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Edmonton Oilers captain and overall hockey deity Connor McDavid was voted as the best forward in the NHL in the 2019-20 version of the NHLPA’s annual Player Poll:
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Curiously, McDavid was second to Sidney Crosby when players asked who they’d like on their team if they had to win one game:
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Crosby also took the plaudits when it came to opinions about the most complete player in the league, with McDavid not even factoring in the top five. I find it somewhat curious that the consensus — by a landslide — best forward in the league isn’t among the league’s most complete players, but I digress.
Victor Hedman was voted best in class among defensemen, with Carey Price perhaps still riding a bit of reputation en route to the top spot among goaltenders.
Marie-Philip Poulin was voted as the best player in the women’s game, edging out Hilary Knight for top spot.
The coolest bit of trivia from the poll for me was seeing McDavid’s name alongside greats like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as one of the top four players — past or present — players would most want to pay to watch. Today. Right now. He’s still in the league, people.
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Pretty high praise indeed.