Power rankings: Franchise players …
If the assignment is to start an NHL franchise, what player would you choose to build for the future? Goaltending is the most important position, so it's Martin Brodeur – the most accomplished active player at that position. Oh, wait, not comfortable building a team around a 36-year-old? How about Roberto Luongo? Or is 29 not the optimum age for building long term? OK, then it has to be Carey Price, 21. Prefer offense? Sidney Crosby has the best blend of overall skills, and he's dynamic. But Alexander Ovechkin is more of a pure goal-scorer. Or how about going off the charts to secure junior hockey's John Tavares, the 18-year-old on everyone's radar for the past couple of seasons? Then again, it's all about defense, and probably the hardest position to solidify is a No. 1 defenseman. Nicklas Lidstrom is the best, but we can't travel back in time. Anyone for Dion Phaneuf? Or a number of young potential top D-men – Drew Doughty, Zack Bogosian, Luke Schenn, Luca Sbisa, Jack Johnson or Erik Johnson. The theme of this week's rankings, which appear every Tuesday, is choosing the franchise player for each team.
1.San Jose Sharks (16-3-1, Previous: 1) – The trend will be to select younger players, but at 29, Joe Thornton is the most important piece to this franchise, now and going forward. A point-a-game player for his career, Thornton still has many prime seasons left. His size and skill are hard to find; No. 1 centers don't just grow on trees.
2.Detroit Red Wings (12-2-3, Previous: 2) – You try to pick between Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, two of the game's best two-way forwards. The difference might be age (Zetterberg, at 28, is two years younger than Datsyuk) and size (Datsyuk gives away a little to the Swedish star). Don't think you can go wrong selecting either, and both probably still have their best years ahead of them.
3.Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-2, Previous: 5) – You could get a healthy argument going here between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but that leaves at least two others – Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury – out of the conversation. Bottom line, Pittsburgh is loaded with young talent. The task is to pick one, and that player is Crosby, who beyond all the fabulous head-turning skill and blossoming leadership is a player who hates to lose. Something suggests he won't do that much in his career.
4.Boston Bruins (11-3-4, Previous: 7) – The ultimate Boston Bruin is not a slick-skating goal-scorer or stand-on-his-head goalie. It's a power forward, and that's exactly the M.O. Milan Lucic fills for the franchise. Talk about a perfect fit. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 220 pounds, this is the player who will make Bruins fans forget about Joe Thornton and recall Cam Neely. And to think he's only 20 years old.
5.New York Rangers (14-5-2, Previous: 6) – Henrik Lundqvist has certainly captured the imagination and adulation of the Ranger faithful, not to mention general managers around the league. The 26-year-old Swede has been named a Vezina Trophy finalist in all three of his NHL seasons, an honor bestowed by league GMs, not writers, so there's no perceived East Coast bias. Whether he wins one or not, Lundqvist is obviously already considered an elite goalie in the league, though he could better cover the top half of the net.
6.Montreal Canadiens (10-4-2, Previous: 3) – Pretty obvious choice here. It's the young goalie Carey Price, who has to be great or he'll find himself with another organization in four or five years. No position on any team in any city is more closely scrutinized than goalie in Montreal. Price is a cool customer, and it’s a good thing.
7.Washington Capitals (10-4-3, Previous: 11) – It's the easy and obvious choice – Alexander Ovechkin. Absolutely worth the price of admission on virtually any night, anywhere. For all that skill and sizzle, the thing that stands out most is his pure passion and enjoyment of the game. Gotta love a skill player who gets his nose dirty, too, not unlike a Jarome Iginla. In that way, Ovechkin is reminiscent of a young Jeremy Roenick.
8.Minnesota Wild (10-4-1, Previous: 10) – Let's see a show of hands for Marian Gaborik. Thought so. Wonderfully talented, no question, but does anyone trust his health, not to mention his reluctance to sign long term? Unless you want to hang the franchise tag on large 19-year-old left wing Colton Gillies, the best bet here is that the franchise's best player – whoever that might be – isn't part of the franchise yet.
