| # | Player | Comments |
| 1 | John Kordic | Was once like a brother to me, one of the toughest to ever play this game. Even years after his passing I still think about him often and am very grateful that his memory lives on with many of the NHL's hard-core fans. R.I.P. my friend, I'll miss you always. |
| 2 | Perry Turnbull | One of the greatest guys I have ever known. It's too bad he was traded from St. Louis to Montreal, because I think if he had stayed in STL the hockey world would have seen how incredibly talented this guy really was. |
| 3 | Jim Peplinski | The ultimate team player. He never hesitated to jump in to a scuffle to protect a teammate, or to do whatever was necessary to help his team win. Probably the most underrated captain of all-time. His speech to his team prior to their game 7 win against Edmonton that dethroned the Oilers at that time was legendary. |
| 4 | Marty McSorley | As tough as anybody I ever saw, true warrior who always gave 100%. Classic old-school fighter who had the best fighting stamina of all-time, it wasn't a McSorley fight if it didn't last at least a minute and a half and involved some blood loss - a lot of his opponents were very fortunate that the NHL employs linesmen in the numbers they do. |
| 5 | Mario Lemieux | With all due respect to Wayne Gretzky, Mario was the best center I ever saw. Like Gretzky he seemed to see the play steps ahead of everyone else and unlike Gretzky did not have an unwritten rule that prevented him from being touched (the two-game suspension Adam Graves got for breaking his wrist with a slash would have been at least a year if he had done that to Gretzky in his prime). He played in the Campbell conference which was a much tougher, tighter checking game than what was played in the Wales Conference, and the injuries and illnesses that he overcame to still come back and dominate the league are further testiments to his greatness. Awesome player. |
| 6 | Bobby Orr | Greatest player ever, I doubt we'll ever see anyone like him again. Revolutionized the game as we know it, even though he doesn't like to take credit for it the concept of a 5-man attack really wasn't implemented until he joined the NHL. Imagine getting to be his coach, knowing you have a defenseman on your roster that could win the league scoring title and play defense as well as anyone - total dominance at both ends of the ice - for as great as some others were (Howe, Hull, Lemieux, Gretzky) they were all forwards and couldn't control a game the same way he could. Another way to look at it - if he amassed 140 points in a season as defenseman in a 12-team league it's very realistic to think he could have scored 200 points as a forward in a 21-team league, but is it realistic to think that either Gretzky or Lemieux could have won scoring titles as defensemen back in the 12-team era? |
| 7 | Gordie Howe | Greatest all-around forward to ever play in the NHL. Nobody, not Messier, Forsberg, Neely, etc., deserves mention in his class of all-around forwards because let's keep in mind Howe was winning scoring titles and trading punches with the league's best heavyweights during the most competitive time in hockey history - Six teams. Let's remember, as well, that with the way Messier and Neely started their careers (Messier struggling as a left-wing with the Oilers before Gretzky's arrival, and Neely struggling in Vancouver before being traded to Boston) that they might not have even been NHL players back in a six-team league. Even as great as they were once they found their way in the league (with 21 teams at their arrival) neither ever won a scoring title or could say they were able to trade punches evenly with the likes of Probert and McSorley. All-around power forwards? The top-10 list might be fun to come up with but it would be a boring discussion at the top because Gordie Howe was in a class all by himself. |
| 8 | Scott Stevens | Loved the way he played the game, textbook bodychecker who just took guys right out of their skates. |
| 9 | Keith Brown | Incredible work ethic, as professional a player as there ever was. |
| 10 | Dave Poulin | Same reason for Poulin as for Keith Brown. |
| 11 | Bobby Schmautz | One of the highlights of my playing days was sharing the ice with this guy during summer league games - great person, incredible player. |
| 12 | Dallas Smith | Same reason as liking Schmautz, and was very impressed that he played the same way with a bunch of recreational players that he did in the NHL - solid, stay-at-home defenseman (even though he obviously could have blown us off the ice). Classy person. |
| 13 | Brad Palmer | Hardest slapshot I ever saw, including everybody. Even Gerry Cheevers said he never saw a shot that hard (keep in mind he played against Bobby Hull). |
| 14 | Harold Snepsts | If my memory serves me correctly Snepsts was the first NHL'er I got to meet in person, he was an instructor at one of my first hockey camps. In spite of his look and reputation as tough, old-school defenseman it was obvious how much he enjoyed taking time to teach the game to kids. Very classy person and dedicated professional who did whatever it took to get the job done. |
| 15 | Steve Yzerman | I have a lot of respect for Steve Yzerman and the way he played the game, transformed himself from one of the league's best offensive players to one of the best all-around players under the tutelage of the legend, Scotty Bowman, and in the process became a legend himself. |