Player Discussion: Top 10 Lightning players of all time

LightningStorm

Lightning/Mets/Vikings
Dec 19, 2008
3,020
2,008
Pacific NW, USA
One month after Stanley Cup win #2, what is your ranking for the top 10 Lightning players of all time? I got:

1. Martin St. Louis
2. Steven Stamkos
3. Victor Hedman
4. Nikita Kucherov
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy
7. Brayden Point
8. Brad Richards
9. Dan Boyle
10. Ben Bishop

Notable HM: Ondrej Palat, Vinny Prospal, Nikolai Khabibulin

I know having Point over Richards already is controversial. Hedman and Kucherov are basically interchangeable at 3-4. What's your top 10?
 
Last edited:

PJ817

Registered User
Jan 27, 2019
868
628
One month after Stanley Cup win #2, what is your ranking for the top 10 Lightning players of all time? I got:

1. Martin St. Louis
2. Steven Stamkos
3. Victor Hedman
4. Nikita Kucherov
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy
7. Brayden Point
8. Brad Richards
9. Dan Boyle
10. Ben Bishop

Notable HM: Ondrej Palat, Vinny Prospal, Nikolai Khabibulin

I know having Point over Richards already is controversial. Hedman and Kucherov are basically interchangeable at 3-4. What's your top 10?
1. MSL
2. Heddy
3. VL
4. Kuch
5. BR
6. Vasy
7. DB
8. Khabi
9. Stammer
10. Point

Stammer has made his mark but best top 10 ever? I wouldn't put him at #2
 

Five Alarm Fire

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jun 17, 2009
10,122
6,119
1. MSL
2. Hedman
3. Kucherov
4. Lecavalier
5. Stamkos
6. Vasilevskiy
7. Richards
8. Point
9. Khabibulin
10. Bishop

10's core has accomplished much more than the 00's core. Kucherov and Hedman are close to MSL and will eventually pass him.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,124
19,688
Tampa Bay
Kucherov should be #3 at worst.

1. MSL
2. Hedman/Kucherov

Kucherov sure proved my punk ass wrong didn't he? I still want to see him shoot more.

1. St. Louis
2. Hedman
3. Kucherov
4. Lecavalier (unironically)
5. Stamkos
6. Point
7. Vasilevskiy
8. Richards
9. Kubina
10. Bradley

HM: Bishop, Puppa, Khabibulin, Modin, Boyle, Killorn, Johnson, Palat and Prospal



Years of service and accomplishment with the team were greatly factored into the rankings. Special consideration was given to Bradley in that his career was wrecked by concussions and he would've easily had another 3 years and several hundred games and points. Otherwise #10 would've gone to Bishop
 
  • Like
Reactions: User9992 and DFC

DFC

Registered User
Sep 26, 2013
46,844
22,691
NB
1. MSL
2. Hedman
3. Kucherov
4. Lecavalier
5. Stamkos
6. Vasilevskiy
7. Richards
8. Point
9. Khabibulin
10. Bishop

10's core has accomplished much more than the 00's core. Kucherov and Hedman are close to MSL and will eventually pass him.

I think this is pretty close to where we stand. Those top three have too much hardware to deny. I think there's an argument, in the here and now, for Kucherov over Hedman, because of his award sweep last year. But Hedman's Conn Smyth win balances that out to the point that I can talk myself into either. And Hedman is the more likely to keep up a consistently otherworldly level of play going forward.

I don't think we're all that far from Hedman being considered the best player in franchise history.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Five Alarm Fire

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
34,124
19,688
Tampa Bay
I don't think we're all that far from Hedman being considered the best player in franchise history.

