Talking about the best hockey players in history is always an interesting topic to discuss. The only problem is that many times this discussion is linked to personal preferences, as there are many legends in the world of hockey. Therefore, sometimes, when discussing these topics, they try to set certain limits in order to get at least a more or less objective answer.
Someone chooses the best seasons of the players. And someone goes further.
So The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe was asked to compile teams of the best hockey players over the age of 35. One complication: the teams must be made up of players in a certain age category. That is, teams of the best hockey players aged 36, 37, etc.
Once again, Alexander Ovechkin is on the list of “aging” players!
But old man Ovi isn’t always praised for his play:
“Ovi is getting older.” Has Ovechkin’s place in the new rankings been lowered in the United States?
What kind of teams did The Athletic put together and who got there?
Rules
First, let’s clarify what conditions McIndoe had. Apart from age, of course.
— Many hockey players’ birthdays are spread out over the course of a season, so the journalist’s cutoff date is January 31.
— You can only select one season for a player. In other words, no one can be on this list twice.
Alexander Ovechkin
Photo: AP/TASS
Team “36 years”
Forwards: Jean Ratelle, Teemu Selanne, Alexander Ovechkin; Defenders: Larry Murphy, Matthew Schneider; Goalkeeper: Tim Thomas.
Ovi immediately jumped into the team of the best 36-year-old hockey players. This is not surprising: in the 2021/2022 season, the Washington captain scored 90 points and scored 50 goals. Never before has a 36-year-old player reached the 50-goal mark!
It is worth noting that Gretzky also scored 90 points at the age of 36, but was not included in this team.
I would also like to say that McIndoe answered the question before the end of the 2023/2024 season and therefore Sidney Crosby should probably be on this team as well. He didn’t turn 37 until August 2024. But at the age of 36, the Pittsburgh captain repeated the NHL record for the most points. Sid scored 94 (42+52) points, equaling leaders Selanne (48+46) and Ratelle (33+61).
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“I was a little surprised to see Ratelle here, but he scored 94 points for Boston in the 1976-77 season, so I’ll make him our center forward and give him a total of 98 goals of European wing magic. We have the Detroit pair on the blue line, with Schneider putting up an impressive 59 points in the 2005-06 season and Murphy recording 52 points in his first full year with the Red Wings. Thomas had his best year, the 2010-11 season, in which he won the Stanley Cup and Vezina,” McIndoe writes.
Team “37 years”
Forwards: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic; Defenders: Brent Burns, Brian Rafalski; Goalie: Martin Brodeur.
Crosby has not yet turned 37, but Ovechkin has already had one in his career. In the 2022/2023 season, the forward scored 75 points (42+33), setting the record for the most goals in this age category, but finishing only eighth in the scoring list. Pavelski was also ahead of him, with 81 (27+54) points.
“I picked this Gretzky season, even though Wayne was a little less productive than his regular season at age 36, because he still led the league in assists and finished fifth in Hart voting. We’ll leave Sakic on the wing so he can score 100 points, like in the 2006/2007 season (performance record for 37-year-old players. – Championship note). We also need to find a spot for Lemieux, who scored 91 points in just 67 games in the 2002/2003 championship, the only one since his return, when Mario was close to completing a season. We probably don’t need much from our defense, but we’re using Burns from his first year in Carolina and Rafalski’s really bad last season, plus Brodeur’s 45-win regular season.
Wayne Gretzky with Mario Lemieux at a press conference
Photo: AP/TASS
Team “38 years”
Forwards: Adam Oates, Brett Hull, Joe Pavelski; Defenders: Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson; Goalkeeper: Roberto Luongo.
Last season was rather unsuccessful for Ovi. Alex scored only 65 (31+34) points, ranking tenth on the list of top scorers in 38-year-olds. In terms of goals, he shared the second place with Johnny Busiek. Oates is the leader in this category with 82 (13+69) points. It is noteworthy that here Pavelski shares the second place with Ron Francis: both have 77 points.
“I couldn’t help but be reminded of the proven combination of Hull and Oates, with Brett scoring 37 goals in the 2002/2003 season and Oates providing 69 assists in the 2000/2001 regular season. They have Pavelski from last year (2022/2023 season – “Championship” note), as well as a reliable blue line of two Montreal legends who stopped at the end of their careers on other teams (Harvey on the Rangers and Robinson in Los Angeles). Luongo was a solid goaltender in his penultimate season with Florida, displacing Toronto’s Ed Belfort as our starter,” explains McIndoe.
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Team “39 years”
Forwards: Jean Beliveau, Johnny Busiek, Alex Delvecchio; Defenders: Red Kelly, Al MacInnis; Goalkeeper: Johnny Bauer.
“There are a lot of veteran names here, in addition to McInnis, who scored 68 points in one of the greatest veteran seasons of all time with St. Louis in the 2002-03 regular season. This is the toughest roster to fill because it’s so old, but if you know your history, you know this roster will be competitive.
Team “40 years and more”
Forwards: Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr; Defenders: Nicklas Lidstrom, Ray Burke; Goalkeeper: Jacques Plante.
“We had to put Jagr here and I like the idea of other teams looking at Howe and Messier up front. (By the way, we’re picking Howe’s 103-point season here, a career record he coincidentally set at age 40.) Lidstrom won the Norris at age 40, while Bourque finished second in his final season. In Plant’s case, we’ll pick the 1970/1971 season, when he played in Toronto at age 42, not the 1968/1969 regular season, when Jacques, age 40, was playing in St. Louis. Although both were phenomenal.
“So who are you for? The 37-year-old team wins on star power, and the 39-year-old team is the veterans’ pick, but I think the 40+ team can beat them all, given the strength of the defence and goaltending,” McIndoe concludes.
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I wonder if any of the veterans, including Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin, will give a compelling reason in the new year to include their season on these teams of hockey’s best veterans.
