Welcome back to Peculiar Side of Sports. Every so often something in sports perplexes me, and I just hate not knowing something. So, I do what any normal, sane sports fan does – I search ad nausea for the answer by any means necessary. The good news is that I take all my hard work and relay the results to you. If you are a fan of Sports History, check out the other articles I have written – “Sports History”.

I have debated ad nauseam with friends of mine over the years about who are the best players from each team in the NHL. So, I thought I’d take some time and look into each team’s history and award Three Stars for each. I have already looked at a few divisions, and you can find here: Central, Pacific and Northwest.

Rules:

Of course there is a big hurdle, and that is players who have played for several teams. For instance, does Wayne Gretzky count as an Oiler, King, Ranger or all three? I decided to allow a player to appear only once. Also note I am choosing based on franchise, not necessarily limiting to current team. So for the Colorado Avalanche I am including Quebec Nordiques, and for Phoenix Coyotes I am including Winnipeg Jets (the old one).

Remember, these are just my opinions having read the statistics and considered the player’s importance to his team, and are not meant to be authoritative – entertainment purposes only. I am not basing it solely on statistics, as many stats are entirely reflective of the team and not the individual. Again, a player can only appear for ONE team!

Without further ado, I present to you today’s Peculiar Side…

Three Stars: All-Time Greats of Atlantic Division Teams

Atlantic Division

Pittsburgh Penguins

Note: It was quite easy to figure out the Penguins. The only real difficulty I had was in deciding if Sidney Crosby has played enough games. Because I believe he has been dominant for long enough, and because I believe he will become this generation’s best player, easily (if not already).

Mario Lemieux – Easily the best player in Penguins history, and if not for #99 he would be in the conversation for best player ever. When one considers his accomplishments it’s hard not to remember his ailments – his battle against lymphoma as well as persistent back troubles. Nonetheless, Super Mario helped his team win two Stanley Cups (1991 and 1992), to go with Olympic Gold, Canada Cup, World Cup of Hockey and a World Hockey Championship. In 915 games, he put up 690 goals, 1033 assists for 1723 points – who knows what his numbers would have been if he’d had better health. He holds virtually every record a player can attain for the Penguins. Check out his trophy cabinet – 3 Hart, 6 Art Ross, 2 Conn Smythe, 4 Lester B Pearson, Bill Masterson trophies.

Jaromir Jagr – Perhaps the best player in history not born in North America (certainly the most productive), Jaromir Jagr was part of the great Penguins teams in the early 1990’s. Jagr holds several pretty important NHL records including the most game winning goals in history, as well as the most goals, assists and points by a European born player. He also holds almost every offensive record for the Penguins not already held by Lemieux (he holds a few for the Rangers too, including most single season points). He has won a Hart trophy, five Art Ross trophies, three Lester B Pearson trophies and has played in 12 all-star games. Jagr will go down as one of the top few right wingers of all time, and is an easy choice for the Penguins best ever.

Sidney Crosby – Of course Sidney Crosby is writing his own history, which is only becoming more impressive. Easily the most dominant centre and perhaps the best at any position in the 2000’s, Sidney Crosby is nothing short of dominant. Sid has led his team to two straight Stanley Cups (both against Detroit), the second of which they won. At only 25 years old he certainly has a long way to go in his career. While he doesn’t have the career stats of some of the others because of his age, he holds many important records. Sid is the youngest player ever to tally 100 points in a season, youngest Art Ross and Lester B Pearson award winner, and the youngest ever to be voted a first First Team All-Star. In 434 games, he has 223 goals and 386 assists.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Barasso, Evgeni Malkin, Jean Pronovost, Kevin Stevens,

New York Rangers –

Note: I’ve said before, coming up with the best ever amongst Original Six teams is quite daunting. While Messier and Leetch were both easy picks, I had to take some time in taking Gilbert over Bathgate who I was originally picking. Either way, I think I got these three right.

Brian Leetch – In his 18-year NHL career, Leetch played almost almost all with the Rangers (last two with Boston and Toronto). Known for his puck-moving and set-up ability, Leetch will go down as one of the best American born defencemen in history. He has numerous accolades including two Norris trophies, as well as a Conn Smythe during his team’s 1994 Stanley Cup run. In 1205 games, Leetch had 1028 points. Leetch’s #2 was retired by the Rangers, and he was elected to the NHL Hall of Fame.