100% agreed. The numbers from the Bruins and Islanders series are mind-boggling. 11 games: 8 goals 4 assists, 12 points +15. The guy was skating 27 minutes a night (including 38 minutes in game 5 vs the Bruins and 36 minutes in game 5 vs the Islanders) and he did it all shooting at a 21% clip and wasn't even on the first PP unit. Right now I'm looking for any kind of isolated 11 game stretch of Lidstrom's playoff career where he pulled a comparable stat line in consecutive games. The stat lines are there and in fact comparable, but Hedman always has some little thing betters it somehow whether it's +/- goals, or point totals.

Marty is really lucky to still be standing at #1.
 

Steazy Doo

Registered User
Jan 31, 2013
6,471
3,046
1. Victor Hedman
2. Nikita Kucherov
3. Martin St. Louis
4. Steven Stamkos
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy
7. Brayden Point
8. Brad Richards
9. Ben Bishop
10. Nikolai Khabibulin

Hedman and Kucherov have passed MSL in my eyes.
 

Five Alarm Fire

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jun 17, 2009
10,122
6,119
Most people going with Point over Richards, interesting. Richards has a Conn Smythe, and 7 seasons with a 60pt+ pace, including a season with 68 assists + 91 points.

Point has a Conn Smythe-worthy playoff run and a 41 goal + 92 point season under his belt. Two very comparable 3rd round picks.

I ended up taking Richards because of the higher sample size.
 
  • Like
Reactions: User9992 and PJ817

DFC

Registered User
Sep 26, 2013
46,844
22,691
NB
100% agreed. The numbers from the Bruins and Islanders series are mind-boggling. 11 games: 8 goals 4 assists, 12 points +15. The guy was skating 27 minutes a night (including 38 minutes in game 5 vs the Bruins and 36 minutes in game 5 vs the Islanders) and he did it all shooting at a 21% clip and wasn't even on the first PP unit. Right now I'm looking for any kind of isolated 11 game stretch of Lidstrom's playoff career where he pulled a comparable stat line in consecutive games. The stat lines are there and in fact comparable, but Hedman always has some little thing betters it somehow whether it's +/- goals, or point totals.

Marty is really lucky to still be standing at #1.
Nah, I've been saying for a while, as great as Lidstrom was, he never had three rounds like Hedman's first three this year. What Hedman did was very special and I hope we remember it that way. It's the best game by game performance I've ever personally witnessed. I didn't watch every team game in and game out, but I watched those old wings teams. Nobody dominated those games like Hedman dominated this year, and that includes Lidstrom, who's the best defenseman I ever watched.
 

HoseEmDown

Registered User
Mar 25, 2012
17,452
3,681
1. Lecavalier
2. St. Louis
3. Hedman
4. Kucherov
5. Richards
6. Stamkos
7. Vasilevskiy
8. Kubina
9. Prospal
10. Bradley
 
  • Like
Reactions: User9992

BoltsOfAnarchy

Registered User
May 12, 2018
434
438
Largo
The Correct answer is...

1. Hedman
2. Point
3. MSL
4. Richards
5. Kucherov
6. Gretzky (brent)
7. Tyler "goodbye" Johnson
8. Vasy
9. Bishop
10. Kontos
 

PJ817

Registered User
Jan 27, 2019
868
628
Most people going with Point over Richards, interesting. Richards has a Conn Smythe, and 7 seasons with a 60pt+ pace, including a season with 68 assists + 91 points.

Point has a Conn Smythe-worthy playoff run and a 41 goal + 92 point season under his belt. Two very comparable 3rd round picks.

I ended up taking Richards because of the higher sample size.
recency bias runs hard on this thread
 
  • Like
Reactions: HoseEmDown

HoseEmDown

Registered User
Mar 25, 2012
17,452
3,681
HAHA good one. Is that Brian Bradley the player or the News Channel 8 "analyst"??

Where's Alex Selivanov? Or Dwayne Roloson?

What's wrong with Bradley? He is 11th all time in points, ahead of Point who I see on a lot of lists. He led the team in scoring the first 4 seasons of the teams existence and he didn't have much help some of those years. If not for injuries he would be higher on the list.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->