Sidney Crosby and 25 NHL Players Under 25 to Build a Team Around

Every NHL team looks to have a franchise player; a player they can center their team around and who they hope will lead them to a Stanley Cup victory.

Many teams in the NHL have this player already, and those who don't look to either trade for that type of player or draft one.

Young players are the best to develop into franchise players, as they can then hopefully lead the team for years and keep the team contending for a long time.

Currently, there are plenty of young players in the NHL leading their teams to great success and many to the Stanley Cup.

Many of them are under 25 years old.

Here are 25 players under 25 years of age who are franchise players you'd want to build your team around. 

25. P.K. Subban

P.K. Subban is only 22 years old and has only played one full season in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, but he is already making his presence known.

Although, not necessarily always in a positive way, as some have complained of his cockiness.

However, Subban is already a talented defenseman and is sure to be part of Montreal's blue-line core for years to come.

This coming season is the last on Subban's entry-level deal, and he'll probably be one of the players we see get a long-term deal as well.

24. Devin Setoguchi

This summer, 24-year-old forward Devin Setoguchi signed a three-year deal with the San Jose Sharks and was traded to the Minnesota Wild soon after. 

While Setoguchi's play has faltered a bit since the 2008-09 season when he scored 65 points, he's still a talented young player and could eventually end up leading the Wild in scoring.

After all, the Sharks have many talented scorers, so the pressure wasn't on Setoguchi.

Maybe, with less offensive stars to outshine him in Minnesota, Setoguchi can be the star. 

23. Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was drafted third overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft behind Sidney Crosby and Bobby Ryan. 

That means he was expected to become a franchise player and so far, he hasn't disappointed.

In fact, the Los Angeles Kings have been so pleased by his performance they signed him to a seven-year, $30.5 million deal.

Having Johnson locked down has to make the team feel a little bit better about the whole Drew Doughty situation right now. 

Just a tiny bit, maybe. 

22. Josh Bailey

Josh Bailey was the New York Islanders first-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft, and he's played every season in the NHL.

He's obviously made a good impression on the team, as they re-signed him to a two-year deal worth $2.1 million.

That's a pretty nice chunk of change for a player who has averaged between 25 and 35 points each season.

However, at 21 years old, Bailey will only get better and his prime is still a few years away. 

21. Jamie Benn

Jamie Benn is only 22 years old, but going into his third season in the NHL this coming season with the Dallas Stars.

In the first two seasons, Benn scored 41 and 56 points, respectively.

Now, with Brad Richards out of the picture, Benn will be forced to step up and score even more this season.

It can't come at a better time, either, as this is the final year of Benn's entry-level contract. 

20. John Carlson

John Carlson is only 21 years old and has only played one full season in the NHL.

However, in that one season, Carlson ended up taking the lead on defense, with the Washington Capitals best defensemen missing significant time due to injuries.

If Carlson can already be that effective on the blue line as a rookie, imagine what he'll be like with a few more years experience.

If he remains with the Capitals, they'll be set on both offense and defense for years to come. 

19. Erik Karlsson

Erik Karlsson is only 21 years old and has only played two (almost) full seasons in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators aren't known for being a high-producing team, yet Karlsson scored 45 points last season.

As he gets older and the Senators can improve their roster, he'll be able to lead the team alongside Jason Spezza.

18. Logan Couture

Logan Couture is only 22 years old and has only played one full season in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks.

However, he put up 56 points last season and can be expected to score much more in the years to come. 

He'll be spending at least another two years with the Sharks, but it's probably safe to say that he'll remain with the team even longer. 

17. Jordan Staal

The Pittsburgh Penguins have multiple franchise players on their team. Unfortunately for Jordan Staal, he gets overshadowed by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

When the 23-year-old is healthy, he can produce a lot of points. Last season, he scored 30 points in only 42 games.

If he played for another team as their No. 1 center, he'd get more ice time and would get more points.

Plenty of teams would kill to have Staal as their franchise player. 

16. James Van Riemsdyk

It seems to be a theme that the Philadelphia Flyers have multiple franchise players on their team at a time.

In fact, it was the play of James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux that allowed the team to trade their former franchise players, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, this offseason.

The Flyers recognize the importance of retaining JVR, who's beginning to emerge as the star he was poised to become. 

The team signed him to a six-year deal worth $25.5 million this summer.

15. Zach Bogosian

Zach Bogosian is only 21 years old and has already played two seasons in the NHL for the former Atlanta Thrashers.

There's a lot of interest in the defenseman, as he's expected to become one of the top blueliners in the league one day.

For now, he'll stay with the Winnipeg Jets, as he signed a two-year deal worth $5 million this summer. 

He's definitely a young defenseman to take a chance on, though, and the Jets are lucky to have him on their team. 

14. Phil Kessel

The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled to be a contender and haven't made the playoffs in years. That's probably why their players don't get a lot of attention.

However, the team acquired Phil Kessel from the Boston Bruins to be a franchise player and although there are complaints about him, he's a solid player.

In his two season with the team, he's scored 55 and 64 points, respectively.

And if the team can ever find a No. 1 center to play alongside the 24-year-old, he'd probably be even better. 

