detail.
Hurting his value here is his contract status. Because Kopitar is so close to free agency, it is by no means certain that he'd stay with a team that acquired his rights; a team might acquire him, get one season of work and then lose him to the open market. That makes him less worthy of investing a massive trade package in than some other skaters who are perhaps lesser talents but are also more certain investments.
In other words, he's a better player than several of the guys ranked above him on this list, but he also comes with more risk.
15. Corey Perry
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Vital Statistics: 29 years old, six years to UFA, $8.625 million/year for six more seasons.
Perry is the kind of player that opposing teams love to hate, because not only is he big and mean but he's simply too good to ignore.
The 2011 Hart Trophy winner has become more disciplined over the years, taking fewer penalties, but he's still more than capable of landing a bone-rattling (and occasionally dirty) hit or filling an opponent's glove with water to try to mess with his head. Combine that with a penchant for scoring goals (he's coming off a 43-goal campaign) and superb underlying numbers and he might be the league's most capable agitator.
Many a team would welcome Perry's combination of talent and truculence to the lineup.
14. Duncan Keith
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Vital Statistics: 31 years old, eight years to UFA, $5.8 million/year for eight more seasons.
It's debatable whether Keith is a better defenceman today and tomorrow than a guy like P.K. Subban; not only are Subban's numbers comparable, but the presence of Niklas Hjalmarsson on the Chicago blue line means that Keith isn't always tasked with the toughest shutdown minutes. Subban is younger and on the upswing; Keith is 31 and presumably faces a long and subtle decline over the next eight years of his contract.
What isn't disputable is that Keith's cap hit is $3 million less than Subban's.
Combine one of the best defencemen in the game with an absolute steal of a contract and a cerebral style of play that should help ward off Father Time, and Keith's trade value is simply incredible.
13. Patrick Kane
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Vital Statistics: 26 years old, eight years to UFA, $10.5 million/year for eight more seasons.
It's not a secret that Patrick Kane's defensive reputation could use some work, though the player recently told the Chicago Tribune's Scott King that his play in that area has improved every year he's been in the league. He made a similar comment last season to ESPN Chicago's Scott Powers, noting the influence of teammate Marian Hossa on his game. Even so, he's unlikely to win a Selke Trophy anytime soon.
But even if we tag his defence as just "improving," it's impossible to argue the fact that Kane has been an indispensable part of two championship teams, even winning the Conn Smythe in 2013. He's a dynamic offensive player in the prime of his career, and he has a long and distinguished track record of producing in the playoffs.
Like others on this list, his value gets docked a little because he's a winger instead of a centre and because he's a little on the small side at 5'11", 181 pounds. Even so, he's a special player who is locked up for the long term.
12. Patrice Bergeron
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Vital Statistics: 29 years old, seven years to UFA, $6.5 million/year for seven more seasons.
Patrice Bergeron is a magical two-way talent. "Magical" may seem a ridiculous word, but he's hard to explain otherwise. This season, for example, he leads all Bruins forwards in points/hour five-on-five while taking on the toughest competition and tough zone starts. Even more impressively, Boston outshoots the opposition 35-24 in an average hour at evens when he's on the ice; when he's off, the team is outshot 30-27 in the same span of time.
Bergeron has been remarkably durable the last few years; given some of the horrific injuries he's played through, he epitomizes "takes a licking and keeps on ticking."
As he approaches 30, he'll be less productive, but even so he's so good now that he should be excellent for the duration.
11. Alex Ovechkin
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Vital Statistics: 29 years old, six years to UFA, $9.538 million/year for six more seasons.
Ovechkin is a controversial figure, because when he's on he scores goals like nobody else in the game but he isn't always on. A 65-point season in 2011-12 was one low point; a minus-35 campaign last year was another. But with 31 goals in 50 games (and, for those who rate the stat, a plus-11 rating) he's thriving under new head coach Barry Trotz.
It's worth remembering those struggles, though, because they affect trade value. We're not attempting to divine the root of those problems; we're just attempting to set a trade value, and it's a good bet those problems would matter to a general manager who is looking to take his contract on.
Another factor is positional. It's a common belief around the league that an elite centre can do more to help his team win than an elite winger can, which hurts Ovechkin's stock relative to top centres in the game.
There's also the financial aspect to consider, by which I mean ticket sales rather than his contract. Very few NHL stars are so famous that they can single-handedly sell tickets; Ovechkin is one of the rare ones who can. In some markets, that's a big deal.
10. Claude Giroux
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, seven years to UFA, $8.275 million/year for seven more seasons.
In 2010-11, Claude Giroux went from being a good secondary scorer to being an explosive point-per-game weapon, and since then he's been running laps around most of the rest of the league offensively. In fact, since that season, there isn't a single player in the NHL to record more points than Giroux (355) has, and only one player (Martin St. Louis, 338 points) is even within 20 points of his mark.
Giroux isn't as big (5'11", 172 lbs) and respected as a two-way player as some of the other first-line centres around the NHL, and that hurts his value a little. Even so, he's an elite offensive weapon, extremely durable and locked up at reasonable dollars for most of the next decade.
Some may quibble with putting him ahead of Ovechkin, but it came down to the fact that he's a centre, a little younger and a little over $1.0 million/season cheaper.
9. Tyler Seguin
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Vital Statistics: 23 years old, four years to UFA, $5.75 million/year for four more seasons.
The Dallas Stars took a bit of a risk when they pulled the trigger on a seven-player blockbuster that sent away Loui Eriksson and a trio of solid prospects, but the results have been exceptional; if the Stars wanted to send Seguin away tomorrow, they would certainly command much more in exchange.