Rod Gilbert – Gilbert played his entire NHL career for the Rangers through most of the 1960’s and 1970’s. His #7 was the first number retired by the team. He played 1065 games for New York, and he scored 406 goals and 615 assists. He was voted to 8 all star games, and won both the Masterton and Lester Patrick trophy. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982.

Mark Messier – Messier has some serious credentials, and was an easy choice to make this list. He ranks second behind Gretzky on many all-time lists, including regular season points (1887), playoff points (295). He finished his career with 1887 points in 1756 games with a career +210. Known as a fantastic motivator, he won six Stanley Cups (five with the Oilers, one with the Rangers). Two Hart trophies, two Lester B Pearson awards and a Conn Smyth trophy, Messier played in 15 all star games. He also played in the second most regular season games in history, and was only a dozen or so away from eclipsing Howe’s mark.

Honorable Mentions: Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell, Eddie Giacomin, Mike Richter, Brad Park, Bill Cook, Bun Cook, Frank Boucher,

New York Islanders

Note: Even though it might at first glance be hard to pick three stars for the Isles because of their lack of results over the last couple decades, the Islanders have no shortage of fantastic players to choose from in their history. The three I went with I believe are undisputable.

Mike Bossy – Of course we will remember Bossy for his time in New York helping the team to four straight Stanley Cups. Most impressively, he has the greatest goals per game mark in history (.762 per game), ahead of Gretzky, Lemieux et al. Renowned as a sniper, he is also one of only four to join the “50 in 50” club, scoring at least 50 goals in 50 games. He was the fastest player to score 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 goals. He has the records for having at least 50 goals in 9 straight seasons, most 50 and 60-goal seasons (both tied with Gretzky), and most assists and points by a right wing (since broken). He won the Calder, Lady Byng and Conn Smythe trophies. His #22 is retired by the team, and he was added to the Hall of Fame.

Bryan Trottier – Trottier has won six Stanley Cups, four with the Islanders (two with Pittsburgh). He won four major individual trophies in his career including a Calder (set the record with 95 points as a rookie), Art Ross, Hart and Conn Smythe. His 1479 points in 1279 games was good enough for sixth place all time when he retired in 1994 (for the second time). Trottier’s #19 was retired by the Islanders, and he was elected into the Hall of Fame.

Denis Potvin – Potvin served as captain of the dominant Islanders teams in the early 1980’s. Awarded the Norris trophy three times as the league’s best defenceman, Potvin broke into the league in a strong way winning the Calder trophy in his rookie season. In 1979, Potvin was the second defenceman in history to have achieved 30 goals and 100 points in a season (Orr being the first). At the end of that season he was handed the captaincy of the Isles, which began an almost unparalleled run of trophies. After Orr’s career was coming to a close, Potvin was considered the best defenceman in the NHL (perhaps along with Larry Robinson). His 1060 points was a record for a defenceman until it was broken by Coffey and Bourque. Potvin’s #5 was the first retired by the NY Islanders, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mentions: John Tavares, Bobby Nystrom, Clark Gillies, Billy Smith

New Jersey Devils

Note: The Devils was one of the easiest teams to address. The three I went with I believe to be at the top of virtually every “best of” list concerning New Jersey.

Martin Brodeur – He is the undisputed king of all goaltenders this side of Patrick Roy – even then the Roy vs. Brodeur is an intriguing one, and I may be inclined to take Marty (but that is a story for another day – actually, find it here). In 23 years with the Devils, he has led his team into the playoffs in all but three of them, earning three Stanley Cups in the process. He is the all-time best when it comes to regular season wins and shutouts on the back of eight 40-win seasons (also a record). With three Stanley Cups, four Vezina trophies, five Jennings trophies, a Calder trophy, 2 Olympic Gold Medals, the World Cup of Hockey and playing in 10 NHL all-star games, this guy has a LOADED trophy cabinet. His career .913 save % and 2.23 GAA are both phenomenal.

Scott Niedermayer – Scott Niedermayer is best known for his puck-moving and offensive ability. The smooth skater anchored the Devils attack from the back-end, and quarterbacked its powerplay. Niedermayer has literally won it all being the only player to win every possible trophy a North American player could compete for – the Memorial Cup, World Junior Championship, IIHF World Hockey Championship, two Olympic Golds, World Cup, and four Stanley Cups. Individually, he finished his career with 740 points in 1263 games, a Norris Trophy, and a Conn Smythe.