9.Anaheim Ducks (10-7-2, Previous: 8) – Ryan Getzlaf is the prototype Duck, or at least he was in the eyes of former GM Brian Burke, who likes 'em big, skilled and a little bit mean. We think new GM Bob Murray is going to like the 6-3, 213-pound, 23-year-old for years to come as well.
10.Buffalo Sabres (9-5-3, Previous: 4) – Management has seen enough to reward Ryan Miller with a long-term extension. Now it's up to the 28-year-old goalie to validate the $6.25 mil he'll be making for four seasons starting next year.
11.Philadelphia Flyers (7-6-4, Previous: 18) – Mike Richards could own the city of Philly before it's all over. A hard-nosed, honest player, he doesn’t go down easily and leads by example. He's only 23 but already is looked upon as a force in the East. Like Lucic in Boston, Richards is a player who was born to play in Philadelphia.
12.Chicago Blackhawks (7-4-5, Previous: 9) – Jonathan Toews may not have the flash and dash of equally popular new-age 'Hawk Patrick Kane, but there's a reason why the organ-IZA-tion slapped the "C" on Toews' jersey. The rangy 20-year-old is mature beyond his years and figures to only be more productive as the years roll past.
13.Vancouver Canucks (10-6-2, Previous: 15) – Like some others on this list, Roberto Luongo may not be as young as a team would like when building for a long future, but there's no questioning his superior talent and importance to the Canucks. On the other hand, Luongo is 29, so who is to say he won't be productive and among the elite for at least another 10 seasons?
14.Carolina Hurricanes (9-7-2, Previous: 12) – Eric Staal has everything you could want in a budding superstar hockey player, if he hasn't reached that status already. His size, superior skill, leadership and smarts will keep him in the game as a productive, top-line star for years.
15.Calgary Flames (9-8-1, Previous: 16) – It's his fourth season in the league and Dion Phaneuf is still the youngest defenseman for Calgary. He's the most dominant, the most dangerous, the hardest hitter, the most feared, etc. We could go on. He may hit a rut or two now and then, but he plays a very hard game and he's expected to deliver on a nightly basis. No easy task. Our money is on him to deliver well into the future.
16.Colorado Avalanche (8-8-0, Previous: 21) – Timing is everything. We were going to suggest Paul Stastny even before he signed a five-year contract extension Monday. The clever winger is off to a slow start in goals this season, but he has a nose for the net. At age 22, he's still sorting it out a bit like any young pro. They like skating and scoring in Denver, and Stastny fits that bill just like so many of the greats who have gone before him.
17.New Jersey Devils (8-7-2, Previous: 13) – We don't question Martin Brodeur as the franchise's most important player, but going forward Zach Parise could emerge as much as any skilled forward in New Jersey. The loss of Brodeur for an extended period will actually be good for Parise and the Devils. They will be challenged to win in ways they never have before – and they will be better for it in the end.
18.Edmonton Oilers (8-8-2, Previous: 14) – Ales Hemsky is the most skilled player who is talked about the least in the league. He's six years older than Sam Gagner, the youngster with outstanding bloodlines who is otherwise probably a tad small to be looked upon as the player the Oilers would covet for years to come. That is not the case with Hemsky, 25, who – once he is noticed in the national spotlight – won't leave it any time soon.
19.Atlanta Thrashers (7-8-2, Previous: 25) – Zack Bogosian is getting a real baptism under fire as an 18-year-old defenseman on a not-very-good blue line. Nevertheless, if Bogosian isn’t the future franchise player here, he's certainly a cornerstone. Like a handful of teams, the Thrashers are probably still searching for that star player. Or did you think we were going to suggest Ilya Kovalchuk? Naw.
