Draft, Trade Or Sign These NHL Players And We'll Tell You If You'd Be A Good GM!
- by Clayton Leir
- – on
- in Sports
Some players just don't work for the team they want to be on. Or they just don't work at all and seem pretty out of place in the NHL. Some players need to be on a team so that they can push the team all the way through the playoffs to be able to raise that Stanley Cup above their heads. And some players are really good bargaining chips in order to get a bunch of new, young blood, or heavy-hitting veterans onto the team.
How good do you think you are at being able to choose the right player to either draft, trade, or sign? Well, here is your chance to find out just how well you would work as a GM in the NHL. This quiz is loaded with all sorts of players. Now, just so you know ahead of time, some of them have been out of the league for a long time and some of them are still going strong. But I'm sure you can stretch your imagination to decide whether or not you would have the player on your team if you could.
You might not think there's a lot to this sort of game but it's a bit trickier than you might think. Remember, one wrong trade or one poor draft could cost you the chance to hoist that Stanley Cup. So, give each player some thought and then we'll tell you how good a GM you might make in the National Hockey League.
Zdeno Chara
Zdeno Chára is a Slovak defenseman, currently serving as captain of the Boston Bruins. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy while playing for the Bruins in the 2008–09 season. Chára is the tallest player ever to play in the National Hockey League. He is also the second European-born and raised captain to win the Stanley Cup (in 2011), and the first born and trained in a country within the Iron Curtain.
Vinny Lecavalier
Vincent Lecavalier was the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2000–2001 season and between 1998–2013 spent his first 14 NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning before being bought out following the 2012–13 season and signing with the Philadelphia Flyers for $22.5 million over 5 years. He was chosen first overall by the Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and was a member of their 2004 Stanley Cup championship team.
Shea Weber
Drafted in the second round, 49th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Weber had spent his entire NHL career with the Predators, until being traded to Montreal. He had previously played for the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League and the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.
Scott Niedermayer
Regarded as one of the greatest defencemen in NHL history, Niedermayer has earned numerous accolades throughout his career. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2013. The New Jersey Devils and Kamloops Blazers have both retired his uniform number.
Ryan Getzlaf
Getzlaf is known as a power forward with excellent playmaking skills. The Hockey News describes Getzlaf as being "the complete package" and praises his all-round game. He is credited as having both a powerful shot and willingness to engage in physical play, but also criticized for taking poor penalties at times and occasionally passing despite being in a quality shooting location. One of the league's top passers, Getzlaf has led the Ducks in assists for ten consecutive seasons between 2008 and 2017; he has also led the team in points seven times.
Ryan Miller
Ryan Miller was selected to play for the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as the team's starting goaltender. He won a silver medal with the team and was named most valuable player of the tournament. Four years later, he was selected for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Miller is one of 30 goaltenders in NHL history to win 300 games in his career. Miller is known for his hybrid style of goaltending. He is the older brother of Drew Miller.
Rick Nash
Internationally, Nash has represented Team Canada, with whom he has won one gold and two silver medals at the World Championships, and two gold medals at the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014. Additionally, he has represented Canada at the 2002 World Junior Championships, helping the team to a silver medal, and also competed for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Roberto Luongo
Prior to his NHL career, Luongo played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, winning back-to-back President's Cups and establishing the league's all-time playoff records in games played and wins. Following his second QMJHL season, Luongo was selected fourth overall by the Islanders in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.
Mike Modano
On September 23, 2011, after 21 seasons in the NHL, Modano officially announced his retirement from hockey at a press conference in Dallas. Modano was the last active player to have played in the 1980s, along with Mark Recchi, as well as the last active player to have played for the Minnesota North Stars. The Stars signed Modano to a one-day contract to allow Modano to retire with as a Dallas Star.
Pavel Datsyuk
Datsyuk won the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008 with the Red Wings, and the Gagarin Cup in 2017 with SKA Saint Petersburg. He was part of the Russia men's national ice hockey team at the Olympic Games in 2002, 2006, 2010 and was team captain in 2014 and 2018. With his gold medal win at the 2018 Olympics, Datsyuk joined the Triple Gold Club.
Martin St. Louis
Internationally, St. Louis has played with Team Canada on several occasions. He was a member of the team that won the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and is a two-time silver medalist at the World Championships; he was named a tournament all-star after leading the 2009 event in scoring with 15 points. A two-time Olympian, St. Louis was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Winter Games.
