McDavid and the Oilers are all over the NHL Player Polls

Photo credit:© Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

6 years ago

It’s the seventh most exciting time of the year! The NHLPA Player Polls have just been released and the Oilers have found themselves at the top of quite a few categories. And by Oilers, I mean Connor McDavid, obviously.

Every year the NHLPA holds a poll for the players who play the game every night to give their opinions on other players, coaches, refs, and buildings around the league. We get to argue about it every night on Twitter dot com, but this poll is their chance to speak their minds. Without further adieu, here are the results from the player polls. I only included the questions with Oilers involved in them, but if you’d like to read the entire poll you can find it here.

Oct 30, 2016; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Ottawa Senators defensemen Erik Karlsson (65) tries to check Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Who is the fastest skater?

Connor McDavid – 81%
Michael Grabner – 3.6%
Nick Leddy – 2.4%
Dylan Larkin – 2.2%
Chris Kreider – 1.6%

With no surprise, Connor McDavid finds himself at the top of the very first question of the poll. He absolutely crushes everybody in the league when it comes to speed and there’s no question about it. The amazing part about it is that he literally does not have any rockets attached to his skates when he plays so I just don’t understand how he can move so fast.

Who is the most difficult player to play against?

Sidney Crosby – 29.9%
Connor McDavid – 23.7%
Patrick Kane – 4.6%
Shea Weber – 4.1%
Anze Kopitar – 3.2%

This question had some interesting results with it. I totally understand Sid being at the top of the list. He has dominated the NHL since he entered it and has a huge size advantage on Connor. His edge work combined with his size make it nearly impossible to beat him in a 1-on-1 battle. McDavid isn’t too far behind him though. Give it a couple years when Sid becomes a slow, old man and Connor will at the top of the voting poll like he should be.

Who is the toughest player?

Nov 3, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic (27) and New Jersey Devils defensemen Dalton Prout (5) fight during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Reaves – 44.7%
Milan Lucic – 14.8%
Zdeno Chara – 4.0%
Michael Haley – 3.2%
Matt Martin – 2.7%

To be honest I’m a little surprised to see Milan Lucic so high on this list this year. Obviously my opinion is sort of invalid because I don’t actually play against him on the ice, but from what I’ve seen so far this hasn’t been his toughest season. At no surprise is Ryan Reaves blowing away everybody else in the league in votes with almost a majority. He’s currently tied for fifth in fighting major penalty minutes in the league. You can find all his career fights on Hockeyfights.com.

Which player would you select to start a franchise?

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli makes the Oilers pick of Connor McDavid (not pictured) in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Connor McDavid – 48.6%
Sidney Crosby – 23.8%
Auston Matthews – 5.8%
Jonathan Toews – 3.1%
Erik Karlsson – 1.9%

Hi Connor! This was the closest result to a majority vote in the whole thread. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are obviously the two best players in the world right now. The difference between them is nine years of age though. This is a no-brainer when wanting to build a franchise around them both.

If you need to win one game, who is the #1 player you would want on your team?

Sidney Crosby – 43.7%
Connor McDavid – 15.3%
Carey Price – 9.7%
Patrick Kane – 3.7%
Erik Karlsson – 3.4%

I get these results. Connor McDavid is amazing at hockey, but when you have a guy who’s scored the Golden Goal in overtime, you don’t NOT pick him to win the game! McDavid has scored a GWG once every 12 games in his short career, and Crosby has scored a GWG once every 15 games in his career. Take into consideration that Sid has played almost 700 more games than Connor and we’ll chalk it up as a tie!

Which rink has the best ice?

Bell Centre (Montreal) – 28.0%
Rogers Place (Edmonton) – 21.7%
Bell MTS Place (Winnipeg) – 6.6%
Xcel Engergy Center (Minnesota) – 6.0%
Scotiabank Saddledome (Calgary) – 6.0%

Go Edmonton! It’s Rogers Place second season in the NHL and it’s already been voted as the second best ice in the league. This is sort of a relief after all of the expectations we were facing to have the best ice in the league. Now that Rogers Place is on the map, maybe the Oilers ice making team can put some work in over at Callingwood arena? Just my two cents.

Who is the best forward of all time?

Wayne Gretzky – 72.7%
Mario Lemieux – 11.3%
Sidney Crosby – 4.9%
Jaromir Jagr – 3.1%
Peter Forsberg – 2.3%

Alright I lied earlier, when I said that there were no majority votes I was referring to current NHL players. OBVIOUSLY Wayne Gretzky is going to blow away this vote and the fact that it was even a question in this poll is a farse!

Who is the best defenceman of all time?

Bobby Orr – 61.0%
Nicklas Lidstrom – 29.1%
Ray Bourque – 2.6%
Paul Coffey – 1.8%
Scott Niedermayer – 1.3%

It’s tough to compete against Number Four Bobby Orr but it’s still cool seeing Paul Coffey in the top five. I’m curious to see what percentage of the NHL was consciously watching hockey in 2001 when Paul Coffey retired?

Who is one player you would like to have as a teammate?

Wayne Gretzky – 13.4%
Sidney Crosby – 8.0%
Mario Lemieux – 6.3%
Peter Forsberg – 4.6%
Nicklas Lidstrom – 3.7%

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for most career assists with 1963….. so yep, I would like to have him on my team. You could park a disabled rhino in front of the net and it could still pot 30 goals just from Gretzky banking the puck in off of it.

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