The Hockey News recently published its annual NHL yearbook and as usual one of the notable features is its Top Fifty NHL Players listing for the upcoming season.

Although I’m now a free-lance contributor to THN.com that won’t prevent me from critiquing this list, and no, this isn’t a free plug for The Hockey News on my part as I reviewed their rankings last summer prior to contributing to their site.

Anyway, here’s how THN ranked their top fifty players for the upcoming season:

1.       Sidney Crosby
2. Alex Ovechkin
3. Henrik Zetterburg
4. Pavel Datsyuk
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Niklas Lidstrom
7. Roberto Luongo
8. Jarome Iginla
9. Evgeni Malkin
10. Dany Heatley
11. Chris Pronger
12. Daniel Alfredsson
13. Marian Gaborik
14. Henrik Lundqvist
15. Brendan Morrow
16. Evgeni Nabokov
17. Marian Hossa
18. Ilya Kovalchuk
19. Eric Staal
20. Zdeno Chara
21. Joe Thornton
22. Dion Phaneuf
23. Martin Brodeur
24. J-S Giguere
25. Martin St-Louis
26. Scott Niedermayer
27. Brian Rafalski
28. Sergei Gonchar
29. Marty Turco
30. Ryan Getzlaf
31. Andrei Markov
32. Zach Parise
33. Ales Hemsky
34. Jason Spezza
35. Vesa Toskola
36. Rick Nash
37. Joe Sakic
38. Scott Gomez
39. Ryan Miller
40. Jonathan Toews
41. Daniel Sedin
42. Daniel Briere
43. Anze Kopitar
44. Miika Kiprusoff
45. Paul Statsny
46. Shane Doan
47. Derek Roy
48. Mark Savard
49. Mike Richards
50. Patrick Kane

If we’re going by last season’s performance I’d rank Ovechkin over Crosby but they’re definitely 1-2 in my estimation and the case can be made for either to be ranked as the league’s top player.

Lidstrom should’ve been ranked higher, perhaps 3rd or 4th, but he’s definitely the league’s best defenseman.  

As for Luongo, he’s a great goaltender and perhaps will justify that higher ranking this season but I’d swap Brodeur for Luongo if we’re basing this on last season’s performance. I know Brodeur’s getting older and he’s fast approaching his best before date but until he does in my opinion he’s still the league’s best goaltender.  Nabokov, Luongo and Lundqvist are nipping at his heels though.

I would also rank Malkin higher than Iglinla and Lecavalier, ranking him no lower than 6th.

Pronger’s ranking will likely draw some criticism given his penchant for dirty play but he’s still among the game’s elite defensemen and every team (yes, even the Oilers) would love to have him on their roster.

Morrow deserves to be on this list but I wouldn’t rank him above Kovalchuk, Staal, Thornton, Brodeur and Nash and consider him ranked far too high.

Speaking of Kovalchuk, it’s good to see him finally getting his due from THN as his ranking last season (48th) was in my opinion an insult.

And why is Thornton, who was again among the league’s leading scorers, not in the top ten? Or even the top 15? Sorry, but this is far too low for a player of his caliber. Sure, the case can be made that he struggles in the playoffs, but there’s no denying his obvious talent and skills. I certainly wouldn’t rate Alfredsson, Heatley, Kovalchuk, Morrow, Gaborik, Hossa, Staal and Chara above Thornton.

Lundqvist is a terrific goalie but I don’t believe he ranks higher than Nabokov. If it were up to me, I’d rank Brodeur, Nabokov and Luongo over Lundqvist.

I also disagree with Phaneuf dropping in the rankings compared to last season and I’d give him a slight edge over Chara in ranking defensemen.

Niedermayer missed most of the first half of last season before deciding to return to action and that cost him in the rankings. Had he played a full season his ranking likely would’ve been higher.

And Toskala ranked higher than Nash, Sakic, Gomez, Toews, Kopitar, Richards and Kane?  Gimme a break!  In fact, why is Toskala even on this list? Mats Sundin or Tomas Kaberle would’ve been better choices if one is seeking decent Leafs (or former Leafs) to be on this list.

I would also rank Richards higher than where he placed (probably about ten spots higher), but there’s no question he deserves to be on this list and his stock will continue to rise.

As for the rest of this listing, I really don't have much of a quibble over where most were ranked. Some could probably be moved up or down a spot or two but for the most part I have no real argument over the rest of these rankings.

That’s my two cents, folks.  Let me hear yours in the comments, and remember, this is THN’s listing, not mine, so don’t complain to me about where they placed these players as I had no input in this.

The NHL recently released their All-Star and All-Rookie Teams for the past season:

ALL-STARS:

First team:

Goaltender: Evgeny Nabokov, San Jose Sharks.

Defensemen: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings. Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames.

Center: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins.

Right Wing: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames.

Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin.

Second Team:

Goaltender: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils.

Defensemen: Brian Campbell, San Jose Sharks. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins.

Center: Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks.

Right Wing: Alex Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens.

Left Wing: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings.


ALL ROOKIE TEAM.

Goaltender: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens.

Defensemen: Tobias Enstrom, Atlanta Thrashers. Tom Gilbert, Edmonton Oilers.

Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks.

Forget about those trade rumors that have dogged San Jose Sharks captain Patrick Marleau since the spring. He’s not going anywhere.

The San Jose Sharks announced they’ve re-signed Marleau to a two-year contract extension worth $6.3 million per season, starting in the 2008-09 season.

Since the Sharks disappointing second round exit from the 2007 playoffs there’s been plenty of internet and media speculation that Marleau might be traded. Adding fuel to the fire was Marleau’s supposedly contentious relationship with head coach Ron Wilson plus the fact Marleau was eligible for unrestricted free agency next July.

General manager Doug Wilson steadfastly maintained he wasn’t shopping Marleau and had every intention of re-signing him, and true to his word Wilson got the job done.

Earlier this summer the Sharks GM also re-signed his number one center and leading scorer in Joe Thornton, like Marleau also eligible for UFA status next summer.

Both moves were masterstrokes by Wilson, locking up his two best centers a year before their UFA eligibility and thus avoiding potentially troublesome contract negotiations throughout the second half of the upcoming season and into the playoffs.

Wilson's obviously a good student, having seen what happened to the Buffalo Sabres, as they lost their top two centers in Daniel Briere and Chris Drury this summer to free agency.

He also avoided the possibility of paying far more to retain those two, since the upcoming season was bound to drive up their already expensive value.  It’s a safe assumption that Thornton would’ve easily landed $9-$10 million per season and Marleau $7-$8 million per in next summer’s UFA market.

Equally impressive is the fact both players wanted to remain with the Sharks rather than test next summer’s market where they would’ve been among the most pursued free agents.

It ain’t just the California lifestyle that suits Thornton and Marleau. The Sharks are a very powerful team, one of the best not just in the Western Conference but in the entire league, and are considered by observers to be a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup.

Marleau and Thornton both want that chance to play for a Cup winner, and they’ve obviously decided their best chance is with the Sharks.