The Most Proven Playoff Performer on Every NHL Team's Roster
We're getting close to the most exciting time of the NHL season: the playoffs. In between dreaming of first-round matchups (did you know that Montreal and Boston would meet if the season ended today?), we got to wondering which player on each team has the best playoff pedigree.
Our criteria were simple. To qualify, a player ideally combines great performance with a long track record of experience. As a result, a lot of the players we ended up picking are older veterans who have been repeatedly tested in hockey's crucible.
In some cases, of course, teams didn't have that many options and we were forced to compromise, but in each case, we tried to identify the player with the most distinguished record on each NHL roster.
Read on for our list of the most proven playoff performers.
Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf
1 of 30
Career Stat Line: 81 games, 25 goals, 49 assists, 74 points
Why He's Here: It's been close to a decade since Getzlaf won it all with the Ducks in 2007. That team was built from the back end, but Getzlaf led a modest offence in scoring with seven goals and 17 points.
He has routinely played 20-plus minutes per game in the playoffs for the Ducks since then, and while Anaheim has not had a deep playoff run in the years since, Getzlaf has reliably scored at around the point-per-game mark.
Arizona Coyotes: Mike Smith
2 of 30
Career Stat Line: 19 games, 10-8-0 record, .945 SV%
Why He's Here: The Coyotes roster isn't exactly overflowing with players who have experienced postseason success, but it must be admitted that Smith was fantastic in 2012 when the team last went on a run. That year, he posted a .950 save percentage in the first round against Chicago, winning three overtime games and posting a shutout in the decisive Game 6.
He followed that up by outdueling Pekka Rinne and then matching Jonathan Quick in Rounds 2 and 3, but then the Coyotes' meager offence gave out.
Also worthy of mention is Keith Yandle. The defenceman has recorded 19 points in 27 career playoff games, providing an offensively challenged team with necessary spark.
Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara
3 of 30
Career Stat Line: 141 games, 15 goals, 43 assists, 58 points
Why He's Here: There is no shortage of candidates on the always-competitive Bruins. Up front, players such as Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand all have sterling playoff track records. In net, Tuukka Rask is scarcely less accomplished. So this wasn't an easy choice.
But it's hard to go wrong with a Chara selection. He averaged better than 26 minutes per game in his first postseason appearance with the Ottawa Senators; over better than 100 games, he's just a touch shy of 27 minutes per night on average. He posted a ridiculous plus-16 rating when Boston won the Cup in 2011; when he was on the ice, the Bruins were more than twice as likely to score a goal as they were to be scored on.
He's a physical specimen with no equal, an offensive presence and the team captain.
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Buffalo Sabres: Brian Gionta
4 of 30
Career Stat Line: 112 games, 32 goals, 36 assists, 68 points
Why He's Here: One would not expect to find a lot of playoff-tested players on the roster of the young Buffalo Sabres, but there are a handful of exceptions. Gionta, who won a championship while with New Jersey in 2003, is the most notable.
Calgary Flames: Jonas Hiller
5 of 30
Career Stat Line: 26 games, 12-12-0 record, .931 SV%
Why He's Here: Hiller has yet to play a postseason game with his new team, but his work while a member of the Anaheim Ducks was exemplary. With a career .932 save percentage, Hiller leads all active NHL goalies in that department (min. 25 games).
Dennis Wideman has solid numbers, too, mostly thanks to a run with the Bruins in 2010 where he recorded 12 points in 13 games.
Carolina Hurricanes: Cam Ward
6 of 30
Career Stat Line: 41 games, 23-18-0 record, 0.917 SV%
Why He's Here: It was a rookie Ward who won the Conn Smythe Trophy, along with the Stanley Cup, for Carolina back in 2006. The Hurricanes have only made the playoffs twice in Ward's tenure, but both times the team went on deep runs and he delivered solid netminding.
The Smythe win puts him narrowly ahead of Eric Staal, a sophomore when the 'Canes won the Cup; he led the playoffs with 28 points that year and last time out scored 10 times in 18 postseason games.
