Ranking the 10 Most Consistent Veterans in the NHL

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A 23-man NHL roster is in a constant state of change, especially during the regular season and playoffs. General managers hold consistent performers in high esteem, as each problem that can be solved with confidence reduces the portion of the roster left to rookies, experiments and chance.

Barring injury, a bona fide NHL player should be productive for a decade or more beginning at age 20. Some players are more consistent than others, and a few perform at outstanding levels year after year. Those players, those special performers, are the heart of their NHL teams.

Here are the 10 most consistent—and excellent—performers in the NHL at this time.

Note: Rankings based on number of years at current level, making allowances for injured seasons.

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What Is His Role?

Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators is the NHL's best offensive defenseman.

What Makes Him Special?

Karlsson delivers incredible offense from the blue line and in doing so keeps the puck miles from his own net. As an example, Karlsson led the NHL in assists last season, the first time a defender managed it since Bobby Orr in 1974-75.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

Karlsson began posting eye-popping numbers in his third season, in 2011-12, at the age of 21. Since then, barring injury, he has been the most dominant player of his type in the NHL. In fact, there's isn't really a type—there is just Karlsson. This is his fifth season at an elite level.

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What Is His Role?

Claude Giroux is a complete No. 1 center for the Philadelphia Flyers.

What Makes Him Special?

Giroux is often up against the other team's best defensemen and still scores well at even strength. He is an elusive skater, fantastic passer and impact power-play forward. There are a lot of ways he can beat the opposition.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

Giroux arrived in the NHL at age 20 and was an impact center by age 23. In the seven years—including this one—he has played at this level, Giroux has emerged as one of the most consistent performers in the game.

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What Is His Role?

Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings is a top-flight two-way defender.

What Makes Him Special?

Doughty is that rare defenseman who possesses a full measure of skills across the board. He is a bull defensively, has a fine passing and scoring touch, and can read and react extremely well. There isn't an area of the game that Doughty can't deliver in.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

Doughty took one full year to become something resembling the player we see today. From age 20 through today—eight years, including this one—Doughty has been patrolling the Los Angeles defensive zone. Opposing forwards know exactly where he is at all times, and it still ends up being a punishing 60 minutes against the Kings.

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What Is His Role?

Phil Kessel of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a first-shot scorer.

What Makes Him Special?

Kessel is the rare player of this era who possesses a release so quick and powerful it can beat the goalie from a distance. He can score in other ways, but the one thing that makes him special is the power of his release off the rush.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

He arrived in the NHL at the age of 19 and posted his first 30-goal season at the age of 21. He has been over 25 goals for the last eight non-lockout years and will no doubt make that total nine by the end of 2016-17.

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What Is His Role?

Patrick Kane is an impact offensive winger for the Chicago Blackhawks.

What Makes Him Special?

Kane is impossible to contain in one-on-one situations, and he is a living nightmare for NHL defensemen. His Stanley Cup-winning goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 is typical of the problem—he used a very small opening and that was enough.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

Kane has been remarkably consistent since his rookie year. This is his 10th year in the NHL, and with one exception—the stunning 2015-16 season, when he won the Art Ross trophy—most of his seasons are interchangeable with each other. That kind of consistency over a decade is extremely rare.

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What Is His Role?

Evgeni Malkin is a top-flight offensive center for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What Makes Him Special?

It is rare to see a power forward with soft hands, playmaking ability and a terrific shot. Malkin possesses a complete arsenal and can make the opposition pay in multiple ways.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

Malkin arrived in the NHL during the 2006-07 season and, injuries aside, has been a very strong offensive player in every season of his career. He has been a quality NHL player for 11 seasons—playing each of them in the shadow of the best player in the game.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

What Is His Role?

Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks is a strong two-way center with substantial offensive ability.

What Makes Him Special?

Getzlaf might be the strongest forward in the NHL. He is an absolute load in front of the net and along the wall. Combine those skills with terrific passing abilities and excellent vision, and Anaheim opponents have had no fun at all for the last decade.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

By his second NHL season, Getzlaf had established himself as a quality offensive option who could also win battles. Including this season, he has been leaving it all out on the ice for 11 years. Opposing teams have paid an enormous price.

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What Is His Role?

Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers is a brilliant starting goaltender.

What Makes Him Special?

Lundqvist plays the most chaotic position on the ice, a position prone to wild swings in performance from even established players. Lundqvist stops pucks 92 percent of the time, year in and year out.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

He is so consistent at his position one could argue Lundqvist gets overlooked. Despite an incredible 12-year run of excellence at a vital position, and many votes annually for the Vezina Trophy, Lundqvist has been awarded with just one. That single honor doesn't come close to doing justice to his career.

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What Is His Role?

Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is the finest goal scorer of his generation—and one of the best of all time.

What Makes Him Special?

Ovechkin is a powerful skater and the prototypical power forward. He can bull his way to the net and he can finesse his way past the defender. His biggest asset is a booming shot, his patented move above the faceoff dot waiting for the pass. Incredibly, despite everyone in the rink being aware of this play, very few teams can successfully defend it.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

From the moment he arrived in the NHL, Ovechkin captured the imagination of hockey fans with his breathtaking ability to score goals. He is a wonder, and 12 seasons into what is clearly a Hall of Fame career, the goals keep on coming.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

What Is His Role?

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins is the best player in the NHL. He brings a complete skill set, along with elite scoring ability.

What Makes Him Special?

If healthy, Crosby is unstoppable. In his rookie season, he scored 102 points, and that number has been eclipsed four times in his career—this year could be No. 5. Crosby has always averaged more than a point per game in every NHL season.

How Long Has He Been This Player?

He was an elite player from the get-go, and this is season No. 12. Crosby always seems to be adding a wrinkle to his game—this year, he's scoring at close to a goal per game. He has many seasons to go, but no NHL coach outside of Pittsburgh has the advantage of Sidney Crosby in the lineup every night. There is no one in the league to compare him to in terms of consistent excellence over a long period.