Over the last 25 years, the NHL has only continued to get more skilled and more entertaining. Today, we’re going to celebrate the stars who have led that charge with CBS Sports’ NHL Quarter-Century team.
Cutting this team down to just 20 players total was a challenge. So many players have made a huge impact on the game of hockey in this young millennium, but the players on this team have become icons. For starters, the two players who most define the last 25 years of the NHL are Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Crosby and Ovechkin entered the NHL at the same time, and they’ve served as the faces of the NHL ever since. That duo, once at the center of a heated rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, have climbed the record books and filled trophy cases a couple times over.
A player who has more recently joined the ranks of superstardom is Connor McDavid, who has won just about everything there is to win, except for a Stanley Cup. McDavid has only been in the league for a decade, but he’s already topped 1,000 points and won’t stop anytime soon.
There are also some players who really excelled in the early portion of this era. The great Nicklas Lidstrom, arguably the best defenseman in hockey history, rattled off one Norris Trophy after another while leading the Detroit Red Wings to multiple Stanley Cups. Likewise, Martin Brodeur was the standard-bearer at his position, and no goaltender in NHL history has anywhere near his 691 wins.
On the whole, this quarter-century team is littered with Stanley Cups, awards, goals, assists and wins. Here are the 20 players who have made the biggest impact on the NHL over the last 25 years.
Forwards
Sidney Crosby
Awards: Hart Trophy (2007, 2010); Maurice Richard Trophy (2010, 2017); Conn Smythe Trophy (2016, 2017); Art Ross Trophy (2007, 2014)
Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016, 2017
Alex Ovechkin
Awards: Hart Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013); Conn Smythe Trophy (2018); Maurice Richard Trophy (2008-10, 2013-16, 2018-20); Calder Trophy (2006); Art Ross Trophy (2008)
Stanley Cups: 2018
Steven Stamkos
Awards: Maurice Richard Trophy (2010, 2012)
Stanley Cups: 2020, 2021
Connor McDavid
Awards: Hart Trophy (2017, 2021, 2023); Maurice Richard Trophy (2023), Conn Smythe Trophy (2024), Art Ross Trophy (2017-18, 2021-23)
Stanley Cups: None
Joe Thornton
Awards: Hart Trophy (2006); Art Ross Trophy (2006)
Stanley Cups: None
Patrick Kane
Awards: Hart Trophy (2016); Conn Smythe Trophy (2013); Calder Trophy (2008); Art Ross Trophy (2016)
Stanley Cups: 2010, 2013, 2015
Anze Kopitar
Awards: Selke Trophy (2016, 2018)
Stanley Cups: 2012, 2014
Evgeni Malkin
Awards: Hart Trophy (2012); Conn Smythe Trophy (2009); Calder Trophy (2007); Art Ross Trophy (2009, 2012)
Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016, 2017
Joe Pavelski
Awards: None
Stanley Cups: None
Jarome Iginla
Awards: Maurice Richard Trophy (2002, 2004); Art Ross Trophy (2002)
Stanley Cups: None
Pavel Datsyuk
Awards: Selke Trophy (2008, 2009, 2010)
Stanley Cups: 2002, 2008
Henrik Sedin
Awards: Hart Trophy (2010), Art Ross Trophy (2010)
Stanley Cups: None
Cutting this list down to 12 was a difficult task, but these are the dozen forwards we believe have defined the last 25 years of NHL hockey. Of course, that starts with Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, who came into the league around the same time and have been two of the games biggest stars ever since. Those two have combined for 1,488 goals and 1,756 assists, and Ovechkin is within reach of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.
Alex Ovechkin goals tracker: Capitals star 16 away from passing Wayne Gretzky for all-time NHL record
Chris Bengel
Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar and Patrick Kane are also still going strong, although a couple of them have moved on to different teams after excellent runs with their original franchises. That trio has a combined seven Stanley Cup rings, but they’ve made a name for themselves in different ways. Stamkos and Kane have made a habit of lighting the lamp with regularity, and Kopitar has won the Selke Trophy twice as an elite two-way center.
Malkin is another active player, and he might be slightly underrated due to playing his entire career on the same team as Crosby. It’s easy to forget that Malkin has had a prolific career in his own right with a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Trophy to go along with 1,330 career points.
Like Kopitar, Pavel Datsyuk made his living as a high-caliber player in all three zones. Not only was Datsyuk an incredible defensive forward, but he was also one of the most skilled and creative players of his era.
Long-time San Jose Sharks teammates Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton make the cut, and both displayed incredible longevity, combining for 42 seasons and 3,046 career games. Few players have ever been able to distribute the puck as well as Thornton, and he knew how to use his length around the net. Pavelski, more of an undersized player, started out as a seventh-round draft pick and went on to become a tremendous all-around player with a knack for finishing near the crease.
Jarome Iginla and Henrik Sedin may get overlooked because of their resumes, in terms of awards and Stanley Cups, aren’t as long as some others. That said, both were superstars over long periods of time. Iginla was a dynamic playmaker, just as capable of scoring as he was finding a teammate with a perfect setup pass. Sedin, on the other hand, was one of the greatest passers of the era. His 830 assists are fourth all-time since Jan. 1, 2000.
McDavid is easily the youngest player on this list at 28, but he has more than earned his spot. McDavid is the best player in the world, and he has been for a few years now. He already has a full trophy case, and now all he needs is a Stanley Cup. That may be on the way sooner rather than later.