Chicago Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews
7 of 30
Career Stats Line: 94 games, 29 goals, 52 assists, 81 points
Why He's Here: This was not an easy choice. The Blackhawks have gone on four long playoff runs in the last six years, winning two Cups in the process, and there are any number of quality postseason performers on a team like that.
On the back end alone, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Corey Crawford all have cases. When we add guys like Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and overachievers like Bryan Bickell to the mix, it's a crowded field.
The reason Toews gets this honour is because he's the most important two-way player on the team. He and Kane each have a Smythe Trophy on the shelf, but Toews is the more well-rounded talent, the guy who takes on the toughest minutes. He doesn't score quite as much as Kane, but he's more valuable.
Colorado Avalanche: Daniel Briere
8 of 30
Career Stat Line: 124 games, 53 goals, 63 assists, 116 points
Why He's Here: Briere has a formidable and well-deserved playoff reputation, going back to his days in junior. He's never won the Stanley Cup, but he's been on seven deep playoff runs in the NHL. Most notably in 2010, he posted 30 points in 23 games for Philadelphia as it advanced to the Cup Final.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Brandon Dubinsky
9 of 30
Career Stat Line: 37 games, 8 goals, 15 assists, 23 points
Why He's Here: Dubinksy is a veteran of five playoff runs now, and he contributed point-per-game scoring to the cause when the Blue Jackets made the postseason in 2014. On a roster short of established playoff performers, he's the closest thing the team has to an established, successful veteran.
Jack Johnson's playoff scoring numbers (19 points in 18 games) are worthy of note, but his two-way game is somewhat lacking (he's a well-deserved minus-eight over his career).
Dallas Stars: Jason Spezza
10 of 30
Career Stat Line: 56 games, 17 goals, 35 assists, 52 points
Why He's Here: The Ottawa Senators may not have done much in the playoffs during their glory days, but Spezza did. He led the NHL postseason in scoring in 2007, contributing 22 points in 20 games and helping the Sens get to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Stars have a few notable veterans, but two deserve special mention. Shawn Horcoff surprised with six points in six games last spring, and prior to that, he posted 19 points in 24 games for the Cinderella Oilers in 2006. Alex Goligoski, meanwhile, has 14 points in 21 career postseason games.
Detroit Red Wings: Henrik Zetterberg
11 of 30
Career Stat Line: 125 games, 56 goals, 60 assists, 116 points
Why He's Here: Zetterberg led the Red Wings (and the league) in goals and points when they last won the Cup in 2008, and he's been a reliable presence throughout his major league career. He's eight points up on teammate Pavel Datsyuk in 20 fewer contests.
Edmonton Oilers: Andrew Ference
12 of 30
Career Stat Line: 120 games, eight goals, 30 assists, 38 points
Why He's Here: The Edmonton Oilers have been rebuilding for so long that very few of their key players have any playoff experience. Ference, who has made two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, is one of the few players who does. He contributed 10 points to Boston's Cup win in 2011 and also had deep runs with Pittsburgh and Calgary.
Florida Panthers: Brian Campbell
13 of 30
Career Stat Line: 97 games, 9 goals, 34 assists, 43 points
Why He's Here: Florida is a hotbed of playoff performers, in no small part thanks to Dale Tallon's penchant for borrowing old Chicago Blackhawks.
Sean Bergenheim (17 points in 23 games) and Dave Bolland (43 points in 67 games) aren't known as high-end producers, but both have delivered in postseasons past. Willie Mitchell and Shawn Thornton have both also seen their share of playoff campaigns.
Campbell, though, has starred in five different deep playoff runs, including the Blackhawks' 2010 Cup win. He had five points in Florida's first-round loss to New Jersey in 2012 and has delivered at pretty much every turn come playoff time.
