BREAKING NEWS: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs Overlooked in ESPN Player Ra… Read More

The legendary center for the Leafs was overlooked in favor of some of his peers on the renowned website that listed the best 25 NHL players of the twenty-first century.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews wasn’t treated well by notable website ESPN when it recently revealed its list of the best 25 NHL players of the twenty-first century.

Comparing the greatest players hockey has ever produced—many of whom are or will be Hall-of-Famers—is not an easy undertaking, but the results are nonetheless noteworthy. The primary one, though, is that their assessment of the top player on the Toronto Maple Leafs is incorrect.

Comparing nearly completed careers to those that are just partially completed makes the ranking more challenging.

But enough years of play have passed for the players on this list who are still active to comment on the order.

When examining the NHL players who are currently active, the exploits of Matthews of the Leafs were disregarded.

Distinguished Current NHL Player Rankings
Sidney Crosby is ranked number one on ESPN, with Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Patrick Kane, and Niklas Lidstrom completing the top five. Both Crosby and McDavid are legendary players who have won numerous awards and are regarded as some of the best to have ever played.

As the most prolific goal scorer in the history of the game, Ovechkin is quickly overtaking Wayne Gretzky. In addition to winning the Conn Smythe, Art Ross, and Hart Trophies, Kane is a three-time Stanley Cup champion. Lidstrom has won seven Norris awards, the Conn Smythe, and is the greatest defenseman of this century. He is also a four-time Cup champion.

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).