Ranking the Top Superstars Remaining in the 2015 NHL Playoffs
It's probably no coincidence that the four remaining teams in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs are loaded with top-end talent.
There are a number of established superstars still fighting for the Cup as the final series in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference rage on.
Who the biggest stars are now can be a subjective read, taking into account their careers, current output in the playoffs, the way they are trending in production, their intangibles and, of course, their trophy case.
Read on to see some honorable mentions and the top 10 superstars left in the playoffs. Leave your own list in the comments.
Honorable Mentions
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Brad Richards, Chicago Blackhawks: This is a former Conn Smythe winner and Stanley Cup champion—but that was a long time ago. More than a decade has passed since the former Lightning star's Cup victory. He's a fading star, but you can't take away what he's done.
Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning: His small sample size leaves him a little short in terms of a track record, so it may be a stretch to call him a superstar, but he's been incredible in his freshman and sophomore seasons and stellar in the playoffs so far with eight goals (including three game-winners) and 13 points in 14 games.
Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks: He's never been a point-per-game kind of guy, but with his departure from Vancouver and a nice playoff run with the Ducks, he's again showing he's a valuable commodity in the playoffs. A win over Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks would go a long way in boosting his image nationwide.
Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks: With all the firepower the Blackhawks have, it's easy to forget about Sharp—who has had four 30-goal seasons and been a big part of both Stanley Cup victories. On any other team, he might be the top-line left-winger.
10. Martin St. Louis, New York Rangers
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By the numbers: It certainly appears St. Louis is in the latter stages of a tremendous if unexpected career. The 5'8" winger is fifth among active players on the all-time scoring list with 1,033 points in 1,134 games. However, his numbers have dipped. He put up 52 points in 74 games this season—his lowest output since 2002. He's a former league scoring leader and MVP and still fits in the superstar category, but new hockey fans might wonder what the big deal is.
Hardware collected: Art Ross Trophy x2 (2003-04, 2012-13); Lady Byng Memorial Trophy x3 (2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13); Hart Memorial Trophy (2003-04); Lester B. Pearson Award (2003-04) (now known as the Ted Lindsay Award); Stanley Cup (2004)
What makes him special: It's always been pure speed and determination that led to his status as one of the league's premier players in an era that didn't necessarily play to a small man's strengths. His elusiveness and ability to get to the front of the net in spite of his small stature led to a great career. He's about to turn 40, but there may be more in the tank for the soon-to-be UFA.
9. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
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By the numbers: Hossa has a goal and eight points so far in these playoffs. At 36, he's continued to produce for the Blackhawks in a top-six role, scoring 22 goals and 61 points in all 82 games this season. He scored the series-clinching goal against the Minnesota Wild in Round 2. He ranks fourth on the all-time points list among active players with 486 goals and 1,056 points in 1,172 games.
Hardware collected: Two Stanley Cups (2010, 2013)
What makes him special: While he doesn't do much in spectacular fashion, he does everything in the game at an above-average level. If a winger was to get in as the Selke Award winner, it might be Hossa who gets the nod based on his incredible positioning and defensive awareness. It doesn't stop him from contributing on offense, either. When his contract expires at age 42, it's possible he may depart as the active points leader.
A Western Conference scout told Scott Powers of ESPN.com that one of Hossa’s strengths was his consistency:
“He is consistently one of the best players on the ice each night," the scout suggested. "Rarely could you say he had an off night."
8. Rick Nash, New York Rangers
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By the numbers: For the purpose of his superstar quality, you have to look at his regular-season numbers as opposed to the puzzlingly dismal playoff statistics, which is one of the reasons he's ranked so low on this list. Despite being a three-time 40-goal scorer, including a career-best 42-goal season this year, Nash has just a pair of goals this spring and seven all-time snipes in the postseason.