13. Milan Lucic

When most people think of the Boston Bruins, they think of Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard or Tim Thomas.

However, they should think of Milan Lucic, too.

Lucic is just 23 years old, but he already has four seasons in the NHL under his belt. 

He was a top producer for the team last season, with 62 points in 79 games. It seemed to be a coming out year for Lucic, and he'll probably be scoring like that for years to come. 

12. Matt Duchene

Matt Duchene is only 20 years old, but in two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, he has already established himself as a star on the team.

He scored 55 points in his rookie season and tallied 67 last season.

We can assume that these numbers are just the beginning of a great forward for the future; he could even contend for the league scoring title one day, especially if he gets another top forward to set him up more often. 

11. John Tavares

John Tavares was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft and got a lot of attention going into the draft.

However, despite having very good seasons in the NHL, especially considering the team he plays for, he doesn't get much attention.

It's probably because he plays for the New York Islanders, who don't get a lot of respect throughout the league.

Tavares is their franchise player, though, and the team proved that by signing him to six-year, $33 million contract this summer.  

10. Bobby Ryan

Bobby Ryan plays on one of the best lines in the NHL, playing alongside Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf for the Anaheim Ducks.

Ryan is typically overshadowed by his linemates, but he's a franchise player as well.

He's still only 24 years old and could come into his own and outshine even his linemates in the next few years (although, that would be difficult).

9. Jeff Skinner

Jeff Skinner surprised most people last season, having a fantastic, Calder Trophy-winning rookie season for the Carolina Hurricanes.

He also inspired a "Skinner Fever"-type hysteria with girls throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Skinner scored 63 points last year and should continue to get better and better. 

He is, after all, still only a teenager. 

8. Carey Price

In 2009-10, Carey Price wasn't the star goaltender on the Montreal Canadiens—that was Jaroslav Halak. However, the team traded Halak in the offseason, making way for Price to step up.

Last year, Price had a stellar season, with a save percentage of .923 and GAA of 2.35. 

Despite the end result, Price was even better in the playoffs, posting a save percentage of .934 and a GAA of 2.11.

Remember, he's still only 24 years old and statistically, most goaltenders haven't hit their prime yet at that age.

7. Anze Kopitar

Anze Kopitar is another very talented player who doesn't generate a lot of attention, being overshadowed by league stars like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and others.

However, the Los Angeles Kings are pretty pleased to have the 24-year-old forward on their team.

Kopitar has scored more than 65 points each of the past four seasons and has been almost a point-per-game producer the last couple.

He's definitely a player to build a team around. 

6. Drew Doughty

Despite not experiencing great success in the playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings have a great core set of players, as Drew Doughty is the third King on this list.

Now, this holdout that Doughty is having in negotiations with the team may affect his legacy, but he's been a franchise player.

He's only 21 years old and has led their blue line, already receiving a Norris Trophy nomination for his performance.

What better type of defenseman to build your team around?

The Kings obviously agree, as they've been trying to lock Doughty down for a very long time. 

5. Claude Giroux

As stated earlier, Claude Giroux's play last season was one of the reasons that made it possible for the Philadelphia Flyers to trade Mike Richards and Jeff Carter this summer.

Giroux had an exceptional season, scoring 76 points for the team lead. It was also almost 30 points more than he had scored the previous season.

At just 23, Giroux has a long career ahead of him, where he'll probably outscore last season's totals.

He'll be doing it in Philadelphia for at least the next three seasons. 

4. Patrick Kane

The Chicago Blackhawks are another team fortunate enough to have multiple young stars leading their roster.

Patrick Kane is one of them.

The 22-year-old has scored at least 70 points in each of his four professional seasons and already has a Stanley Cup championship on his resume.

Oh, and an Olympic silver medal. 

It's pretty hard to top that and easy to see why the Blackhawks have him locked down through 2014. 

3. Jonathan Toews

Well, speaking of topping that, we come to Jonathan Toews. 

At 22 years old, Toews is already the captain of his team, has a Stanley Cup ring and has an Olympic gold medal on his resume.

He's also experienced great success personally during his career so far, scoring at least 50 points in each of his four seasons and scoring 76 this past season.

That's even harder to top. 

2. Steven Stamkos

Steven Stamkos is just 21 years old but has already played in three seasons in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In just his second season in the league, Stamkos established himself as one of the league's best goal scorers, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy alongside Sidney Crosby.

He scored another 45 goals last season.

This are why it was so important for the Lightning to sign Stamkos long term and why he was so in demand over the offseaon

He has greater success ahead of him and will be in even higher demand in a few years as his current contract comes to a close. 

1. Sidney Crosby

There's no doubt that Sidney Crosby tops this list. After all, he may be hated throughout the league, but you'd be lying if you said you wouldn't want him playing for your team.

At just 24 years old, Crosby has accomplished pretty much anything one can hope to accomplish in their career.

He has a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, all the personal accolades he could ever want and is the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the youngest captain in NHL history.

Oh, and despite missing half the season last year, he was still his team's leading scorer and it took players quite a while to surpass him in the league standings.