Assemble the Greatest Roster of Players Who Played Entire Career with One Team

[ImporterExporter]

*Active players don't count unless they have at least 10 years in the league.

Pretty interesting to see how few greats actually managed to play an entire career on one roster:

Forwards:

Syl Apps
George Armstrong
Jean Beliveau
Patrice Bergeron*
Mike Bossy
Wayne Cashman
Bobby Clarke
Neil Colville
Bill Cook
Yvan Cournoyer
Sidney Crosby*
Pavel Datsyuk
Alex Delvecchio
Woody Dumart
Patrik Elias
Bog Gainey
Rod Gilbert
Johnny Gotselig
Bryan Hextall Sr
Aurele Joliat
Patrick Kane*
Ted Kennedy
Elmer Lach
Jacques Lemaire
Jere Lehtinen
Mario Lemieux
Evgeni Malkin*
Nick Metz
Stan Mikita
Bill Mosienko
Alex Ovechkin*
Marty Pavelich
Gilbert Perreault
Claude Provost
Craig Ramsay
Henri Richard
Maurice Richard
Joe Sakic
Milt Schmidt
Henrik Sedin*
Daniel Sedin*
Jonathan Toews*
Steve Yzerman
Henrik Zetterberg*


Defensemen:


Butch Bouchard
Dit Clapper
Ebbie Goodfellow
Bill Hajt
Ott Heller
Duncan Keith*
Jacques Laperriere
Nick Lidstrom
Denis Potvin
JC Tremblay


Goalies:

Ken Dryden
Georges Vezina
Turk Broda
Bill Durnan

Click to read more...

 

[VanIslander]

So just NHLers then, eh?

To win games and not just be a lollygagging all-star team in a meaningless all-star game, I'd ice at least one of these lines of Bottom-6 all-time greats:

Marty Pavelich - Patrice Bergeron - Jere Lehtinen
Bob Gainey - Pavel Datsyuk - Claude Provost


Click on underlined to read all-time draft bios on these great defensive wingers.

 

[ImporterExporter]

So just NHLers then, eh?

Yes. NHL only for this one.

 

[MXD]

Well.... Other than Ken Reardon and Charlie Gardiner, none of whom are quite a lock to make it anyways, I didn't spot any obvious miss.

 

[ImporterExporter]

VI, if we're going a more traditional route, I'd certainly look at a lineup something along the lines of:

Delvecchio - Lemieux - Bossy
Joliat - Beliveau - Richard
Gainey - H. Richard - Provost
Ramsay - Bergeron - Armstrong

That lineup provides a steady diet of 2 way play, especially on lines 2 through 4.

 

[BenchBrawl]

So many centers...

Here's an attempt; this is not the best possible line-up on paper, just something I'd like to see:

Clarke(A)-Lemieux-Cook
Ovechkin-Beliveau(C)-M.Richard
Bergeron-Crosby-Kennedy
Gainey-H.Richard-Sakic

Potvin(A)-Lidstrom
Keith-Clapper
Lapperriere-Tremblay

Dryden
Vezina

 

[sharkhawk]

VI, if we're going a more traditional route, I'd certainly look at a lineup something along the lines of:

Delvecchio - Lemieux - Bossy
Joliat - Beliveau - Richard
Gainey - H. Richard - Provost
Ramsay - Bergeron - Armstrong

That lineup provides a steady diet of 2 way play, especially on lines 2 through 4.

Henri Richard or Bergeron over Mikita?

 

[ImporterExporter]

Henri Richard or Bergeron over Mikita?

Mikita is traditionally a 1st line player. If I were to make a more all star like roster, he'd surely be in the lineup.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

With Henri Richard, Bobby Clarke, and Ted Kennedy as options, there's really no need for someone like Bergeron.


Biggest weakness of this team is lack of good power forward left wings. Pretty hard to make a well-balanced team without them.

 

[MXD]

With Henri Richard, Bobby Clarke, and Ted Kennedy as options, there's really no need for someone like Bergeron.


Biggest weakness of this team is lack of good power forward left wings. Pretty hard to make a well-balanced team without them.

Well... If Ovechkin and Toe Blake could actually be one player, he'd be quite a PF.

(EDIT : ... Meh, Blake was a Moroon.

 

[Albatros]

Krutov should be a nobrainer.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

The biggest issue with these kinds of lists is what centers could conceivably play wing.

 

[Big Phil]

I am guessing we all agree Mario is #1 here? For all intents and purposes Howe and Orr are more or less exclusively a Red Wing and a Bruin. But technically they don't apply here.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

The biggest issue with these kinds of lists is what centers could conceivably play wing.

I think that's a really good point, especially when we've seen international squads do exactly that (bring top forwards, mostly centres, and try to find combos with chemistry that involve a lot of those centres on the wing). I think, for argument's sake, that you'd have to restrict it to guys who have at least put "real" time in on the wing - not just "theory crafted" 100% hypothetically - either domestically or internationally.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I am guessing we all agree Mario is #1 here? For all intents and purposes Howe and Orr are more or less exclusively a Red Wing and a Bruin. But technically they don't apply here.