Hardware collected: Maurice Richard Trophy (2003-04)
What makes him special: Nash has the ability to turn a seemingly innocent play into a prime scoring chance with his size and speed that sometimes has to be seen up close to be appreciated. He also believes in shooting from anywhere, and often. His 48 shots in 13 playoff games are second most so far this season. Nash also doesn't lean heavily on power plays to score; he led the league with 32 even-strength goals this year. They tend to be important ones, too.
Among all active players, Nash ranks 11th with 64 game-winning goals. Only Alex Ovechkin has played fewer games on that list.
7. Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
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By the numbers: Keith is averaging more than 30 minutes a night in the playoffs and leads all defensemen—most forwards, too—with 10 points in 10 games. He's had 40 or more points in his last six full seasons and two of them over 60. Both his goals in the playoffs this spring have been game-winners.
Hardware collected: James Norris Memorial Trophy x2 (2009-10, 2013-14)
What makes him special: Often, guys who eat big minutes see their game lack in one end or another. The truly elite don't suffer offensively or defensively despite their heavy workload. Keith is right at the top of that category, and that hasn't been more evident than in these playoffs as the 31-year-old plays even more in light of injuries that have hurt the Blackhawks' depth on the back end.
Fellow blueliner Niklas Hjalmarsson told Puck Daddy's Josh Cooper there's truth to the notion that Keith can play forever:
"I barely see him tired out there. It's unbelievable. He never takes a deep breath. He can play non-stop. It's pretty amazing to see actually. I can be gassed after a couple of shifts, but he just keeps going and going.
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6. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
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By the numbers: Although he started slowly with three points through his first eight playoff games this spring, he's up near the top of the scoring leader list with 10 points in 14 games. Stamkos had 43 goals in the regular season, second most in the league, and 72 points in 82 games. Along with Alex Ovechkin, he's one of only two NHLers to score 60 goals in nearly two decades since Jaromir Jagr in 1996.
Hardware collected: Maurice Richard Trophy x2 (2009-10, 2011-12)
What makes him special: He's a pure goal scorer who has a knack for finding seams in prime scoring position. When he gets the puck, he makes the most of his opportunities. He's consistent, and his goal slumps rarely last more than two or three games at a time. His shooting percentage of 8.6 in these playoffs is well below his career regular-season average of 17.2, so there's a feeling it's just a matter of time before he explodes again.
5. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
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By the numbers: Getzlaf is tied for second in playoff scoring with two goals and 13 points through 10 games, including a helper in the first game of the Western Conference Final. Over his career, he has piled up 208 goals and 678 points in 710 regular-season games. He became a point-per-game producer with regularity in his third NHL season.
Hardware collected: Stanley Cup (2007)
What makes him special: Getzlaf is a rare combination of size, speed and top-end skill at the center position. His vision is up there with the greats and is a big reason for his ability to be the playmaker to finisher Corey Perry for the last decade.
Teammate and sometimes linemate Patrick Maroon gushed about Getz to Puck Daddy's Josh Cooper recently:
"He’s huge and he has some of the best hands. He has a great shot and he can move for a big guy so I mean, he has all the tools. You guys all see Olympic Gold (in 2010 and 2014), Stanley Cup (in 2007). He’s seen what it takes. It has been a privilege playing with him.
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4. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
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By the numbers: Corey Perry had four goals and eight points in five games during the Ducks' second-round series against the Calgary Flames. That included his series-clinching overtime goal, which made him the fourth Duck in history to accomplish that. He leads the playoffs in scoring this spring with 15 points and had more even-strength goals in the regular season than Alex Ovechkin despite playing just 67 games.
Hardware collected: Hart Memorial Trophy (2010-11); Maurice Richard Trophy (2010-11); Stanley Cup (2007)
What makes him special: Perry is one of just 11 players who have hit the 50-goal mark since the 2004-05 season was lost to lockout. In the past decade, he's become one of the league's elite snipers.
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau suggests there are few in his league in the offensive zone, via Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register:
“From the top of the circles in, I’m not sure there are too many better players in the world than he is,” Boudreau said.