Defensemen
Nicklas Lidstrom
Awards: Norris Trophy (2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011), Conn Smythe Trophy (2002)
Stanley Cups: 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008
Awards: Norris Trophy (2018), Conn Smythe Trophy (2020)
Stanley Cups: 2020, 2021
Duncan Keith
Awards: Norris Trophy (2010, 2014)
Stanley Cups: 2010, 2013, 2015
Zdeno Chára
Awards: Norris Trophy (2009)
Stanley Cups: 2011
Awards: Norris Trophy (2012, 2015, 2023)
Stanley Cups: None
Awards: Norris Trophy (2016)
Stanley Cups: 2012, 2014
Much like the forwards, coming up with six defensemen for this Quarter-Century team wasn’t exactly an enviable assignment. After all, some of the most legendary blue-liners the sport has ever seen have graced the NHL over the past 25 years.
When talking about the top defensemen of the last quarter century, the conversation has to begin with legendary Detroit Red Wings blue-liner Nicklas Lidström. Lidström goes down as one of the most elite defenseman to ever lace up a pair of skates as he tallied 1,142 career points (264 goals, 878 assists). He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman on seven occasions, which was the second-most in NHL history behind only Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr. While Lidström was a rugged shutdown defender that was rarely caught out of position, the Red Wings blue-liner provided sensational offensive support.
Opposite of Lidström is one of the top defensemen still playing in the league in the form of Tampa Bay Lightning blue-liner Victor Hedman. Hedman has been the definition of consistency throughout his 16-year career, and helped lead the Lightning to a pair of Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The veteran defenseman may not be the lethal scoring threat that he once was, but is still capable of recording 50-60-point seasons at this point in his career.
The next pairing offers two different defensemen in terms of their playing style. Former Chicago Blackhawks star Duncan Keith was the true definition of a two-way player throughout his time with the franchise. Keith captured the Norris Trophy twice during that time, and was an integral part of the Blackhawks Stanley Cup teams of the 2010s.
Meanwhile, the other piece of this pairing is a rugged, physical defenseman in Zdeno Chara. Chara may not have been what you would call an offensive savant, but he more than held his own with 680 points (209 goals, 471 assists) in a whopping 24 NHL campaigns. If his team needed to shut down the opposition on the man advantage or late in the game, Chara was more than capable of providing that physical presence.
When it comes to the final defensive pairing, that’s where things got very dicey. There’s players, such as Shea Weber, Scott Niedermeyer and even Cale Makar in the present day that have a claim to make this particular squad. However, Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings have been played at an elite level for such a long period of time.
In terms of offensive-minded defensemen, it doesn’t get much better than what Karlsson brings to the table. The veteran blue-liner has turned in nine double-digit goals seasons, including scoring at least 20 goals in three of those campaigns. While he can be a liability at times on the defensive end these days, Karlsson’s offensive acumen alone cements his spot in this group.
Finally, Doughty is still getting the job done at 35 years old in the present day. The Kings defenseman had a major hand in both of the franchise’s Stanley Cups in the 2010s. Doughty has racked up 670 points (156 goals, 514 assists), while remaining an outstanding puck mover on the blue line over the years. Doughty, who is likely a future Hall of Famer, is still playing at a high level, and will be suiting up for Canada in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
Goaltenders
Martin Brodeur
Awards: Calder Trophy (1994), Vezina Trophy (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), Jennings Trophy (1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2010)
Stanley Cups: 1995, 2000, 2003
Awards: Vezina Trophy (2021), Jennings Trophy (2021)
Stanley Cups: 2009, 2016, 2017
Over the past quarter century, the NHL has seen several high-profile goaltenders dominate the landscape. While this wasn’t necessarily an easy decision to pick the top two netminders, legendary New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur had to be a shoe-in for the top spot.
During his Hall of Fame career, Brodeur record the most wins (691) by an NHL goaltender, while also registering a career 2.24 goals-against-average. In addition, Brodeur’s goals-against-average is the 10th-lowest among eligible goaltenders (at least 100 career games) over the course of his career.
In terms of NHL goaltenders, Brodeur was one of the better puck-handlers at the position over the years. Brodeur racked up 45 assists during his 22-year career, which is the third-most in league history behind only Tom Barrasso (48) and Grant Fuhr (47).
Brodeur was arguably the face of the league when it came to NHL goalies in the 1990s and 2000s.
Meanwhile, the second goaltender spot was a little bit harder to figure out. There were plenty of contenders vying for the other goaltender spot behind Brodeur. Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo and even Connor Hellebuyck had a claim to the spot considering the impressive careers they put together.
Ultimately, the longevity of Marc-Andre Fleury won out when it comes to this Quarter-Century squad.
Much like Brodeur, Fleury played over two decades at a high level, and is still doing so in the present day. While he may no longer be an elite netminder, Fleury is still a productive option for the Minnesota Wild.
Fleury is second on the NHL’s all-time wins list (572) behind Brodeur, and even turned in some terrific stages in the later stages of his professional career. During the 2020-21 season, Fleury won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, but ended up being traded by the Vegas Golden Knights despite that accomplishment. He became the first goaltender since Dominik Hasek to be traded as the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.
Fleury also had a great deal of success with the Pittsburgh Penguins early in his career. In fact, the veteran goaltender won three Stanley Cups with the franchise. Aside from Brodeur, it’s hard to find a more trustworthy goalie than Fleury over the last 25 years.
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