...and Marc Tardif is eligible

 

[Iapyi]

OP missed ron ellis.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

VI, if we're going a more traditional route, I'd certainly look at a lineup something along the lines of:

Delvecchio - Lemieux - Bossy
Joliat - Beliveau - Richard
Gainey - H. Richard - Provost
Ramsay - Bergeron - Armstrong

That lineup provides a steady diet of 2 way play, especially on lines 2 through 4.

Missing Ovechkin and Crosby.

 

[roflstomper]

Delvecchio - Lemieux - M. Richard
Ovechkin - Crosby - Bossy
Barber - Clarke - Mikita
D. Sedin - Beliveau - Kane

Lidstrom - Keith
Potvin - Clapper
JC Tremblay - Giordano

Dryden
Vezina


idk.

 

[ImporterExporter]

I think if we're going international style where C's play on the wings constantly and you go away from the traditional look of an NHL lineup you an put together a pretty formidable lineup.

Something along these lines:

Offense:

Bobby Clarke - Sidney Crosby - Mario Lemieux
Aurele Joaliat - Jean Beliveau - Maurice Richard
Milt Schmidt - Stan Mikita - Steve Yzerman
Bob Gainey - Ted Kennedy - Henri Richard

-Clark provides stellar physical play and distribution on the top line as well as top flight defense. Lemieux's size, strength and reach play well on the wing much more so than Sid who sticks at C. Mario will be the primary goal scorer.

-2nd line is more traditional.

-Milt Schmidt (LH shot) was arguably the best two way C of his day and plenty physical to be on the wing. Mikita is an elite 2 way guy and Yzerman isn't far behind in that regard either. RH shot for right wing. Primary goal scorer.

-4th line is another high end defensive trio. Gainey is one the all time greats defensively, Ted Kennedy was an elite 2 way C and widely regarded as the best face off man of his time, and Henri Richard was incredible in the corners and very physical so he translates well out onto the wing IMO. Also a RH shot, so it's his "natural" side.

I actually really like than line up. More than enough offense top to bottom and some seriously talented defensive players in most spots. Put Toe Blake on the bench and let him move the chess pieces around.

Defense:

Nicklas Lidstrom - Butch Bouchard
Denis Potvin - Dit Clapper
Jacques Laperriere - Duncan Keith

Goalies:

Ken Dryden
Georges Vezina

 

[Killion]

...Ken Dryden

So.... this is your idea of an All Time Intl Team Lineup & youve got at the international level the notoriously incompetent Ken Dryden in net backed up by the antique Georges Vezina? Ha?.... Ya, that'll work. For the Russians, Czechs, Swedes & Finns. Right on Buddy. You dont want a Stand-Up like Dryden. You want a guy like Wild Bill Durnan. Dr. Strangeglove in the crease.. and never mind Bobby Clarke & other odd fruits & curiousities, positional conversions all over the place like your running a chop shop.... You do realize thats no "team" right? Collection of disparate parts & pieces. Goaltending beyond suspect, your pick of skaters... well, pretty sure Toe Blake would be demanding he be allowed to swap about 80% of that lineup out completely I/E. Not interested in your hot-rod creations there Jesse James.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Right, because internationally we've always seen Team Canada play people in their natural positions.

Ken Dryden is the best goalie, all time, who played for one franchise, IMO. He gets the nod. Incompetent?

 

[Killion]

Right, because internationally we've always seen Team Canada play people in their natural positions.

Ken Dryden is the best goalie, all time, who played for one franchise, IMO. He gets the nod. Incompetent?

In international play he was "incompetent". Read, know your history. Look it up. He always had trouble on the big ice, facing a cycle game beginning with his tenure with the Canadian National Team before he ever played a game in the NHL.... I'm assuming your familiar with Bill Durnan & his astonishing career? Aware of the manner in which he played, style? Far more effective vs the Soviets though of course Durnans career was over years, couple of decades before Dryden came along. Amazes me that in the pantheon of greats, he's a "forgotten man". Dryden, Roy, Hasek.... all purportedly "better" are they?... So my picks would be Durnan & Cheevers if the qualifiers "must have played his entire career with 1 - 06 team".

 

[FerrisRox]

I would add Andrei Markov to the list of available defensemen.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

When did this turn into assembling the team for an international match, rather than simply using international play to justify slotting certain centres into winger positions??

 

[ImporterExporter]

When did this turn into assembling the team for an international match, rather than simply using international play to justify slotting certain centres into winger positions??

It's evident where that started.

I don't think it's a ridiculous notion at all to project elite two way players with high IQ (like Henri Richard or Bobby Clarke), on the natural side to play wing.

I already posted a traditional line up. The last one a few posts ago was to maximize talent up and down the forward unit with an emphasis on two way play.