Tampa Bay Lightning stars ranked highly by NHL Network
By Will Clewis
This isn’t the first time two Tampa Bay Lightning players have been ranked highly on a list. Going into this season, two Lightning stars can be found near the top of another list with other NHL stars.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have star power, even though it may not always be recognized. This year, two Lightning players find themselves ranked among the best players in the league by the NHL’s main network. Captain Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman were recently ranked by the NHL Network as Top 10 players in their respective positions.
Let’s take a look at this a bit closer.
Stamkos is one of the top players in the NHL. Since he burst onto the scene in the 2008-09 season, the 27-year-old Toronto native and “sniper” has made his mark in the NHL with his trademark slapshot and one-timers on the power play. And despite some major injuries, other health concerns, and missed playing time, Stamkos is still one of the best.
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Last week, the NHL Network listed Stamkos as the seventh ranked center on a list of the league’s Top 20 centers. He sits behind other NHL stars like Conor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and John Tavares, and in front of others like Tyler Seguin and Jack Eichel. Stamkos, impressive himself, is on a list with some of the best and deservingly so.
One could argue Stamkos should be higher in the ranking, especially with his body of work since entering the league: 156 points over the last few seasons (he could have more if not for his injuries), 582 points since his first season in 2008 and 382 goals since the 2008-09 season, which is second in the league during that time behind Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin.
Compared to all centers (the position for this ranking), Stamkos is eighth in points and first in goals since his rookie season. If you compare his overall stats since the lockout-shortened 2013 season to other centers, he’s 22nd in points and fifth in goals scored. But, he missed significant time in two seasons during that span, including the most recent 2016-17 season (only 17 games played).
During the same span, Stamkos is ranked ninth in points per game (0.97 PPG), and he’s behind all but one player on the list in the same category (it’s not fair to rank Auston Matthews because he’s only accrued one season worth of points).
After looking a little further into his stats, one could say his ranking is fair, but he could be placed a spot or two higher, perhaps.
As for Hedman, he was ranked fourth among the Top 20 defensemen listed, and NHL analyst Ken Daneyko shared high praise for his presence on the ice and style of play. Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Drew Doughty have ranked ahead of Hedman, despite his Norris Trophy nomination this past summer.
Hedman paced all blue liners last season with 56 assists and scored 16 goals, which tied him for fifth among all defensemen. The 2016-17 season was his best yet, in which he set career highs in both goals and assists.
Since he entered the NHL in the 2009-10 season, Hedman is 13th in overall points (301) and tied for 11th in assists (236), which are solid numbers for a player who took a bit longer to develop. His career plus/minus (plus-33) ranks him 50th among all defensemen since his rookie season, and he finished with only a plus-3 rating last season. The plus/minus metric doesn’t tell the whole story, though.
In 2016-17, Hedman ranked 29th overall among defensemen with 30 games or more in shot attempts percentage (53.39%), and he averaged 1.7 blocked shots per game, blocking 132 overall. Looking past the statistics and to what a fan actually sees on the ice, he’s a smooth skater (graceful at times) who can move the puck with accuracy and provide some offense when needed.
With his height and size, Hedman uses his reach and physicality to his advantage on the defensive side of things and can be a focal point on special teams. Referring back to Daneyko’s comments, he thinks the 6-foot-6, 223-pound defenseman may be the most well-rounded defenseman in the league. That’s high praise for the Big Swede.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to need big performances on a regular basis from both Stamkos and Hedman if they want to make it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Based on these rankings, it’s clear that both players are capable of delivering and being MVP-type performers during the regular season and playoffs.
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Tampa Bay will still have the services of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, etc., but they’ll need contributions across the board. Though they fell short of the playoffs by narrow margins last season, the Tampa Bay Lightning face high expectations from their fans and even the rest of the league in general. This team has what it takes, though.