With the NFL Hall of Fame having its ceremony this past weekend, it would be an interesting conversation to talk about the NHL and which current players in the league would be a lock to be in the Hall of Fame. For football, players have to wait at least five years to be inducted into the hall. However, for hockey players, players only have to wait three years when they retire from the game. Some players in the league do not need to play another game in the league and they would be in the NHL Hall of Fame. Who would be some of those players?
Sidney Crosby, Center, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby is potentially going to go down as a Top-5 player of all time when he retires. Crosby won three Stanley Cup titles with the Penguins in 2009 and also went back-to-back in 2016-2017. Sidney Crosby was a Conn Smythe winner in 2016 and in 2017 in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. What helped him was that he had very good teammates along the way with Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Patric Hornqvist. Head coach Mike Sullivan was the coach when they won back-to-back titles. Dan Bylsma was the head coach in 2009.
Crosby is in his NHL career has played in 1,272 career games so far. He has scored 592 goals and has recorded 1,004 assists. Crosby has a total of 1,596 points scored. Sidney Crosby’s plus/minus rating is +217. He is 36 years old and will be entering the final year of his contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Hart Trophy in the 2013-2014 season. Will Crosby sign a new contract with Pittsburgh at some point? Will he retire after the 2024-2025 season? It all remains to be seen. Sidney Crosby does not ever have to play again to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame player.
Alex Ovechkin, Winger, Washington Capitals
At this point in his NHL career, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is not trying to win another Stanley Cup title. He is trying to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. Gretzky scored 894 career goals in the NHL. Ovechkin currently has 853 career goals. It will be interesting to see if he could break it in 2024-2025 or 2025-2026. He also has played in 1,426 career games in the NHL. Ovechkin has also recorded 697 assists and has a plus/minus rating of +45. He has a total of 1550 career points and is also 38 years old.
Nicklas Backstrom has played with Ovechkin for a lengthy period. They both were teammates when they won the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2017-2018 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The head coach of the Washington Capitals for that team was Barry Trotz. Ovechkin also won the Conn-Smythe Trophy in that postseason. Ovechkin could very well go down as the greatest goal-scorer of this generation.
Evgeni Malkin, Winger/Center, Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin was always the partner in crime with Sidney Crosby throughout his NHL career. Malkin was the Conn-Smythe winner in 2009 against the Detroit Red Wings. He also won the Hart Trophy in 2011-2012. Evgeni Malkin has played in 1,145 career games in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has scored 498 goals and has recorded 798 assists. He has a total of 1,296 career points in the NHL. Malkin also has a plus/minus rating of +52.
When Sidney Crosby would be out with an injury, Malkin was always the one willing to step up. He is also going to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame player when Evgeni Malkin decides to hang up the skates. He is 38 years old. How much longer will he want to play with the Penguins? Will he want to go back home and play for Russia? Time will tell, but his number will be hung in the rafters when Malkin retires from the NHL.
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