Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov voted league’s best playmaker by his peers
TAMPA — There’s no trophy for it, but being voted as the best among your peers in any sport goes a long way. And among NHL players, there’s no better playmaker in the league than Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, according to this season’s NHL Players Association player poll released Wednesday.
A total of 639 players from each of the league’s 32 teams were surveyed anonymously by the NHLPA during the first half of the regular season, answering 15 questions.
Kucherov, who entered Wednesday leading the NHL in scoring with 139 points, received 28.47% of the vote for “best playmaker;” second-place finisher Connor McDavid of Edmonton received 20.91% (43 fewer votes) with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (8.96), the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin (7.56) and Toronto’s Mitch Marner (5.80) rounding out the top five.
“He’s the smartest player in hockey,” Lightning defenseman Victory Hedman said of Kucherov last week in Toronto. “And his consistency year in and year out I think sets him apart from the other guys.”
Kucherov is a top candidate for this season’s Hart Memorial Trophy awarded to “the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” in a tight field that also includes the two players he’s been jockeying with in the scoring race: Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and McDavid.
McDavid (99 assists) and Kucherov (96 assists) can join an elite group of just three players — Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe — to record triple-digit assists. No player has reached 100 assists since 1990-91.
Kucherov also polled in the top five of the “forward players want on their team if they need to win one game” (fourth, 5.31%) and “best stickhandler” (fourth, 7.89%); McDavid was first in both categories. And Kucherov even finished in a three-way tie for third in “best style” at 2.47%.
And even though this statistically hasn’t been Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s best season after coming back from preseason back surgery, there’s still no one else NHL players would rather have in net for them.
For the third straight season, Vasilevskiy was overwhelmingly the top vote-getter among his peers to play in the crease in a must-win situation. Vasilevskiy received 46.92% of the vote, well ahead of the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin (second at 6.49). The Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin (6.17), Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (5.03) and Nashville’s Juuse Saros (4.87) completed the top five.
Interestingly enough, Vasilevskiy received such immense support despite the voting occurring during the first half of the season, when he missed the first eight weeks. Of late, Vasilevskiy has been stellar, going 9-2-1 with a .921 save percentage and 2.25 goals against average. He’s allowed two goals or fewer in four of his last six starts, including Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Columbus.
Also, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was the top vote-getter for “player most difficult to face in their own end” at 20.32%, more than twice as much as second-place finisher McDavid (9.48). Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin (7.90), Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar (6.09) and Colorado’s Cale Makar (4.97) finished in the top five. Hedman leads all Lightning players with a plus-18.
Hedman, who ranks third among all NHL defensemen with 63 assists and fifth in points with 76, was also second for “defenseman wanted in a must-win game,” garnering 10.50% of the vote, well behind Makar’s 56.38; Hedman also finished fourth in “best breakout passer” (8.97), with Makar again in first (26.56).
Center Luke Glendening, who leads the Lightning with a 56.2 faceoff percentage, also finished fourth (5.98%) in “player wanted most to win a faceoff,” with Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly claiming the top spot (14.49%).
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