FanHouse's Top 50 NHL Players

We're at the most painfully slow, seemingly endless portion of the NHL offseason. The draft is over, the biggest free agents have signed, and training camp isn't yet in sight. What better time to start arguments about the best players in the NHL?

I'm profiling two players per day, starting with No. 50 and working all the way to the top. This is my subjective list of the league's top players.

What's the criteria used? Simple.

It's simply about the best players right now. Well, it's my opinion of the best players right now. Age isn't a factor and, most importantly, contracts don't matter. This isn't about the best values, or the best contracts, or the players with the best long-term upside, it's just about the best players.

The List (click player name for full analysis)

No. 50 -- Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes
No. 49 -- Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars
No. 48 -- Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
No. 47 -- Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
No. 46 -- Dan Boyle, San Jose Sharks
No. 45 -- Brian Rafalski, Detroit Red Wings
No. 44 -- Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
No. 43 -- Tomas Kaberle,Toronto Maple Leafs
No. 42 -- Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens
No. 41 -- Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks
No. 40 -- Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 39 -- Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings
No. 38 -- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
No. 37 -- Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary Flames
No. 36 -- Jeff Carter, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 35 -- Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
No. 34 -- Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
No. 33 -- Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers
No. 32 -- Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators
No. 31 -- Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks
No. 30 -- Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
No. 29 -- Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh Penguins
No. 28 -- Alexander Semin, Washington Capitals
No. 27 -- Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
No. 26 -- Mike Green, Washington Capitals
No. 25 -- Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
No. 24 -- Marc Savard, Boston Bruins
No. 23 -- Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 22 -- Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
No. 21 -- The Sedin Twins, Vancouver Canucks
No. 20 -- Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
No. 19 -- Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
No. 18 -- Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
No. 17 -- Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers
No. 16 -- Dany Heatley, Ottawa Senators
No. 15 -- Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
No. 14 -- Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning
No. 13 -- Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers
No. 12 -- Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
No. 11 -- Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
No. 10 -- Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
No. 9 -- Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
No. 8 -- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
No. 7 -- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
No. 6 -- Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks
No. 5 -- Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
No. 4 -- Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
No. 3 -- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
No. 2 -- Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
No. 1 -- Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

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They Hooked You