Los Angeles Kings: Jonathan Quick
14 of 30
Career Stat Line: 76 games, 45-31-0 record, .923 SV%
Why He's Here: Quick, who was only human during the Kings' 2014 win, earns the nod here thanks to superhuman performances over the team's two previous runs; his .946-save-percentage run in 2011-12 is one of the most remarkable goalie performances in NHL history.
There were plenty of other candidates, too. Anze Kopitar has 60 points in 70 career games and a monster plus-22 rating. Justin Williams is the reigning Conn Smythe winner and has been a key performer not just in L.A.'s last three runs but also for Carolina in 2006. Drew Doughty has averaged better than 27 minutes per game over his playoff career and is the rock the Kings blue line is built on.
And that's before we even get to Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown and Marian Gaborik.
Minnesota Wild: Ryan Suter
15 of 30
Career Stat Line: 57 games, 5 goals, 15 assists, 20 points
Why He's Here: There aren't that many playoff standouts on the Wild roster, but Suter's a player who has really come into his own over the last few playoff series he's been a part of. Habitually among the NHL's ice-time leaders, he's averaged 28 minutes per game and up over the last few postseasons.
Montreal Canadiens: Sergei Gonchar
16 of 30
Career Stat Line: 141 games, 22 goals, 68 assists, 90 points
Why He's Here: Gonchar has been a nice fit in Montreal since coming over from Dallas, and he brings postseason experience, which very few other players on the roster can equal. P.K. Subban has been quite good over a shorter career, but Gonchar has made three trips to the Stanley Cup Final, most recently winning with Pittsburgh in 2009.
Nashville Predators: Pekka Rinne
17 of 30
Career Stat Line: 28 games, 13-15-0 record, .916 SV%
Why He's Here: Rinne was particularly good the last time he dressed for the Predators in the playoffs, posting a .929 save percentage over 10 games in 2012, a number that bested his regular-season performance. There aren't a lot of other options on the Nashville roster for this spot.
New Jersey Devils: Jaromir Jagr
18 of 30
Career Stat Line: 202 games, 78 goals, 121 assists, 199 points
Why He's Here: They don't come any more proven than Jagr, who will certainly top the 200-point mark on his career if he's dealt to a contender before the trade deadline.
For the sake of contrast, veteran forward Patrik Elias, who has had a stellar career and won two Cups with the Devils, is 74 points shy of Jagr's career achievements. Jagr has two Cup rings from his time in Pittsburgh, and he came close to getting his third with Boston in 2013.
New York Islanders: Jaroslav Halak
19 of 30
Career Stat Line: 23 games, 10-11-0 record, .923 SV%
Why He's Here: The Islanders added some playoff experience this season, bringing in Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy on the blue line. Boychuk in particular has been impressive in postseasons past, but Halak gets the nod because he's been so good when tested.
It's easy to forget now, but there was a time when he and Carey Price were competitors for the Montreal crease, and Halak ended up starting and took the Habs on an unlikely playoff run in 2009-10.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
20 of 30
Career Stat Line: 92 games, 43-48-0 record, .922 SV%
Why He's Here: Like it was going to be anyone else.
King Henrik has been the Rangers' franchise player basically since he first stepped into the crease, and that extends to the postseason. Last year, he backstopped New York to a surprising appearance in the Stanley Cup Final and played brilliantly. The surprising thing is that the .927 save percentage he posted in 2014 is the worst number he's managed in his last three playoff runs with the Rangers.
Ottawa Senators: Craig Anderson
21 of 30
Career Stat Line: 23 games, 10-12-0 record, 0.926 SV%
Why He's Here: Ottawa has some younger players who have been good early in their NHL careers (most notably, Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson), but it's hard to look past Anderson, who has been money when it counts. If the Senators do decide that Robin Lehner is ready to handle the starting job full time, Anderson's playoff record will be yet another reason for opposing teams to be interested in acquiring him.
