Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The NHLPA officially unveiled the results of the organization’s annual player poll on Wednesday morning, surveying over 500 NHLers anonymously who provided answers to a series of on-ice and off-ice questions about their fellow peers.
For the on-ice section of the poll, this year produced few surprises.
When asked which goalie they would choose to win a single, sudden-death game, 37.4 percent of all players answered Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, with Montreal’s Carey Price earning the second-highest chunk of the vote at 13.9 percent.
In response to the skater-only version of the same question, 42.2 percent of players answered Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, while 17.3 percent chose Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane was the runaway victor of the best stickhandler honor, earning a whopping 57.3 percent of the total vote, with McDavid trailing behind him in second.
Further down the list, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl took home the title of the NHL’s best passer in a tight race with 17.7 percent of players choosing him, while 53.1 percent of all players dubbed Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin as the league’s best shooter.
Once again, Crosby finished as the top vote-getter for the NHL’s most complete player, followed closely by Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, while Brad Marchand grabbed the title of “player you hate to play against but would most like to have on your team”.
Moving over to the off-ice categories, Las Vegas was named the best city in which to spend a day off on the road, while the players deemed Dallas’ Joe Pavelski as the NHLer most likely to make it in another sport — in this case thanks to his golf skills.
And finally, to round things out, Montreal’s Bell Centre was given the coveted distinction of having the highest quality ice in the league.
Another year, another peek into the minds of the NHL’s best and brightest. For the full list, click here.
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If you need to win one game, who is the one goalie you would want on your team? Andrei Vasilevskiy (37.4%)
If you need to win one game, who is the one skater you would want on your team? Connor McDavid (42.4%)
Who is the best stick-handler? Patrick Kane (57.3%)
Who is the best passer? Leon Draisaitl (17.7%)
Which player do you wish you could shoot like? Alex Ovechkin (53.1%)
Who is the most complete player? Sidney Crosby (29.5%)
Which NHL arena has the best ice? Cell Centre (39.6%)
Which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team? Brad Marchand (26.4%)
Who is the best current women’s hockey player? Marie-Philip Poulin (43.2%)