While the aforementioned players have accomplished a great deal in their respective careers, there's certainly room for a few more active players on the list.
Here's the case for three current NHLers that should have been honored:
Evgeni Malkin
"Geno" should have been a lock.
It's easy to play second fiddle when you share a roster with Crosby, but Malkin has put together a Hall of Fame resume in 11 seasons with the Penguins, as one of the most consistent scorers hockey has ever seen.
Malkin's 1.178 points per game (814 points in 691 contests) ranks 14th all time. Not to mention, he's recorded 129 points in 124 playoff games.
He's a three-time first-team All-Star with two Stanley Cups, while his trophy case includes the Calder, the Conn Smythe, two Art Ross Trophies, the Hart, and the Ted Lindsay Award. A friendly reminder: he's 30-years-old.
Asked Mario Lemieux who would be the 101st greatest NHLer. "Certainly Malkin would be right there." #NHL100
He's not producing like he used to, but Iginla's accomplishments speak themselves.
We'll get it out of the way: he hasn't won a Stanley Cup, we know, but capturing Lord Stanley is more a measurement of team than individual success.
Iginla has tallied 617 goals (16th) and 1,285 points (34th) in his career. He doesn't meet the points-per-game threshold, but only five players have logged 1,500-plus games and done so: Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Jagr, and Steve Yzerman. All on the list.
Iginla had 11 consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals spanning from 2001-12, winning the "Rocket" Richard twice along the way. Add an Art Ross and a Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay), too. And if international success weighs into the equation, he's won two gold medals. He deserved a spot.
Joe Thornton
Thornton is the best playmaker of his generation, bar none.
By season's end, he'll be only the 13th player in league history to record 1,000 assists.
Thornton sits in 24th place - and counting - in points (1,372) and his 125-point, Hart Trophy-winning season in 2005-06 is the second-highest output by a player in the past 20 years.
Like Iginla, not winning a Stanley Cup probably kept him off the list, but Thornton is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, and warrants recognition as one of the best set-up men to ever take the ice.
NHL All-Star Skills Competition Where: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, Calif. When: Saturday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN (U.S.); CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada)
Hollywood, baby.
The NHL's best and brightest are in Los Angeles for the 62nd edition of the All-Star Game, and Saturday night they'll take to the ice for the traditional Skills Competition.
And it matters. The winning team will select its first opponent in Sunday's three-on-three All-Star tournament and whether its semifinal will be played first or second.
Team captains Carey Price (Atlantic Division), Sidney Crosby (Metropolitan), P.K. Subban (Central), and Connor McDavid (Pacific) have selected who will take part in each of the six events, and we break them down, list the participants - and list team rosters - below.
But before we do, a prediction: The Metro will win Saturday's Skills Competition (before it wins Sunday's All-Star three-on-three tournament). Between Crosby - participating in only his second All-Star weekend, somehow - Alex Ovechkin, Cam Atkinson (a more than deserving replacement for Evgeni Malkin), John Tavares, and Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby in goal, there's way too much talent for it to lose. It's the best division in hockey for a reason.
Skills Challenge Relay
Who doesn't love a good relay?
Seven skaters and a goalie from each team will compete in relays to kick off the competition, comprised of five challenges: one timers, passing, puck control, stick-handling, and goalie goals.
Upon the completion of a challenge, teams move on to the next one, and the squad that finishes first wins. One timers (30 seconds), passing (45 seconds), and goalie goals (30 seconds) have maximum allotted times.
The Central will face the Pacific in one heat, and the Atlantic will face the Metro in the other.
Points Available: 3
The team with the fastest time in each heat will be awarded one point, and a bonus point will be awarded to the team with the fastest time overall.
Participants
Atlantic vs. Metropolitan
One-timers: Erik Karlsson, Vincent Trochek, Kyle Okposo vs. Seth Jones, Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Simmonds (Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh will serve as passers)
Passing: Frans Nielsen vs. John Tavares
Puck Control: Brad Marchand vs. Justin Faulk
Stick Handling: Auston Matthews vs. Sidney Crosby
Goalie Goals: Carey Price vs. Brayden Holtby
Central vs. Pacific
One-timers: Duncan Keith, Ryan Suter, Vladimir Tarasenko vs. Joe Pavelski, Ryan Kesler, and Jeff Carter (Nathan Mackinnon and Bo Horvat will serve as passers)
Passing: Jonathan Toews vs. Drew Doughty
Puck Control: Tyler Seguin vs. Cam Fowler
Stick Handling: Patrick Kane vs. Johnny Gaudreau
Goalie Goals: Devan Dubnyk vs. Mike Smith
Four Line Challenge
This is a new event, and you can consider it Score-O on steroids.
Four players from each team will take part, each shooting twice. Shooter No. 1 will fire from the near blue line, shooter No. 2 from center red, shooter No. 3 from the far blue line, and shooter No. 4 from the far goal line. It's a lot harder than it sounds, though.
The first shooter, at the near blue line, has to put the puck in either the upper right or left corner of the net. Not easy. A goal equals one point.
From center, players will try to hit any of the four corners of the net. The lower corners are worth one point, the upper corners three.
From the far blue line, each corner of the net and the five-hole are available. The lower corners and five-hole are worth a point, the upper corners, five.
From the far goal line, shooters have only the five-hole to work with, and each goal is worth 10 points. Goalies can take part from back here, and should a 'tender score, that goal's worth 20 points.
One more thing: The first player to score twice from the far goal line wins a 2017 Honda CRV.
Points Available: 1 (Team with the most accumulated points in the event gets a point)
Participants
Each division will send one shooter per round; order listed as Atlantic, Metro, Central, Pacific.
