There is no trophy or awards show for it, but getting recognition from your peers certainly makes a lasting impression. 639 NHL players were surveyed on 15 hockey-related questions during the regular season. Players weighed in on various topics, including top positional player, most complete player, best playmaker, best style, and toughest arena.
While the NHL awards at the end of the season include traditional types of awards such as most valuable player, most points, best goaltender, among many more, these NHL Players’ Association poll results tend to cover areas not specifically addressed by the NHL awards.
Here is the rundown of what the players thought about each question covered.
Arena Questions
The players surveyed thought, by a big margin, that T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was the toughest place to play as a visiting team. The home of 2023 Stanley Cup champions Vegas Golden Knights received 175 votes and also received some votes for having the NHL’s best ice. T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, and opened on April 6, 2016.
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By another wide margin, the Bell Centre in Montreal received the most votes for the NHL arena with the best ice. For the sixth season, Montreal’s ice remained the rink players felt had the best playing surface. With a capacity of 21,105 in its hockey configuration, Bell Centre is the second largest ice hockey arena in the world after the SKA Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is a testament to the staff that they have won this award. Since it opened in 1996, The Bell Centre has consistently been listed as one of the world’s busiest arenas, usually receiving the highest attendance of any arena in Canada.
Most Complete Player
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins took the most votes here, with Alexandar Barkov, Anze Kopitar, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon rounding out the top five in this category. This marks the fifth consecutive season Crosby has outright won or tied atop the category. This season, the 36-year-old has 41 goals and 89 points in 79 games.
Crosby recently hit a milestone. On April 11 against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored a goal and two assists to pass the great Phil Esposito in points with 1,591. He also recorded his 1,000th career assist. Crosby became the 14th player in NHL history to record 1,000 assists and required the seventh-fewest games to do so at 1,269. He is also the seventh player to record 1,000 with one franchise, joining Ray Bourque, Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, and Joe Sakic.
Best Stick-handler
For the first time in this poll, the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid took the most votes in this category. Despite missing the last couple of games due to an injury, McDavid is the NHL leader in assists with 99 and has 31 goals and 130 points in 74 outings in 2023-24. The winner of the voting in this category for the past three seasons, Patrick Kane, finished in second.
A Trio of Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning saw three of their players win categories. Nikita Kucherov got the votes for the best playmaker, and the 30-year-old currently has the most points in the NHL with 141. He is widely considered a possible winner of this season’s Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to “the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.” Along with McDavid, 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.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was given the nod by a wide margin as the goalie you want on your team if you have to win one game. With two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Vezina Trophy already in his back pocket, his experience is hard to ignore. Victor Hedman was voted as “the most difficult player to face in their own end.” With two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a James Norris Memorial Trophy, not to mention often finding himself on the ice in all key situations for the Lightning, it’s clear Hedman is considered by his peers to be a tough and seasoned opponent.
Win One Game
For the other two positions asked about having on your team to win one game, McDavid was the top choice. At the same time, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche was selected among the blueliners. Makar has played a key part in the Avs being perennial contenders and has already picked up a Stanley Cup, Calder Memorial Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Norris Trophy by the age of 25.
In addition, Makar was voted as “the player who is the best breakout passer in the game. “
PWHL
With the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the players had their first opportunity to vote for the PWHL player they most enjoy watching. Marie-Philip Poulin of PWHL Montreal took the most votes over Hilary Knight of PWHL Boston. Poulin and Knight appear to be headed for a gold medal showdown in the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships, representing Canada and the United States, respectively, in this competition.
Least Enjoyed Playing Against
There are many to come to mind for the question, “Which player do you least enjoy playing against but would like to have on your team?” For the third straight season, notorious Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand took the most votes as the player they “love to hate or hate to love.” McDavid, Tom Wilson, and Matthew Tkachuk once again rounded out the top four.
Key Faceoff?
Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators narrowly beat out Sidney Crosby for the question, “If you need to win a faceoff, who would you pick?” O’Reilly’s skill in this area and his overall play have helped the Preds overcome a slow start to the 2023-24 season and qualify for the playoffs. The 33-year-old center now has 26 goals and 40 assists on the season, marking his second-highest single-season point total in a career that began in 2009-10. He has won 54.1 per cent of his faceoffs.