Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews Slighted in ESPN Player Rankings
Noted website ESPN recently released its ranking of the top 25 NHL players of the 21st century and it wasn't kind to the Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews.
It's not an easy task comparing the best players hockey has to offer, many who are or will be Hall-of-Famers, but there are some interesting takeaways nonetheless. The main one, however, is that they are wrong about the Toronto Maple Leafs best player.
The ranking becomes more difficult when trying to compare careers that are almost complete to ones that are only half finished.
The active players on this list, however, have played enough years to make judgments about the order.
Looking specifically at the current active NHL players, the accomplishments of the Leafs Matthews were disrespected.
Notable Active NHL Player Rankings
Topping ESPN's list is Sidney Crosby followed by Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane, and Niklas Lidstrom rounding out the top five. Crosby and McDavid are generational players, multiple award winners who are considered among the greatest to ever play.
Ovechkin is on his way to surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the game's greatest goal scorer. Kane is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and a Conn Smythe, Art Ross, and Hart Trophy winner. Lidstrom is the best defenseman of this century, a four-time Cup champion, and a Conn Smythe winner who has won seven Norris trophies.
The rankings lose credibility when categorizing other active players. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche ranks sixth, Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins is ninth, Steven Stamkos of the Nashville Predators is twelfth, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers is thirteenth, Matthews is fifteenth, while Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning is seventeenth.
Other active notable players and their rankings were Erik Karlsson of the Penguins (16), Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning (19), Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings (21), Victor Hedman of the Lightning (24), and Jonathan Quick (25).