The NHL all-time draft

[Guest]

I need to take a monster for my backline, and that guy shall be...

 

 

Zdeno Chara. We'll pair big boy with Orr.

[the max 0]

In a Sens jersey. You pick a guy to pair with the greatest defenseman of all-time, a Bruin, and of all the jerseys Z has worn, you pick a fucking Sens jersey?

 

For shame.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

In a Sens jersey. You pick a guy to pair with the greatest defenseman of all-time, a Bruin, and of all the jerseys Z has worn, you pick a fucking Sens jersey?

 

For shame.

 

 

phooey.

 

I've had to watch guys who were my Sabres Icons growing up wearing every jersey BUT the one I have my fondest hockey memories in.

[Guest]

I just grabbed a picture as quick as I could. I wasn't in a great mood.

[Gert T 0]

With my 9th round pick, I select:

 

 

 

 

Jeremy Roenick/C

 

9 time All-Star

3 straight 100 pt. seasons (91-94)

 

He's my 3rd C, but this is a value pick more than anything else.

 

 

[MFer 0]

I could always use some more scorers, so I'll go with:

 

 

Jean Ratelle

 

Classy guy too.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Chara was the other guy. Sons of bitches.

[CanadianChris 0]

Don't feel bad, I had Chara picked last round (also in a Sens jersey) until I changed my mind at the last minute.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I wanted to grab another playmaker with this pick. And was hesitant to go with another active player, but this player's assists stats are just too good to pass up. (no pun intended)

 

With my next pick, I'd like to welcome Joe Thornton to the Northern Lights Five.

 

 

- Makes good players look great, so will hopefully make great players look, ummm, greater

- Only the 3rd player to pick up 90+ assists in consecutive seasons (the other two are a pair of nobodies, Wayne Something-or-Other and a French guy named "Mario")

- 1 time Hart winner, 1 time Art Ross winner

- Not nearly as bad in the postseason as people like to pretend

 

I'm content with Thornton anchoring my second line.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

That's a good pick. I don't actually remember him hitting 90+ assists twice, just the year Cheechoo won the Richard.

[JJ Johnson 0]

Are we giving Treble the crashed board benefit of the doubt or is it Smartly's pick?

[treble 0]

Evgeni Malkin

[nl5xsk1 0]

That's a good pick. I don't actually remember him hitting 90+ assists twice, just the year Cheechoo won the Richard.

As much as saying this makes me throw up in my mouth ... he also had 90+ assists in the season that he was given away to SJ (the year he carried Cheechoo to the Richard) and then surpassed 90 the next year as well, his first full season with the Sharks.

 

But, hey, the Bruins have a 2nd line winger (earning $3.5m with a no-trade clause), a checking line winger, and an (at best) number 4 d-man to show for that trade, so who am I to complain?

[Smartly Pretty 0]

 

Jason Spezza.

 

Jason Spezza is in a three way tie for most points in a single post season with 22. He shares that record with Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredson. Individually, I just made three pretty crappy picks, but collectively it's the most logical thing to do. Select three great players in the environment they'll play the best. I can only hope that a line of Hull/Niewendyk/Ovechkin will be dominant. I can only guess, or hope, or speculate. The CASH line though, we know is the best in the National Hockey League. Let's take the Rangers for example. Last offseason they made a huge splash signing the two best centermen avalible in Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. These two instantly became the best centers on the team, but it wasn't until he was put on the same line as rookie Brandon Dubinsky that the Rags superstar Jaromir Jagr got going offensively. Hockey is in many ways so much about chemistry, and with this series of picks I feel I've done pretty well.

[the max 0]

Gretzky has the record for points in a postseason. He had 47 in 1985.

[CanadianChris 0]

Must be the Ottawa franchise record.

[the max 0]

True.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

That's definitely what I meant to say. I rushed.

[the max 0]

I knew something was up since Zetterberg (27 points) and Datsyuk (23 points) outscored them in this year's playoffs.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

I knew something was up since Zetterberg (27 points) and Datsyuk (23 points) outscored them in this year's playoffs.