Scott Stevens – We will forever remember Scott Stevens for one thing – bone crushing open-ice hits. Of course there is much more to his game than that, his physical presence can’t be ignored. Stevens was a great leader, and was captain of the Devils during their great 9-year stretch that included four Stanley Cup appearances, and three wins – he won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2000. In 22 seasons, he never had a single ‘minus’ +/- season. Stevens was honoured by the Devils by having his number retired. He was also elected into the Hall of Fame, and has the distinction of being the player with the most penalty minutes in the Hall.

Honorable Mentions: Patrick Elias, John MacLean, Ken Daneyko, Kirk Muller

Philadelphia Flyers

Note: Of all the teams, I think this one might garner the most intense scrutiny. Having to pass on guys like Bill Barber, Pelle Lindbergh, Ron Hextall and Rick Tocchet seems wrong. Add to that the fact that I inserted Eric Lindros in their place, Lindros who has his fair share of haters, will only make the decision more “suspect”. That said, I really feel Eric had more talent then all of the Honorable Mentions, as great as they were.

Bernie Parent – Parent is an easy choice in this Three Stars list. Easily his best two seasons were the legendary 1973/74 and 1974/75 seasons where his Flyers won two Stanley Cups, and he was awarded both the Conn Smythe and Vezina both years. He finished with a 1.89 and 2.03 GAA those years, which is ridiculous. Bernie might also be remembered as being one of the first players to have jumped to the WHA (to Miami/Philadelphia) from the Maple Leafs. Only a year later he returned to the NHL with the Flyers. Before his career was cut short due to an eye injury, he played in five all star games. His #1 was retired by the Flyers and he was inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Bobby Clarke – Known for his gritty, sometimes edgy play, Bobby Clarke was a phenomenal Philadelphia Flyer. To go with his physical style, he was also great defensively. Clarke was captain of the Flyers during their “Broad Street Bullies” years. He won two Stanley Cups with the Flyers, and was awarded the Hart trophy three times in his career. It must be mentioned that there is an unfortunate stain on his legacy. There is still much controversy regarding his purposely ‘taking out’ Russia’s best weapon, Valeri Kharlamov, with a vicious slash that fractured the star’s ankle during the 1972 Summit Series. It is without question that the injury impacted the ensuing games. Nonetheless, Clarke was a phenomenal NHLer, and when he finished his career he sat 4th all time in assists and 11th in points (now 24th and 42nd respectively). His career +/- is an astonishing +506, which is good enough for 5th all time. In 1144 games he had 1210 points. Clarke has won the Masterton, Selke, Hart (3 times), Lester B Pearson, Lester Patrick, Lionel Conacher and Lou Marsh trophies, and played in 8 all star games.

Eric Lindros – As a junior, Lindros was amongst the most celebrated prospects in history. He had the finesse, the drive and unbelievable size for such a young guy, and many were comparing him to the greats – including Mario Lemieux. He finished his career with 865 points in 760 games, and for most of his ‘healthy years’, he was amongst the all-time leaders in points per game. There was certainly a time in the middle to late 1990s when Lindros was considered in the conversation for best all-around player in the game. Of course Lindros has his share of detractors, not only for numerous alleged and confirmed incidents off the ice, but also because of the manner in which he entered the NHL. After being drafted first overall by the Nordiques, he refused to play for them (cited small marketing potential and having to learn French), so the team traded him to Philadelphia in exchange for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Steve Duschesne and a bunch of picks which yielded Jocelyn Thibault. It was this deal that jumpstarted the Nordiques/Avalanche powerhouse. Lindros’ career was not a long one after suffering many injuries, at least partially due to his physical style of play, and many concussions. Lindros and his family had a very public feud with the Flyers’ and their team doctors saying he had been pressured to come back from those concussions before he was ready. Love him or not, when he was healthy, Eric Lindros was one of the most dominant power forwards ever to play the game.

Honorable Mentions: Bill Barber, Pelle Lindbergh, Tim Kerr, Ron Hextall, Rick Tocchet, Reggie Leach, John Leclair, Brian Propp, Rick MacLeish