McDavid, Crosby, Makar receive high marks in NHLPA player poll

While the race to be the top scorer in the NHL is a three-player race, there is no debate as to who the top player is in the league, according to the latest NHLPA player poll.

The ninth edition of the player poll was released Wednesday, with some expected results — but also some surprises. The annual survey asked more than 639 players to weigh in on 15 hockey-related questions, including skills, teams and some off-ice topics.

Once again, Connor McDavid has earned the respect of his peers getting himself in the top five of six poll questions. He was the undeniable favourite when asked about which forward would players want on their team if they needed to win one game, sitting at 48.71 per cent, with Sidney Crosby second at 11.58 per cent.

Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin rounded out the list with Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews a notable omission from the top five.

McDavid was also featured as the best stick-handler in the NHL sitting in first at 35.53 per cent overtaking Patrick Kane who had been the top choice in the last three polls.

Despite being sidelined early in the season and needing time to get up to speed, Andrei Vasilevskiy remains the top goaltender of choice in a must-win game, earning 46.92 per cent of the vote with fellow Russian netminders Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin rounding out the top three. Curiously, runaway favourite for the Vezina Trophy, Connor Hellebuyck, was fourth with 5.03 per cent of the votes, with Juuse Saros at 4.87 per cent.

To no surprise, Cale Makar was the overwhelming choice as the top defenceman in the league to have in a must-win game, taking home 349 total votes (56.38 per cent). The Avalanche defenceman also received the top vote for best breakout passer in the game, with Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson rounding out the top five.

While putting up dominant production, Crosby is still regarded as the most complete player for the fifth consecutive year. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain earned a bigger share of the votes this year, with an increase of 8.27 per cent points, for a 38.37 per cent total share of the votes.

In the inaugural year of the PWHL, Marie-Philip Poulin was regarded as the top player in the league, with Hilary Night, Sarah Nurse, Jesse Compher and Kendall Coyne Schofield rounding out the top five.

When it comes to the player with the best style, it was a closer race, with 140 players receiving a vote, but David Pastrnak took home the most votes, followed by Willam Nylander, Matthews, Kucherov, Jack Hughes and Patrick Kane.

Some of the other winners included Brad Marchand’s third straight nod as the player least enjoyable to play against but would like to have on their team, Kucherov as the top playmaker, Victor Hedman as the most difficult player to face in their own end and Ryan O’Reilly as the top faceoff man.

When it comes to the top choice for the NHL’s next global destination for a game, Italy, the host country of the 2026 Winter Olympics, was at the top of the list. Sweden, England, Switzerland and France were also top choices.

Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena was voted as the toughest arena to play in. Montreal’s Bell Centre lived up to its reputation once again, earning its sixth straight year as the top rink that players felt had the best ice.