Jamie Benn or Evgeni Malkin? Carey Price or Tuukka Rask? Drew Doughty or Taylor Hall?
These are among the impossible questions facing voters in TSN’s That’s Hockey’s Franchise Faceoff.
Participants logging onto TSN’s website are asked to choose their ultimate franchise player by whittling down a list of 31 superstars to 16… then eight… and so on.
The list includes active players only, and only one man will be left standing at the end of this pseudo-democratic process (TSN has hired a mysterious Quizmaster who can veto fans’ decisions).
The concept behind the Franchise Faceoff may be exciting, but picking just one player from so many greats is an arduous task.
To make things easier (on myself if no one else), I have decided to assembled a Franchise Lineup from today’s available talent.
At centre I have the obvious choice of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. Too wimpy, you say? Too whiny? About as gritty as a Justin Bieber song?
Well, there may be some truth in your insensitive, brutish criticisms, but Sid the No-Longer-A-Kid just happens to be the NHL’s best playmaker and among its top goal-potters.
Besides, on right-wing Crosby will have Corey Perry, the tall, hard-nosed point-a-game phenom everyone wishes was on their roster.
Not yet 30, Anaheim’s Perry has won a Stanley Cup, a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and a Hart trophy. He’s also, to borrow a cliché, a leader on and off the ice.
On left wing I’ll ship in Taylor Hall, the ever-improving, never-quitting Edmonton Oiler who skates so fast he oughta wear red and yellow spandex with a lightning bolt crest.
Incredibly, Hall is still just 22 years old. He’s got a lot to learn, but his resolve and vitality are bound to rub off on my vets.
I’m not getting too adventuresome with my selections for the blueline: two-time Norris winner Duncan Keith and future Norris winner Shea Weber.
Chicago’s Keith is a smart, highly mobile playmaking machine while Nashville’s Weber is an immense, overpowering presence with a wicked slapshot. What a tandem they’ll be.
To my mind, the most telling goalie stat has to be the save percentage. That’s why I’m picking Boosston’s Tuukka Rask to guard my fictitious mesh.
In 2013-14, Rask’s SP was an eye-poppiong .930 in the regular season and .928 in the post-season. He’s also more experienced than you might think, with nearly 200 regular season games under his belt.
Might Rask be a one-hit wonder after capturing his first Vezina this past season? Anything’s possible, but at the moment this freakishly reflexive Finn is the best puckstopper the game has to offer.
Crosby, Perry, Hall, Keith, Weber and Rask. Together I’m pretty sure they’d cost more than the annual GDP of most European countries.
But talk about a dream lineup.