Miikka Kiprusoff
At the 2013 NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly attempted to acquire Kiprusoff, but he elected not to waive his no-trade clause amid speculation that he intended to retire at season's end. The Flames formally announced his retirement on September 9, 2013. He ended his career as the Flames' franchise leader in wins (305), shutouts (41) and games played by a goaltender (576).
Mario Lemieux
Lemieux led Pittsburgh to consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Under his ownership, the Penguins won additional Cups in 2009, 2016 and 2017. He is the only man to have his name on the Cup as both a player and an owner. He also led Team Canada to an Olympic gold medal in 2002, a championship at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and a Canada Cup in 1987. He won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player voted by the players four times!
Martin Brodeur
On January 27, 2015, it was reported that Brodeur had decided to retire from the NHL. The decision followed Elliott's return to the Blues, as Brodeur had been demoted to the team's number three goalie behind Elliott and Jake Allen. Brodeur announced the news at a press conference two days later. He retired having started just five games with the Blues, going 3–3–0 in seven appearances. His final NHL win was a 3–0 shutout against the Avalanche on December 29, 2014.
Marian Hossa
Hossa recorded 32 goals and 75 points in 2000–01, finishing second in team scoring behind Alexei Yashin and earning his first NHL All-Star Game appearance in Denver. In the subsequent off-season, his rookie contract expired and Hossa became a restricted free agent. Unable to come to terms before training camp for the 2001–02 season, Hossa sat out the first two weeks before signing a three-year, $8.5 million contract.
Jonathan Toews
Toews competes internationally for Team Canada and has won gold medals at the 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championships, 2007 World Championships, the 2010 Winter Olympics (a tournament in which he was named best forward) and the 2014 Winter Olympics. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.
Marc-Andre Fleury
Fleury is known by the nickname "Flower", derived from the English translation of his last name (fleuri is "in bloom," or "in flower," in French). His goaltender masks always feature a fleur-de-lis on the backplate (in addition to the initials EFGT, honouring his four grandparents in memoriam), and have frequently featured some sort of flower on the front artwork as well.
Joe Thornton
Joe was named as one of the final players to Team Canada for the World Cup and was a Second Team All Star for the 2015–16 season. Since Thornton started playing in the NHL in 1997 he has had the most assists with 964 and the most points with 1341. On March 6, 2017, he got his 1,000th NHL assist in a game against the Winnipeg Jets, and became the 13th player in the NHL's history to reach that milestone. On July 1, 2017, Thornton signed a one-year deal to return to the Sharks for the 2017–18 season
Joe Sakic
Sakic was voted into the NHL All-Star Game 13 times and played in 12 of them, serving as a captain for two of them, the last in 2007. He had at least one point in 11 of them. The only one that he missed entirely was the 1997 All-Star Game, due to an injury. Sakic won the Most Valuable Player award in the 2004 All-Star Game after scoring a hat trick, despite the Western Conference losing the game. He is the all-time assist leader in All-Star Games with 16 assists and is third place in all-time all-star scoring with 22 points.
Jason Spezza
Spezza and the Stars came to an agreement on an extension for four years at an annual average salary of $7.5 million that will keep him in Dallas through the 2018–19 season. He scored 17 goals with 45 assists in 82 games in his first season with the Stars, as they missed the playoffs. His offensive production improved the following season, scoring 33 goals in 75 games as the Stars qualified for the playoffs as the top seed in the West.
Jean-Sebastian Giguere
Giguere played with the Verdun Collège Français and Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he was drafted 13th overall by the Hartford Whalers in 1995. He played in the Calgary Flames organization for three seasons before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2000. His later career included stints in Toronto and Colorado. At the time of his retirement, Giguère was the last active NHL player who had played for the Hartford Whalers.
Jarome Iginla
Internationally, Iginla has represented Canada on numerous occasions. He was a member of championship teams at the 1996 World Junior and 1997 World Championships as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medal winner, including at the 2002 Winter Olympics where he helped lead Canada to its first Olympic hockey championship in 50 years.
Jaromir Jagr
On 9 November 2017, Jágr scored his first goal as a Flame, and first ever for a Canadian team, getting 2 points against the Detroit Red Wings in a 6–3 win. However, on 6 January 2018, it was reported that Jágr and the Flames were working towards a contract termination, as injuries had limited Jágr to a career-low 7 points, including just a single goal, in 22 games.
Wayne Gretzky
In 1997, prior to his retirement, The Hockey News named a committee of 50 hockey experts (former NHL players, past and present writers, broadcasters, coaches and hockey executives) to select and rank the 50 greatest players in NHL history. The experts voted Gretzky number one. Gretzky said that he would have voted Bobby Orr or Gordie Howe as the best of all time.