Shooter 1: Nikita Kucherov, Ryan McDonagh, Ryan Suter, Joe Pavelski
Shooter 2: Erik Karlsson, Wayne Simmonds, Tyler Seguin, Brent Burns
Shooter 3: Vincent Trocheck, Taylor Hall, P.K. Subban, Ryan Kesler
Shooter 4: SheaWeber, Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon, Bo Horvat
Accuracy Shooting
You know how this one works: hit the 15-inch diameter targets in the corners of the net.
Here are the details:
Two shooters and two passers from each team, four head-to-head matchups, one shooter per round
Fastest player to hit all four targets wins
The Atlantic will face the Metro twice, and the Pacific the Central twice
The team that wins each matchup gets a point
The player who hits all four targets in the fastest time earns his team a bonus point
The player who beats Daniel Sedin's 7.3 seconds record earns his team a bonus point
Last year, the Metro's Tavares was the fastest, nailing all four targets in 12.2 seconds
Happy shooting.
Points Available: 6
Participants
Atlantic vs. Metro
Okposo vs. Tavares
Matthews vs. Crosby
Central vs. Pacific
Patrik Laine vs. McDavid
Kane vs. Carter
Fastest Skater
This one's simple: Who can get around the sheet the fastest.
Two skaters from each team, four matchups (Atlantic vs. Metro twice, Central vs. Pacific twice), each matchup worth one point. In the event of a tie, both teams will be awarded a point.
The fastest skater on the day will earn his team a bonus point, and will then attempt to break Dylan Larkin's record of 13.172 seconds, set last year. Should that happen, another bonus point will be awarded to the player's team.
Points Available: 6
Participants
Atlantic vs. Metro
Marchand vs. Cam Atkinson
Kucherov vs. Simmonds
Central vs. Pacific
Tarasenko vs. Horvat
MacKinnon vs. McDavid
Hardest Shot
Congratulations in advance, Shea Weber.
Now representing the Atlantic Division and the Montreal Canadiens, Weber's the dude to beat. He won it last year with a 108.1 mile-per-hour rocket.
Here's the skinny:
Two shooters from each team will go head to head
The puck will be 30 feet from the net
Four matchups again: Atlantic vs. Metro twice, Central vs. Pacific twice
Winner of each matchup earns his team a point
A bonus point will be awarded to the team with the player who wins the competition (so, the Atlantic)
A bonus point will also be awarded if Zdeno Chara's 108.8 mph record falls
Points Available: 6
Participants
Atlantic vs. Metro
Hedman vs. Jones
Weber vs. Ovechkin
Central vs. Pacific
Laine vs. Burns
Subban vs. Doughty
Shootout
The skills competition will end with everyone's favorite skills competition - the shootout.
Here's the deal:
Each conference's highest-scoring team in the competition will take part in this challenge
Nine skaters and two goalies will participate, with a 10th skater as a captain's selection coming from the teams not taking part
The scoreboard resets to zero, each goal counts as a point, and each goal scored by the captain's selection will count as two points
Goalies switch after five shooters
NHL shootout rules apply
In the event of a tie after 10 shooters, it's sudden death, and captains will choose their shooters, with no restrictions on multiple attempts by the same player
The NHL revealed its top 100 players in league history on Friday night and the Twitterverse was quick to chime in. Here were some of the best responses:
Standing ovation for the great No. 4, Bobby Orr, after he's announced on stage as part of the NHL's top 100
The NHL unveiled its top 100 players in league history on Friday, a list decorated with hockey greats who claimed countless accolades.
No doubt a list of this variety is difficult to compile, but it's worth noting the names who should have been included in the final cut.
Pierre Pilote
Pilote manned the blue line for the Chicago Blackhawks for 13 straight seasons, a run that saw him capture three consecutive Norris Trophy wins from 1963 to 1965 as the NHL's top defenseman. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 1961.
Pilote spent the final season of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, one that spanned 890 games, in which he tallied 80 goals and 418 assists.
Dale Hawerchuk
Hawerchuk made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets in 1981 after being selected first overall by the club. In his rookie campaign, he posted 45 goals and 58 assists en route to Calder Trophy honors.
Hawerchuk spent nine years with Winnipeg before moving on to the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, and Philadelphia Flyers. Through 1,188 career games, Hawerchuk tallied 1,409 points, while his 1.19 points per game ranks 13th all time.
Ed Belfour
An undrafted free agent, Ed Belfour took hold of the starter's role with the Blackhawks in the 1990-91 season. That year, Belfour appeared in 74 games and finished the season with the Vezina and William M. Jennings Trophies, as well as Rookie of the Year honors.
Belfour's career also included stops with the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers. He won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999. His 484 career wins ranks third all time.
Mark Recchi
Only 11 players in NHL history have scored more points than Recchi. Making his NHL debut in 1988, Recchi's career spanned 22 years and included stints with seven different teams.
Recchi won the Stanley Cup with three different teams, hoisting the Silver Mug with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991, the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, and five years later with the Boston Bruins. Recchi finished his career with 1,533 points in 1,652 games.
Phil Housley
Housley joined the NHL ranks with the Sabres in 1982 after spending the previous year playing at the high school level. He appeared in 77 games with the Sabres in his freshman season, scoring 19 goals and 47 assists.
Housley sits as the fourth-highest scoring defenseman of all time, and first among American-born blue-liners, finishing his career with 338 goals and 894 assists in 1,495 games.
During the actor's hilarious monologue - which even included an Atlanta Thrashers joke (they were a joke) - Hamm took a shot at the Washington Capitals and their tendency to choke in the playoffs.
Brendan Shanahan, Luc Robitaille, and Brett Hull were all named among the NHL's 100 greatest players on Friday night. To capture the moment, Robitaille made sure to capture the trio in a selfie.
