ESPN ranks best players in the NHL

[Canada 02]

starting with the top goalies

1. Lundqvist
2. Quick
3. Rask

http://espn.go.com/nhl/notebook/_/pa...rs/goaltenders

[Ashasx]

Howard is the most overrated goalie in the league.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Howard is the most overrated goalie in the league.

May I present for your consideration:
Bobrovsky and Schneider

[albertGQ]

Originally Posted by strombad

May I present for your consideration:
Bobrovsky and Schneider

How is reigning Vezina trophy winner over rated?

[SuperMatt18]

Corey Crawford is the only Canadian goalie in the top 10. That is pretty crazy.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Corey Crawford is the only Canadian goalie in the top 10. That is pretty crazy.

And if the Hawks hadn't won the Stanley Cup last season he wouldn't be in anyone's top ten.

[Tinordi]

If Howard's overrated then who's better than him?

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

If Howard's overrated then who's better than him?

Luongo, Price, Smith, Niemi, and Miller

maybe not last years Miller; guess it depends if that was an anomaly or the start of his post-apex years

perhaps Hiller and Backstrom as well

[19Yzerman19]

Read thread title. First thought? "Well this should be good for a laugh".

Originally Posted by albertGQ

How is reigning Vezina trophy winner over rated?

Because he's had 30something good games in his entire career, outside of which he's been mediocre? Because if he ever plays 65 in a season (as you'd think he will this year), who knows if he can be anywhere near the player he was for that extremely short period of time? Isn't this the same argument people have been making about Corey Schneider? Except Schneider has at least done the ~30 games of excellent play in multiple seasons; Bobrovsky hasn't. Craig Anderson is the same thing; no way he belongs in the top 10 just because he had <30 good games strung together. Play a whole season like that and we'll start talking, play two or three and I'll buy it.

I'd say Crawford is the most overrated on that list. Not a top 10 goalie. Arguably league average, but I'm not convinced he's even that. He's a legitimate starter with clear weaknesses playing behind the best team in the NHL last year (and arguably the best regular season performance by any team in the past, oh, decade or so). He, himself, is not particularly good. For example, if you'd put James Reimer in that spot the result would likely have been more or less the same.

As for Howard, he's overrated on that list and belongs around #10. Which is where most people tend to put him. Consequently he's overrated by ESPN but not by very many other people. Ryan Miller is brutally underrated on that list, Smith and Luongo are too low as well.

I thought Puck Daddy had it about right though I still say Bob needs a full season of top 10 numbers before I'm willing to give him even the #10 spot and Crawford is overrated, as usual. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-pu...192914809.html

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

Luongo, Price, Smith, Niemi, and Miller

maybe not last years Miller; guess it depends if that was an anomaly or the start of his post-apex years

Howard isn't flashy but he makes the big saves and gets the job done. Lets not forget he doesn't play behind the Lidstrom and anywhere near the roster of the dominant Wings teams of the past. The guys above haven't been markedly better IMO.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

If Howard's overrated then who's better than him?

The guys listed by Canada 02 and Ward. Hiller not much different than him and Holtby likely better by next year.

[SuperMatt18]

To get ready for the 2013-14 season, we are ranking the best players in the NHL by position. We asked the "experts" to rank each player on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their current quality of play.

Based on current quality the list is pretty good. What they did 2,3 seasons ago is irrelevant.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

Luongo, Price, Smith, Niemi, and Miller

Miller is debatable at this point (though he's obviously better than #14), but whatever. The other guys I'd be okay with ranked above Howard.

However, Carey Price is absolutely not a top tier goalie. He's overrated almost to the degree Fleury was, before everyone finally figured out that Fleury was a fraud. Price has had exactly ONE good season and is consistently inconsistent. He's not a top 10 guy, he's 10-15 range.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

Craig Anderson is the same thing; no way he belongs in the top 10 just because he had <30 good games strung together. Play a whole season like that and we'll start talking, play two or three and I'll buy it.

Anderson is actually the opposite of what you are saying. Outside of 31 games with the Avalanche in 2010/11 he has been consistently good, and that season he turned it around almost immediately after being traded.

Through 318 NHL games he has a .915 Save Percentage, and a 2.71 GAA. That is pretty good.

Agree that Crawford is overrated though and the Miller is underrated.

[RyZ]

I still think Quick and Rinne could start on my team ahead of Lundqvist.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

How is reigning Vezina trophy winner over rated?

On this list he fits fairly well, being that it is based on last season. But in general terms he is wildly overrated. He has quite literally had less than half a season of too quality tending, that's it. I'm not saying he can't perform like that over a full season, but until he shows he can people who lump him in the top ten are wrong.

Schneider is going to either prove a lot of people right or a lot of people wrong this year finally carrying the main load of an average team.

And as an aside, being someone who actually watches the Hawks regularly, I'd have to agree that Crawford (even on this list) is out of place. He's never been more than an average/slightly above guy.

[LouCypher]

Top 3 looks about right, I was worried for a second that Rask wasn't up there.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Howard is the most overrated goalie in the league.

No chance.

[Table 5]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm kind of meh about today's goalies, both in talent and entertainment factor.

When you compare that list to the previous generation (Brodeur, Roy, Hasek, Joseph, Belfour, Vernon, Richter, Fuhr etc.), they just don't seem as impressive...and they don't seem to be as integral to a teams identity as they used to be. Perhaps I overrate the previous generation because I grew up with them (and many seemed to have bigger-than-life personalities compared to todays kids, who are for better or worse, a little more balanced), but I don't see anyone from the current crop getting anywhere close to Roy/Brodeur/Hasek status. Maybe Quick or Rask.

Lots of solid Fins/Americans out there, but it's definitely not the golden age of goaltending. And in Canada's case, probably the worst era of all time.

[Husky]

How is Holtby that high....