Ilya Kovalchuk
Internationally, Kovalchuk has played for Russia in the IIHF World U18 Championship, World Junior Championship, World Championship, World Cup and Winter Olympics, highlighted by back-to-back gold medals in the 2008 and 2009 World Championship. He won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea representing OAR. In case you didn't know, OAR means Olympic Athletes from Russia (since Russia couldn't participate as a country in the Olympics this year.
Evgeni Malkin
Malkin was an integral part of the Penguins lineup that helped the Pens win back to back Stanley Cups during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 NHL season. Malkin led the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs with 28 points, beating Crosby by one point. He also became the 29th player in the history of the NHL to record 150 points in the playoffs.In 2014, Evgeni Malkin was named to the 2014 Russian Olympic Ice Hockey Team. Malkin played all six games for Russia, and they finished 5th in the tournament.
Eric Staal
On February 28, 2016, Staal, in the final year of his contract, was traded to the New York Rangers from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Aleksi Saarela and two second-round draft picks (2016 (traded to Chicago Blackhawks) and 2017). Even though the trade was done primarily to send Staal to a Stanley Cup contender, the Rangers had a disappointing playoff run, losing in the first round to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a five-game series in which Staal registered zero points.
Dominik Hasek
Hašek had an unorthodox goaltending style. He was extraordinarily flexible and was jokingly described in a MasterCard commercial as having "a Slinky for a spine". In order to cover the bottom of the net, where most goals are scored, Hašek dropped down on almost every shot. His "flopping" style was derived from him flailing in the crease, using every part of his body, including his head, to stop the puck.
Daniel Sedin
Throughout his career, Daniel has been known as a goal-scorer, usually finishing plays initiated by his brother, Henrik. However, Daniel is also a proficient playmaker and generates many sequences with Henrik off the cycle. Daniel's familiarity with Henrik's play enhances his effectiveness; the pair are known for their ability to find each other intuitively with passes, often without looking.
Dany Heatley
Heatley has been voted into the NHL All-Star Game five times, and played in four of them, most recently in 2009. His first appearance in the All-Star Game was in 2003, where he scored four goals, tying a single-game All-Star record (held by four other players, including Wayne Gretzky). The game went to a shootout where Heatley scored the only goal for the Eastern Conference in a 6–5 loss.
Carey Price
On July 2, 2017, it was announced that Price signed an eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of US$10.5 million totalling to US$84 million for the entire contract. His new contract will run through the 2025-26 season. This will make Price the highest paid goaltender in the 2018-2019 NHL season, surpassing goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Daniel Alfredsson
On 4 December 2014, Alfredsson signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a member of the Ottawa Senators. Alfredsson took part in the pre-game warm-ups, and took the ceremonial face-off as the Senators faced the New York Islanders. During Alfredsson's career with the Ottawa Senators, he played in 1,178 games, had 426 goals, 682 assists and 1,108 points, all franchise records.
Alexander Ovechkin
Ovechkin's first senior tournament was the 2004 World Championship, and he also played in the World Cup that year. Ovechkin has also played for Russia at the Winter Olympics in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Overall Ovechkin has represented Russia at eleven World Championships and three Olympics in his career, winning the World Championship three times.
Brett Hull
Hull was a consistent critic of the NHL's defensive, "clutch and grab" era of the late 1990s, raising the ire of commissioner Gary Bettman in 1998 when he said "I wouldn't pay to watch. It's boring. The whole style of the game is terrible. There's no flow. When a guy like [Mario] Lemieux leaves the game and tells you why he's leaving, and you don't address it, that's stupid. But the players don't say crap. That's why I always look like the big mouth."
Tim Thomas
Thomas is a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender, and was a member of Team USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. He became the oldest player in league history to win the Conn Smythe at age 37. He is the second of four American-born players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in NHL history, after Brian Leetch and before Jonathan Quick and Patrick Kane.
Phil Kessel
Kessel plays internationally for the United States. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kessel played in six games, scoring one goal and one assist en route to a silver medal. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he played in six games, recording five goals and three assists en route to a fourth-place finish for Team USA. He was named the tournament's top forward and also named to the tournament all-star team. On February 23, 2017, Kessel was ranked as the fourth best active American-born player in the NHL by NHL.com writers.
Tyler Seguin
During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Seguin played for EHC Biel of the Swiss National League A and finished the season with 25 goals, the most on the team. In 2013, Seguin played in his second Stanley Cup Finals in three seasons, ultimately losing the series to the Chicago Blackhawks. On July 4, 2013, Seguin was traded by the Bruins to the Dallas Stars for a package of players including Loui Eriksson.