But Perry is also a premium agitator, which is hockey terms for a serious competitor who will do anything to win.
3. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
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By the numbers: The star power of Jonathan Toews grows stronger every year. He's already proven to be a winner and a great leader, and the numbers back up his reputation. Toews is one of six point-per-game players in these playoffs and has a short-handed goal—a backbreaker during a time of year when special teams are so important. Over his career, his 43 game-winners in regulation (43 in 565 games for .076) per game) is not far off the pace of all-time leader Jaromir Jagr (129 in 1,550 for .083 per contest).
Hardware collected: Frank J. Selke Trophy (2012-13); Conn Smythe Trophy (2010); Two Stanley Cups (2010, 2013)
What makes him special: Toews is one of the rare breeds who can both lead a team in scoring but also be tasked with shutting down the other team's top guns, taking important faceoffs in his own end and doing things like kill penalties. He's just a total package as a leader, which spawned the nickname Captain Serious. He and Patrick Kane has helped turn the Blackhawks from a perennial playoff outsider to a modern-day dynasty.
Former teammate Jamal Mayers summed up Toews' clutch abilities to take over offensively in the absence of Kane down the stretch this season in a talk with NHL.com's Brian Hedger:
"He has an uncanny knack for stepping up at the right times. He could be in the top five or 10 in scoring [in the NHL] if he chose to take more chances offensively, but that's not how he plays the game. He doesn't cheat on anything, as far as his compete level on the defensive side to the offensive side. He sets the right example.
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2. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
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By the numbers: Lundqvist leads all goalies who made it past the first round in both goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.945). He improved his Game 7 winning streak to six games to tie legends Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy in that category.
The 33-year-old is second among all active goalies in playoff wins (52) and is tied for first all-time with Dominik Hasek in save percentage (.925) among those with at least 100 postseason starts. He's won all nine games this spring by a single goal, and all four he's lost have been by that same margin.
Hardware collected: Vezina Trophy (2011-12)
What makes him special: To think this guy was drafted in the seventh round and not even the first goalie taken by his own team. His calm nature on the ice, even in the most intense situations—such as a dozen or so one-goal games in the playoffs—rubs off on teammates and is really the entire identity of the Rangers now.
Former NHL assistant coach Dave Farrish told the NHL.com's Dan Rosen that Lundqvist is the biggest factor in the Rangers making it to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals:
"Obviously the goaltending is the first thing that comes to mind. Lundqvist is just remarkably calm. He's just so calm and steady there. Lundqvist has been unbreakable. No leak games, no weak spots. It's as good of goaltending as I've seen in my life.
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1. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
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By the numbers: Through 11 games in the playoffs so far, Kane has seven goals, six assists and 13 points. He scored in every game of the second-round series against the Minnesota Wild and took a five-game goal streak, including a pair of game-winners, into the first game of the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks.
He has 205 goals, 35 game-winners, and 557 points in 576 career regular-season games and another 44 goals with nine game-winners and a total of 104 points in 104 playoff contests.
Hardware collected: Calder Memorial Trophy (2007-08); Conn Smythe Trophy (2013); Two Stanley Cups (2010, 2013)
What makes him special: Kane is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the game today. He has at least one point in nine of the Blackhawks' 10 playoff games this spring and is at a point-per-game pace for his career in the postseason. What's impressive about his playoff run so far is that he sat out the last 21 games of the regular season with a broken clavicle but hasn't missed a beat.
His head coach Joel Quenneville suggests via ESPN.com's Scott Powers that Kane was "as good as any player in the league this year" before the injury and that he has been the same since coming back:
"He was having that MVP-type season. How often do those come around or how often do you have player like that? It’s pretty impressive. I think that showed his consistency was there this year. He had speed. He had the puck. He was a threat. Whatever line or whoever was playing with him, he made them better. And, obviously, [his injury] was a huge loss at that time. We were fortunate to get him back come playoff time. I don’t see too much difference between his playoff and his regular season.
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