If we were voting for this year’s NHL first and second all-star team today, who would the top 10 candidates be at left wing? That’s the question we’ll try to answer here, looking solely at statistics from this season. Here are our current top-10 performers of 2015-16.
1) Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars (80GP | 41G | 48A | 88PTS) On offence alone, Benn would have a compelling case as the league’s best left winger this season. He’s presently second in the NHL in total points, 14 back of Patrick Kane but four ahead of Sidney Crosby, and third in the league in goal scoring. There’s a lot more than points to Benn, however.
Of the league’s top-10 scorers, Benn is one of only two players (Brent Burns is the other) to have a shorthanded point. He has two goals and three assists when playing shorthanded and provides that punch without jeopardizing his defensive responsibilities. The Stars’ shots-against rates on the penalty kill actually drop when Benn steps on the ice.
This is a player without a discernible flaw. He plays a dominant two-way game at even-strength, he scores at an elite level both at 5-on-5 and on the power play and he’s a strong penalty killer. Just for good measure, he’s also big, physical and the captain of one of the best clubs in hockey. He’d be a deserving first-team all-star.
Last month: 1
2) Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (77GP | 47G | 21A | 68PTS) Nobody in the NHL has scored more goals than Ovechkin. That’s the most important dimension to any forward’s game, but caricaturing Ovechkin as a one-tool player is a mistake.
He’s also a 6-foot-3, 239-pound power forward who plays a rambunctious physical game, draws more penalties than he takes and has outstanding puck possession metrics.
Last month: 2
3) Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames (77GP | 30G | 47A | 77PTS) Calgary’s on-ice struggles this year have gone a long way toward obscuring Gaudreau’s emergence as an elite scorer. He’s presently sixth in the NHL in points, just two back of Joe Thornton, and he’s done it with questionable support; no other Flames player has even 65 points this year.
It’s worth looking, as we did last month, at how regular centre Sean Monahan has performed without him this year. The two have played about 15 hours together at even-strength, with a nearly 50 per cent Corsi on a poor possession team and an even better goal differential.
Gaudreau’s puck possession numbers dip slightly away from Monahan, but Monahan’s fall off a cliff, with the Flames getting outshot and outscored at a 2-to-1 clip in his two hours away from Gaudreau.
Last month: 4
4) Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins (75GP | 36G | 22A | 58PTS) Marchand is enjoying a career goal scoring year, thanks in part to a big season on the power play but also due to a shift at even strength, where he’s become a less finicky shooter and been rewarded with more goals.
He plays extremely tough defensive minutes at even-strength and on the penalty kill alongside Patrice Bergeron.
Last month: NR.
5) Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks (78GP | 28G | 47A | 75PTS) There’s no way to keep Panarin off this list, given that the rookie forward is presently tied with Ovechkin for 14th in overall NHL scoring. He’s earned respect for his exploits this season. Playing on a line with the NHL’s hottest player, Patrick Kane, doesn’t change that.
However, there’s no denying that playing with Kane is a pretty sweet gig, and Panarin hasn’t been nearly as good when separated from his regular linemate. In just under two and half hours apart at 5-on-5, Panarin has scored a single point, Chicago has been out-scored 9-to-2 and Panarin’s Corsi number falls to 45.9 per cent.
All that suggests we do well to dock him in these rankings.
Last month: 9.
6) Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers (80GP | 25G | 36A | 61PTS) Hall is in a prolonged funk. Since January 1, the 24-year-old has 10 goals and 21 points in 41 games; this after recording 40 points in his first 39 contests of the season.
He has particularly struggled on the power play, where he has just 10 points all season, one less than teammate Mark Letestu. Having said that, he has 50 points at even strength despite his recent slump; that ties him with Anze Kopitar for 10th in the NHL.
Last month: 3
7) Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators (80GP | 32G | 29A | 61PTS) The 21-year-old Forsberg continues to evolve as a two-way threat. His 32 goals put him just inside the NHL’s top-10 in that category, but he’s also taken on key minutes on the Predators’ penalty kill, where he averages 1:47 minutes per game.
His 56.6 per cent Fenwick rating is goosed by a lot of offensive zone starts, but it’s also the best number of any regular Predators forward.
Last month: NR.
8) Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks (73GP | 28G | 33A | 61PTS) Vancouver’s numbers with the Sedin twins on the ice are simply ridiculous this season. The Canucks have a 51.1 per cent Corsi at 5-on-5 with the duo on the ice, four points better than the team average, and have outscored the opposition 33-to-20 (without both players on the ice, Vancouver has been out-scored 106-to-72).
The wrinkle, which may simply reflect the Canucks’ lack of depth, is that Daniel hasn’t been good when forced apart from his brother. Vancouver’s Corsi number falls to just 44.2 per cent in the three-plus hours when Daniel has played sans Henrik.
Last month: 5.
9) Mike Hoffman, Ottawa Senators (76GP | 29G | 29A | 58PTS) Hoffman scored eight goals in the month of December alone. He’s scored just 11 goals since. Not only has he been slumping offensively, but his struggles have been exacerbated by the coach’s apparent lack of confidence in the player, whose ice-time has plummeted from an average of more than 18 minutes per game in the first half of the year down to barely 17 minutes since Jan. 1. Despite this, he’s still one of the league’s best offensive weapons at left wing this season.
Last month: 6
10) Alexander Steen, St. Louis Blues (65GP | 17G | 34A | 51PTS) An injury has robbed the Blues of Steen’s services down the stretch, and the club has missed not just his offence but also his stalwart attention to defensive detail. He’s an integral part of the penalty kill and regularly faces tough opposition at even-strength.
Last month: 8.