Steven Stamkos
On March 3, 2018, Stamkos set a new career high with a five-point game in a 7-6 Lightning shootout win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Stamkos became the 7th Lightning player in franchise history to have a five-point game. The five-point game also gave Stamkos the most career regular season games of four or more points in franchise history with 11 such games.
Sidney Crosby
Crosby captained Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal. A year later, he led his country to gold in the World Championship in Prague, thus becoming a member of the Triple Gold Club and the only player in the club to have captained all three winning teams. In 2016, Crosby captained Canada to gold in the World Cup of Hockey and was elected MVP by a unanimous vote.
Roman Josi
Josi began the 2012–13 season with his youth team, SC Bern, because of the NHL lockout. He played alongside NHL stars John Tavares and Mark Streit. With the lockout resolved, Josi returned to play with the Predators and on February 25, 2013, Josi scored a career high four points in an overtime home win against the Dallas Stars. Josi was selected to play in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. He was named the eighth captain in Predators history on 19 September 2017.
Patrik Laine
In Laine's second season with Winnipeg, on 25 February 2018, Laine scored his 30th and 31st goal of the year, making him the seventh teenager in the history of NHL to score consecutive 30 goal seasons. On 6 March 2018, Laine scored his 4th NHL hat trick, in a 3–0 win over the New York Rangers, becoming the third teenager in the history of the NHL to record four three-goal games before their 20th birthday.
Patrice Bergeron
On January 18, 2018, Bergeron recorded the third hat trick of his career, and second of the season in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders. After blocking an opposition shot with his right foot on February 24 against the hosting Toronto Maple Leafs, Bergeron found out two days later that he had broken a bone in his foot, and would have to stay out for two weeks, pending further evaluation of his foot fracture.
P.K. Subban
Subban was invited to participate in the 2012 IIHF World Championship, but was injured during pre-tournament play. In the next season, Subban was a late addition to the Canadian team at the 2013 edition of the tournament; he joined them in the elimination round for one game, which Canada lost. On January 7, 2014, Subban was named to Canada's 2014 Winter Olympic team for participation in the Games in Sochi in defence of their 2010 gold medal. They won gold, prevailing 3–0 over Sweden in the tournament final.
Leon Draisaitl
Draisaitl represents Germany internationally. He played in the World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014. He served as the German team captain at the 2014 tournament. He was ejected from a round-robin game against the American team after a hit from behind and was later assessed a one-game suspension. Draisaitl was named to the Germany men's national ice hockey team for competition at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.
Henrik Sedin
Beginning around the 2008–09 season, Henrik began to expand his skill-set by scoring more goals. His increased tendency to shoot was given an extra push when Daniel suffered the first major injury of his career early in the 2009–10 season, forcing Henrik to play without his brother and consequently pass less often. He recorded the first two 20-goal seasons of his career in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and increased his shot totals.
Erik Karlsson
Ken Hitchcock praised Karlsson for his skating skill and reading of plays, saying that he is "ahead of the curve everywhere." Henrik Lundqvist also called Karlsson "one of the best players in the game", complimenting his skating skills and vision of the game. Despite his performance, he has also been criticized for not playing a more defensive role as a defenceman.
Connor McDavid
McDavid grew up in the Toronto area and played hockey there, and was granted "Exceptional Player" status by Hockey Canada, which allowed him to play major junior one year early. He spent three years with the Otters in the OHL before the Oilers selected in him the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally McDavid played for the Canadian national junior team at one World U18 Championship, two World Junior Championships, and for the senior team at one World Championship, winning one gold at every level.
Braden Holtby
After his impressive playoff performances as a rookie, Holtby was rewarded with the starting goaltender's job for the 2012–13 season, as named by Washington's new head coach, Adam Oates. On February 25, 2013, just over a month after the lockout-shortened season commenced, Holtby agreed to a two-year, $3.7 million contract extension with the Capitals.
Auston Matthews
Matthews helped lead the American national hockey team to gold at the U18s in 2014. He did so again in 2015, leading the tournament in scoring and being named MVP, as well as earning the top forward slot on the Media All-Star team. He was also named to the roster for the 2015, but was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a back injury.
Anže Kopitar
Kopitar won the Stanley Cup championship with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, leading the playoffs in points on both occasions (tied with teammate Dustin Brown in 2012). Internationally, Kopitar has represented the Slovenian national team in several junior and senior tournaments, as well as at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also played for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