20.Nashville Predators (9-8-1, Previous: 28) – Thanks to Alexander Radulov's choice to return to Russia, the Preds might be looking at Shea Weber as their backbone for years to come. A hard-nosed defenseman isn't exactly what brings 'em through the turnstiles, but you can't fault Weber for the work he has put in to become one of the league's most underrated defenders.
21.Columbus Blue Jackets (8-7-3, Previous: 23) – As much as Rick Nash could fill the bill, people are starting to understand all the talk about goaltender Steve Mason. Like Carey Price in Montreal and Mike Smith in Tampa Bay, Mason is part of a new wave of young goalies who fill up the net with their size. Mason is only 20, and he might not be getting this much of a look-see without an injury to Pascal Leclaire, but he's certainly leaving everyone with a strong impression.
22.Phoenix Coyotes (8-8-0, Previous: 19) – There is some outstanding young talent on this roster, and it's probably premature to just pick one name based on the snapshot of results. You have to like Martin Hanzal's size – the 21-year-old center is 6-4 – the skill of 19-year-old center Kyle Turris and the potential of 20-year-old Peter Mueller. But the player who is turning the most heads early is 18-year-old rookie Mikkel Boedker, a Danish-born winger with size, a physical presence and soft hands. Phoenix is Chicago a year ago.
23.Ottawa Senators (6-9-3, Previous: 17) – Jason Spezza. OK, maybe we cringed a little after typing that. Look, he's 25 years old and already has six years in the league. It's no easy task living up to a high first-round selection, and he's constantly reminded he went second overall in 2001. Just the same, with a little more help he might have had a Stanley Cup or two by now. Don't give up on his abilities to put up lights-out numbers just yet.
24.Dallas Stars (6-8-3, Previous: 22) – Does anyone really want to be labeled the Dallas franchise player with Mike Modano still around? Maybe that's one reason that young player isn't evident. The Stars have some decent young talent, especially on defense, but there isn't really that one guy who makes you jump out of your seat. We'll see what Brett Hull & Co. do about that.
25.New York Islanders (7-9-2, Previous: 30) – Don't even start with the Rick DiPietro talk. He's paid like a franchise player, but he can't help anyone while in the trainer's room all the time. If there's a franchise player here, he's doing a good job of blending in with the crowd. We sure don't see one yet.
26.Los Angeles Kings (7-8-2, Previous: 24) – Anze Kopitar has all the attributes of a young star in the making – size, skill, speed – and it's obvious that losing does not sit well with him. Like the Kings, he has to be patient as the young and very talented core learns what it takes to win. Kopitar will lead them back to respectability.
27.Toronto Maple Leafs (7-8-4, Previous: 20) – It's really not fair to single out Luke Schenn – the 19-year-old defenseman who made the jump directly from junior hockey to the pros – just because he's averaging 21 minutes a night on a so-so team. The fact is that the franchise player isn't here yet. It was supposed to be goalie Justin Pogge, but no one is holding their breath. It might eventually be Brian Burke's job to rubber stamp whom the scouts say to select, and that could be their man.
28.St. Louis Blues (6-8-2, Previous: 29) – Erik Johnson may be losing a season of development to a season-long knee injury, but that doesn't mean anyone is forgetting about the 20-year-old who was selected first overall by the Blues in 2006. He has Chris Pronger written all over him.
29.Florida Panthers (6-9-1, Previous: 27) – There are good young players here, but it's a bit like Phoenix – too early to tell how it's going to sort itself out. The young studs include familiar names such as Nathan Horton, David Booth and Stephen Weiss. You’d like to say it's defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, but many wonder if he'll even be in the organization or starring for another team a year from now.
30.Tampa Bay Lightning (5-7-5, Previous: 26) – With all due respect to Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos is going to develop into the dynamic star this franchise will look to for future success. It's been a real soap opera at the outset of his career, and Stamkos still has to prove a lot, but he has the skill and maturity to get something accomplished this season and he'll take off from there.
