Here at The Athletic, we polled nearly 200 NHL players to get answers on some poignant league questions. There were 12 questions total, and the most pressing query was this: Who is the best all-around player in the NHL today?

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby finished No. 1 with a whopping 48 percent, followed by the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid at 25 percent. Both of those answers were probably predictable. Yet No. 3 was none other than Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron at 11 percent. The Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov finished in a tie for fourth, with four percent each.

That means Bergeron’s peers believe he’s the third-best all-around hockey player in the world.

“He deserves it, but he would never admit to it,” said former Bruins teammate Shawn Thornton, who now works for the Panthers. “He’s that good.”

Is it possible to get better as you get older? Bergeron is seemingly proving so this season. The 33-year-old forward provided two goals Thursday night en route to a 4-3 victory over the Panthers at TD Garden. The win extends the Bruins’ point streak to 18 games with a 14-0-4 record. In that span, Bergeron has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in his last 14 games.

While the accolades continue to pour in for the Bruins’ alternate captain – who played his 1,000th NHL game on Feb. 5 and passed Wayne Cashman for sixth place on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list Tuesday – Bergeron should be considered among the elites in the game past and present.

When asked if he agreed with the recent players’ poll, Brad Marchand, Bergeron’s longtime linemate, gave an honest answer that gives Bergeron his due without going overboard.

“I don’t disagree with that for a second,” Marchand told The Athletic. “Obviously, Sid and McDavid are kind of on their own level, but when you look at a complete, dominant player, there’s nobody on any team that wants to play against Bergy every night. He can do it all, so I completely agree because he’s a dominant player every night. He comes up big every night. If you’re going to build a championship team, he’s one of the first guys you look at.”

Would you put him two?

“I’d put him No. 1,” Marchand said half-jokingly. “If it’s unbiased, I think Sid is the most complete player in the game. If you watch him, he completely controls the play. Obviously McDavid’s got unbelievable talent, but it’s through the neutral ice and he catches guys (off balance) because he’s so fast, so skilled. But, Sid dominates more completely, so you got to give those two guys the top two spots. After that, for sure, it’s Bergy.”

Thornton was a key member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship and he was in the building with the Panthers on Thursday. Even though the Panthers lost, Thornton always has time to discuss Bergeron and his importance to the NHL and the game of hockey.

“A two-way player, arguably the best in the league,” Thornton said. “I’m a little biased because I see what Barkov does every night in a non-traditional market that hasn’t been winning.”

When asked if he would put Bergeron higher on that list, Thornton thought for a second.

“Higher? Sid is pretty fucking good,” he said. “Connor McDavid might be the only player in the league that is worth showing up to watch whether he’s winning or losing. He’s that dynamic and fun to watch. I’m glad the world sees how good Bergy is and I couldn’t argue for or against (the poll).”

Panther goaltender Roberto Luongo is a future Hall of Famer. He’s second all-time in games played (1,038) and third all-time in wins (485). He was a teammate of Bergeron’s when Team Canada won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014. Luongo was the losing goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks when Bergeron scored two goals to help the Bruins win 4-0 in Game 7 in ’11. It’s safe to say Luongo understands Bergeron’s world-class abilities.

“He’s a great player and he’s smart,” Luongo said. “He plays both ways, which is rare nowadays. He’s a well-rounded, great player and you don’t see a lot of those in the league. He’s one of the greats during my whole career.”

After Thursday’s loss to the Bruins, Luongo is 1-7-2 in 10 starts at TD Garden since Game 3 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. During that span, Bergeron had only one goal in those nine games against Luongo, coming on Nov. 14, 2014. After four and a half years, Bergeron netted two on Thursday.

His shorthanded goal tied it at 2-2 at 8:50 of the third period, not long before his game-winning tally with 7.2 seconds remaining in regulation.

“He’s got a quick release, like we saw tonight,” Luongo said. “He likes to do that pop-up play in the high slot and they get it to him quick. He knows how to get open and find the areas where he can get a shot off.”

As Bergeron said during his walk-off interview: “You’re only one shot away (from winning).”

His legacy continues to grow and NHL players respect how he plays the game, which is why they got it right when they ranked him among the league’s true elite.

(Photo of Bergeron, John Moore and Charlie McAvoy celebrating his game-winning goal Thursday: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)