Hockey's hometown heroes: we pick the best players of all time from all 30 NHL franchises - Special Section: Lords Of The Rink

Hockey Digest, Feb, 2003

WITH THE ORIGINAL SIX NHL teams dating back to the 1910s and '20s, the rich, storied histories of these clubs are well worth examining.

And what better way to do so than by choosing the best players of all time from those franchises? But why stop there? With the exception of the four recent expansion clubs, all of the NHL's teams have track records worthy of deep analysis.

So we've done just that, selecting the best player, coach, and team for each of the 30 franchises--yes, even the Predators, Thrashers, Blue Jackets, and Wild. We've also chosen all-time first and second teams for all of the clubs, except the expansion clubs where we only went one deep.

Was it an easy task? Hardly.

Consider that many of the players not selected are members of the Hall of Fame. But those all-time greats were beaten out by even better performers.

For instance, the Montreal Canadiens have had such a strong contingent of goal-tenders throughout the years that Patrick Roy did not make the Habs' all-time team. Fear not Roy rooters, he is far and away the Colorado's No. 1 netminder.

There are dozens more examples of great players, Stanley Cup champions and perennial All-Stars, who didn't make the cut for our squads. For instance, on Philadelphia we failed to give Brian Propp his props. Wayne Cashman proved not to be money enough for our all-time Boston team. Ed "the Eagle" Belfour didn't fly on our Chicago squad.

Picking just one player as a team's greatest was also quite a task Brett Hull or Bernie Federko in St. Louis? Bobby Hull or Stan Mikita in Chicago? Marcel Dionne or Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles?

Speaking of Gretzky, as a testament to his greatness, he was the only player picked as the best player for two different franchises. A few other players, such as Ray Bourque, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, and Teemu Selanne, made the all-time teams for two separate clubs.

As always, we want to hear from you. Tell us what astute judges of talent we are--yeah, right--or let us know what boneheads we are. Either way, we're waiting for your feedback.

Where to Find Your Team

Team             Page

Anaheim            32
Boston             33
Buffalo            34
Calgary            35
Carolina           36
Chicago            37
Colorado           38
Dallas             39
Detroit            40
Edmonton           41
Florida            42
Los Angeles        43
Montreal           44
New Jersey         46
N.Y. Islanders     47
N.Y. Rangers       48
Ottawa             49
Philadelphia       50
Phoenix            51
Pittsburgh         52
St. Louis          53
San Jose           54
Tampa Bay          55
Toronto            56
Vancouver          57
Washington         58
Atlanta            59
Columbus           59
Minnesota          59
Nashville          59

ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS

ESTABLISHED: 1993

THE DISNEY TOUCH. IT'S SUPPOSED to turn everything to magic, be it on film, at amusement parks, or at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

But after a decade of Ducks, it looks like not everything the Disney folks touch turns golden.

The Ducks, who were inspired by one pretty good Disney movie and some disappointing sequels, have had one pretty good run and some disappointing sequels themselves.

If you had to pick the glory years of the franchise, you would start with 1997 and end with 1999. Those were the only two playoff seasons in the team's first decade, and the march to the postseason was led by the only stars in this Disney cast: Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.

Selanne, a sniper of a right wing, was acquired in February 1996 from Winnipeg, where he had a 76-goal season as a rookie. In his first two seasons with the Ducks, he scored 51 and 52 goals, respectively. He notched 47 the next year.

Kariya, who arrived in Orange County in 1994, immediately clicked with Selanne. In 1997, he had 99 points in the regular season and 13 more in 11 playoff games. Two years later, the other playoff season, Kariya had 101 regular-season points.

The duo, alas, was broken up when Selanne was dealt to San Jose in 2001, leaving Kariya alone to compete with Mickey, Goofy, and Donald for the hearts and minds of Anaheim.

Anaheim's All-Time Team

FIRST TEAM

Position      Player                                Years

Goalie        Guy Hebert                        1993-2001
Defenseman    Bobby Dollas                        1993-98
Defenseman    Oleg Tverdovsky           1995-96, '99-2002
Center        Steve Rucchin                     1995-2003
Left wing     Paul Kariya                       1994-2003
Right wing    Teemu Selanne                     1996-2001

SECOND TEAM

Position      Player                                Years

Goalie        J.S. Giguere                      1998-2003
Defenseman    Dmitri Mironov                      1996-98
Defenseman    Fredrik Olausson   1995-96, '98-'00, '02-03
Center        Matt Cullen                       1997-2003
Left wing     Mike LeClerc                      1997-2003
Right wing    Marry McInnis                     1998-2002

BEST PLAYER: Paul Kariya
BEST COACH: Ron Wilson
BEST TEAM: 1996-97 (Western Conf. semifinalists)
STANLEY CUPS: 0