Philadelphia Flyers: Claude Giroux
22 of 30
Career Stat Line: 57 games, 23 goals, 38 assists, 61 points
Why He's Here: It's easy to forget now, but Giroux's emergence as a bona fide NHL star actually happened in the playoffs. After a relatively pedestrian regular season in his sophomore campaign (2009-10), Giroux exploded in the playoffs, scoring 21 points in 23 games and helping the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Final. He's comfortably over the point-per-game mark on his career.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby
23 of 30
Career Stat Line: 95 games, 41 goals, 73 assists, 114 points
Why He's Here: Crosby's leadership and clutch play have been questioned at times as the reasons for the Penguins' inability to repeat after winning it all in 2009. Those questions are nuts. No active NHL skater has a higher points-per-game (1.20) mark in the postseason than Crosby. It's also probably worth noting that the oft-criticized Evgeni Malkin is the only player who is even close to Crosby in that department.
St. Louis Blues: Alex Pietrangelo
24 of 30
Career Stat Line: 20 games, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points
Why He's Here: For all of their regular-season success, many of the Blues' top players have been underwhelming in the playoffs. An exception is Pietrangelo, who has logged incredibly heavy minutes from the very start and managed to provide his team with a calm two-way presence who can be matched against anyone.
Paul Stastny, who had 10 points in Colorado's first-round exit last season, is also worth noting because he's one of the few high-profile forwards on the team with a history of postseason offence.
San Jose Sharks: Joe Pavelski
25 of 30
Career Stat Line: 81 games, 26 goals, 30 assists, 56 points
Why He's Here: There isn't a veteran star on the Sharks who hasn't experienced playoff disappointment, both individually and as part of a seemingly always underwhelming San Jose club.
Pavelski fits the bill with some no-shows early in his career (he was also pointless in 2012's five-game exit), but he's been much better of late for the most part. Since 2009, he trails only Joe Thornton among active Sharks in scoring, and he has a lot more goals and a minus-two rating to Thornton's minus-18.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman
26 of 30
Career Stat Line: 22 games, 1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points
Why He's Here: Tampa Bay has a young team, and many of its players haven't done much in the postseason yet.
That makes Hedman the de facto winner. He wasn't an offensive presence during the Lightning's deep run in 2010-11, but he did post exceptional underlying numbers and then last year added three points in Tampa's four-game sweep at the hands of Montreal.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Phil Kessel
27 of 30
Career Stat Line: 22 games, 13 goals, 8 assists, 21 points
Why He's Here: Kessel hasn't had much opportunity to show his postseason prowess with the Maple Leafs, and if he is in fact dealt this summer, he'll leave the team having appeared in only one playoff series in six seasons. But during his time with Boston, Kessel was excellent in postseason play, with his goals-per-game average actually increasing from the regular season.
Vancouver Canucks: Henrik Sedin
28 of 30
Career Stat Line: 99 games, 22 goals, 52 assists, 74 points
Why He's Here: Despite a reputation for playoff flops, the Sedin twins have generally been productive in recent years, with Henrik a touch more so than Daniel. In his last five postseason appearances, Henrik has tallied 54 points in 56 games, making up for some weaker showings earlier in his career.
Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin
29 of 30
Career Stat Line: 58 games, 31 goals, 30 assists, 61 points
Why He's Here: It's easy to remember an unfortunate showing in 2012-13 and forget that over most of his career, Ovechkin has been incredibly productive in the postseason, scoring at better than a point-per-game pace (making him one of only four active NHLers to top that mark).
That's enough to give him a slight lead on Braden Holtby, who through 21 games has a .931 save percentage for the Capitals.
Winnipeg Jets: Dustin Byfuglien
30 of 30
Career Stat Line: 39 games, 14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points
Why He's Here: The playoff history of the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers is not a happy one, consisting of one ugly four-game sweep. Pascal Dupuis is the only active player to record more than one playoff point for the franchise.
Fortunately, the current Jets were able to borrow some playoff experience, mostly from Chicago. Byfuglien's superb performance in 2009-10 gives him a slight edge over Michael Frolik, who was excellent in 2013.
All statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com.
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