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Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang named in NHL Network’s ‘Top 50 Players Right Now’

The Penguins core stars show up on a list of the league’s best at the current moment

By Mike Darnay
2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series - Practice Sessions & Family Skate Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images

It’s not uncommon knowledge to Penguins fans to note that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are very good players! With 31 teams in the league, it’s hard for teams to collect multiple ‘Top 50’ players, but this Penguins team does feature three players among the NHL Network’s list of ‘Top 50 Players Right Now’

Sidney Crosby ranks highest on the list among Penguins players, coming in at #3, while Malkin and Letang come in at #28 and #46, respectively.

When former Penguin Mike Rupp was asked to speak about Crosby, he had high praise.

The thing I love about him the most is the way he’s developed his game on the defensive side of the puck. He is the most complete player, so you could probably even argue he should be a little bit higher than three on this list because he, for me, is the most complete forward in the National Hockey League.”

For the rest of the list:

  1. Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
  2. Nikita Kucherov, W, Tampa Bay Lightning
  3. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
  4. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
  5. Patrick Kane, W, Chicago Blackhawks
  6. Alex Ovechkin, W, Washington Capitals
  7. Brad Marchand, W, Boston Bruins
  8. Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers
  9. Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks
  10. Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
  11. John Tavares, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
  12. Mitch Marner, W, Toronto Maple Leafs
  13. Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
  14. Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins
  15. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning
  16. Leon Draisaitl, W, Edmonton Oilers
  17. Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
  18. Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
  19. Johnny Gaudreau, W, Calgary Flames
  20. Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
  21. Artemi Panarin, W, New York Rangers
  22. Mikko Rantanen, W, Colorado Avalanche
  23. Mark Giordano, D, Calgary Flames
  24. Erik Karlsson, D, San Jose Sharks
  25. David Pastrnak, W, Boston Bruins
  26. Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas Stars
  27. Ryan O’Reilly, C, St. Louis Blues
  28. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
  29. Blake Wheeler, W, Winnipeg Jets
  30. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Florida Panthers
  31. Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
  32. Claude Giroux, W, Philadelphia Flyers
  33. Ben Bishop, G, Dallas Stars
  34. Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes
  35. Mark Stone, W, Vegas Golden Knights
  36. John Carlson, D, Washington Capitals
  37. Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
  38. Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators
  39. Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings
  40. Vladimir Tarasenko, W, St. Louis Blues
  41. Taylor Hall, W, New Jersey Devils
  42. Jack Eichel, C, Buffalo Sabres
  43. Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens
  44. Tuukka Rask, G, Boston Bruins
  45. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Vegas Golden Knights
  46. Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
  47. Logan Couture, C, San Jose Sharks
  48. Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals
  49. Sean Monahan, C, Calgary Flames
  50. Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks

What do you say? Is Crosby ranked properly behind McDavid and Kucherov? Should Malkin and Letang be higher?

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