As did Crosby, Hossa and, I think, Malkin.

[JJ Johnson 0]

 

Keith Tkachuk, W

 

4 time NHL All Star

One of four Americans to 500 goals

First American to lead the league in goals (52, 1996-1997)

Phoenix/Winnipeg franchise record for career GWG

 

Finally, somebody that's not a center.

[the max 0]

I didn't think it mattered.

[JJ Johnson 0]

Well, chemistry and all that. Until picking Keith The Unspellable, I had three centers that were also captains, and I don't like the idea of all chiefs and no indians on offense, or I would have gone with my gut and picked *hrm, haw, cough*. You know what I mean?

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

May be a reach or may be a steal depending on your point of view:

 

Henrik Zetterberg, LW

 

- He obviously doesn't have the longevity of nearly anybody else picked so far but he has gotten better every year of his career (in everything from PPG to +/-) and, even, if this year was his peak - it was one hell of a peak. Best penalty killing forward in the NHL this season and one of the best playoff performances in a while as he was dominant on both ends of the ice and, it seemed, like he never left the ice or got tired. He can do everything from grinding out goals as a checker to highlight reel goals and is as fast as just about anyone in hockey. If Malkin was already picked, Zetterberg is a steal in my opinion.

[JJ Johnson 0]

Certainly a steal from me, you jerk. In retrospect, I should have snagged Hank, as Tkachuk probably would have made it back to me.

 

EDIT: Hank wasn't my cough-censored gut choice, though.

Edited June 10, 2008 by JJ Johnson

[Zetterberg is God 0]

God fucking damn it I was hoping Zata would fall to me. It might be early but considering how high some current players went (and homerism aside) I think it's a good pick.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

I figured if Malkin, Thornton, Heatley and Spezza were already taken then it's a good time to take Hank. He's no worse than any of them in my book.

[JJ Johnson 0]

He really is the best all-around player in the NHL today. Of course, usually my opinion wouldn't count for much because I'm a Detroit fan, but in this case the numbers back me up.

[the max 0]

I'm content just lining up my defense some more. I think with these picks I have the best top four in this thing.

 

Now, I know that I throw around "underrated" or "overlooked" a lot but my next pick exemplifies this. Not only the son of one of the greatest players in NHL history but he went unheralded as an anchor on some of the best teams of the 1980's. He was traded to the Flyers after overcoming a serious injury and took off from there. His peak year was in 1985-86 where he had 82 points, including 7 shorthanded goals, to go with a remarkable +85. Of course that was the year that Paul Coffey rewrote every offensive category for defensemen and this player slipped under the radar. He finished second in Norris voting three times, losing to Rod Langway, Paul Coffey and Raymond Bourque. He was picked as a first team all star three times. He finished his career with the Red Wings, helping bring along a young Detroit defenseman named Nicklas Lidstrom. All in all, he finished his NHL career with 742 points in 929 games, a respectable number. But when you include his WHA stats, he finished with 1246 points in 1355 NHL/WHA games.

 

Ladies and germs...

 

 

Mark Howe. D.

 

And I realize that by picking the next player that I might lose out on one guy that I really, really would like for this team, but I say fuck it.

 

This player is the quintessential defensive defenseman, is probably one of the best positionally sound players to ever play and played for some of the most memorable teams in hockey history. He played very well for the US Olympic team in 1980 as a 23 year old, helping lead the US to the biggest upset in sports history. A few months later he found himself on the Stanley Cup winning Islanders where he would be a part of one of the most dominant runs in hockey history. While he didn't get all of the flash that most of the other defensemen did around his time, he was a physical force and a tough guy to play against, ultimately being forced into retirement at 33 due to chronic knee problems.

 

My unnamed team is proud to select...

 

 

Ken Morrow. D.

[JJ Johnson 0]

Fun fact! My grandfather used to babysit Marty and Mark Howe, and often took delight in the fact that Mr. Hockey used to pay him to spend time in his house.