There's a lot of discrepancy when it comes to choosing the best player in any sport. There are a lot of variables that a lot of people tend to overlook. Being the best player, especially in hockey, comes down to more than just offensive production. Are Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos the best offensive players in the NHL right now? Yes, and there's no doubt about it. But are either of them the overall best player in the NHL? Hardly.
Yes, Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy and Stamkos won the Rocket Richard, and both are candidates for the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the player deemed most valuable to his team. I personally don't think Stamkos deserves the Hart Trophy at all, but that could just be me. The point here is that there is much, much more to being a great NHL player than strictly offensive talent. A great two way forward will always be more valuable to a team than a strictly offensive player. Just look at what happened in the first round series between the Flyers and Penguins. Malkin, the best offensive player in the world, was essentially shut down by Sean Couturier, a two way forward and penalty kill specialist. Malkin had 75 even strength points in 75 games this season. In 12 games (regular and post season) against the Flyers, Malkin was held to 3 even strength points when both Malkin and Couturier were on the ice at the same time. Now, am I saying that Couturier is better than Malkin? Not even close. But how he performed against Malkin is a prime example of why having a two way forward is incredibly beneficial to a team. A goal scorer is effective in generally one area of the ice, the offensive zone. A two way forward is effective in all areas.
To find the best overall player in the league, it is important to look at more than just goals, assists, and points. Look at their plus-minus rating, whether they play the penalty kill, rather than just the power play and even strength. There are two players that come to my mind when I think of the best player in the league right now. Those players are Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews. Both of these players are near the top of their teams' scoring stats each season, but they also are incredible in the defensive zone.
Anyone who has watched Datsyuk play knows that he is one of, if not the best, puck handlers in the league. He has great vision and a strong wrist shot, but his game doesn't end there. Datsyuk had 67 points in 70 games played this season, was +21(he's +208 in his career) and was on the Red Wings' first penalty kill line. Datsyuk does it all. He can set up and score goals, and he can also prevent his opponents' top centers from doing so. Jonathan Toews, while younger, is also a very similar player. Due to injury, Toews only played 59 games this season, but had 57 points and was +17 this season. He's +87 in his short 5 year career thus far. Toews also plays on his teams' first penalty kill unit. Flyers young center Claude Giroux is much like both of these players also, but is only in his 3rd full season and I don't feel he can be compared to them just yet.
A strictly offensive player can make plays in the offensive zone, a two way forward can make plays from the defensive zone and shut down chances by the other team. For these reasons, I firmly believe that Pavel Datsyuk and Jonathan Toews are the two best players in the NHL right now.
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