Of course, there's also no reason for Dallas to contemplate such a move, since Seguin is the team's most important player.
In 130 games since coming to Texas, Seguin has scored 65 goals and recorded 140 points; he's two points off the NHL scoring lead this season and finished fourth overall in scoring a year ago. He's an elite offensive talent who hasn't yet reached his prime and has four years left on a bargain contract.
That combination of youth and team-friendly cap hit is what puts him ahead of some similar but higher-priced players.
8. Ryan Getzlaf
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Vital Statistics: 29 years old, six years to UFA, $8.25 million/year for six more seasons.
Getzlaf is big (6'4", 218 lbs), mean and an elite offensive contributor; he's essentially the pinnacle of what a guy like Brian Burke looks for in a hockey player. He was the runner-up to Sidney Crosby in Hart Trophy voting last season and regularly logs 20-plus minutes per game against the best the opposition can throw against him.
Add tremendous work as a two-way player to a fierce physical style of play and a contract that has him locked up for the next half-dozen years, and his value in trade is exceptional. My guess is that the value of the physical element he brings would give him slightly higher value around the league than the younger but smaller Giroux.
7. John Tavares
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Vital Statistics: 24 years old, three years to UFA, $5.5 million/year for three more seasons.
The Islanders are getting significantly more credit as a team these days now that they're winning hockey games, but they've always done some things well. One of those things was getting John Tavares on a long-term contract at a price point that is frankly ridiculous for a player of his abilities.
At just 24, Tavares is already a high-end NHL centre and hasn't even reached the pinnacle of his career yet. He's a fantastic player on merit, but in combination with age and contract status, his trade value is higher than a couple of other players who might be regarded as superior talents.
6. Shea Weber
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Vital Statistics: 29 years old, 11 years to UFA, $7.86 million/year for 11 more seasons.
Value is always a combination of substance and style, and Weber brings both in spades. In terms of substance, he's a legitimate No. 1 NHL defenceman, combining shutdown ability with a significant offensive touch. But it's not just what he does—it's also the way he does it that drives his value so high.
Defensively, Weber doesn't just keep opponents from scoring; the 6'4", 233-pound behemoth dominates them physically and inflicts pain upon them. Offensively, he doesn't just score goals; he hammers 108.5 mph slap shots that carry with them a significant risk of injury for anyone brave enough to block them.
In short, he's not just a very good player; he's a very good player who is also scary, and that's a combination NHL teams love.
If the Predators were willing to trade him, the cost would be extraordinary. Their decision to match Philadelphia's offer sheet makes it clear that even with a brutally front-loaded contract, they place his value at north of four first-round draft picks; with that salary dropping off shortly, his value as a trade asset has probably increased since that decision was made.
5. Steven Stamkos
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Vital Statistics: 24 years old, one year to UFA, $7.5 million/year for one more season.
Stamkos is without question one of the premier talents in the National Hockey League. He's a pure goal scorer without equal, combining not just a high shot volume but an uncanny level of shooting efficiency; on 1,500 career shots, he's a ridiculous 17.3 percent shooter.
What hurts his value is his contract uncertainty. Make no mistake, any team would pay a high price to add a franchise player like Stamkos to its roster, but if he were dealt, it's not at all certain that he wouldn't be heading for an insane payday in free agency in the summer of 2016.
4. Drew Doughty
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Vital Statistics: 25 years old, four years to UFA, $7.0 million/year for four more seasons.
It's a little strange to think that Drew Doughty, who is probably the consensus pick as the best defenceman in hockey, has never come closer to winning the Norris than he did as a 20-year-old sophomore because he simply isn't a point-producing machine.
That doesn't matter here. He's still young at 25, with a decade or more of elite-level hockey in front of him, and it's hard to think of a better player to build an NHL blue line around. With four years left to go on a reasonable contract, his trade value is astronomical.
3. Evgeni Malkin
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Vital Statistics: 28 years old, seven years to UFA, $9.5 million/year for seven more seasons.
With injuries and the whole "playing behind Sidney Crosby" thing, it's easy to forget what an incredible player Evgeni Malkin is in his own right. Since he broke into the NHL in 2006-07, the 6'3" pivot trails only Crosby in terms of points per game; he's clear of Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and anyone else we might care to name.
If the Penguins wanted to deal Malkin, the demand would be enormous because he's a player an entire forward corps can be built around; he's one of the handful of legitimate offensive superstars in the NHL. At age 28 he's nowhere near the end of his career, and with seven years left on his contract he's a long-term buy.
2. Jonathan Toews
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Vital Statistics: 26 years old, eight years to UFA, $10.5 million/year for eight more seasons.
Toews has a stellar reputation around the league. Others may score more, but Toews outscores; his combination of offensive punch and defensive acumen has few parallels around the league. He's also well-regarded as a leader thanks to his work as captain of the always formidable Chicago Blackhawks.
At age 26, he's in the prime of his career. His new contract is expensive but keeps him under team control forever, and with a player of his caliber, that second point is the important one.
1. Sidney Crosby
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Vital Statistics: 27 years old, 10 years to UFA, $8.7 million/year for 10 more seasons.
This one should be uncontested, at least until such time as Connor McDavid starts giving him a run for his money. Crosby is the NHL's best player. He is under team control at a reasonable cap hit until the end of time, and at age 27 there should still be plenty of tread on the tires.
Statistics via NHL.com, Hockey-Reference.com and BehindtheNet.ca. Contract information courtesy of NHLNumbers.com.
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