NHL Network countdown: Quarter-Century Team

Earlier this year, the NHL revealed Quarter-Century Teams (First Team and Second Team) of six players — three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie — who played for each of the 32 NHL teams and the Arizona Coyotes from Jan. 1, 2000 – Dec. 31, 2024.

Players who made the First Team were eligible for the NHL All Quarter-Century Team, which was chosen by a fan vote.

NHL Network researchers chose their own list, which was limited to players who began their careers on/after Jan. 1, 2000. Here is their list (players listed alphabetically by position).

Forwards

Patrice Bergeron

The Boston Bruins center was known for his 200-foot game, and won the Selke Trophy as the League’s best defensive forward a record six times. In 1,294 games in the quarter-century, Bergeron had 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists), won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and played in two more Cup Finals (2013, 2019). He finished his career among the all-time leaders with a face-off winning percentage of 57.9. Bergeron won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and community contributions (2012-13), NHL Foundation Player Award (2013-14) and the Mark Messier Leadership Award (2020-21).

Sidney Crosby

The longtime Pittsburgh Penguins captain has won all there is to win in the NHL multiple times, including the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017), and the Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup Playoff MVP), Hart Trophy (League MVP), Art Ross Trophy (points leader) and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (goals leader) twice each. The No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Crosby set the NHL record with his 20th point-per-game season in 2024-25 and ranks ninth all-time in NHL history with 1,687 points (625 goals, 1,062 assists) in 1,352 games. The center is also one of six players in NHL history with at least 200 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Crosby was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players during the League’s Centennial Celebration in 2017.

Pavel Datsyuk

The center ranked second in games played (953), goals (314), assists (604) and points (918) for the Detroit Red Wings in the quarter-century. He won the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008, the Selke Trophy three straight times from 2008-10, and the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and playing ability four seasons in a row from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Datsyuk finished his career plus-249, the sixth-highest total in the quarter-century. Datsyuk was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.

Leon Draisaitl

Draisaitl has topped 100 points six times in the past seven seasons, only coming up short when he had 84 points in 56 games in the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020-21. The Edmonton Oilers center is a four-time 50-goal scorer and won the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award in 2019-20 and the Rocket Richard Trophy this past season, leading the NHL with 52 goals. Only Oilers teammate Connor McDavid (1,082) has more points than Draisaitl (947) since the start of the 2015-16 season. Draisaitl also ranks third in playoff scoring in that time (141) behind McDavid (150) and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (148).

Patrick Kane

Kane has a loaded trophy case, winning three Stanley Cup championships with the Chicago Blackhawks (2010, 2013, 2015), the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (2007-08), the Art Ross Trophy (2015-16), the Conn Smythe Trophy (2013) and the Hart Trophy (2015-16). The forward ranked in the top 10 in goals (478; eighth), assists (823; fourth) and points (1,301; fifth) in the quarter-century, playing with the Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, and has scored at least 20 goals in 17 of his 18 seasons. Kane was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.

Anze Kopitar

The first player from Slovenia to make it to the NHL, Kopitar has been a mainstay in the Los Angeles Kings lineup since the 2006-07 season. Among NHL forwards, his 1,250 points (431 goals, 819 assists) were sixth during the past quarter-century. He won the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014); the Selke Trophy twice (2015-16, 2017-18); the Lady Byng three times (2015-16, 2022-23, 2024-25); and won the Messier Award in 2021-22. Kopitar also has a career face-off winning percentage of 53.4.

Nikita Kucherov

Kucherov likely will become the Tampa Bay Lightning’s all-time leader in points. Entering the 2025-26 season, he is second with 994, including being first among forwards with 637 assists and fourth in goals with 357. In 2018-19, Kucherov won the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. The forward also won the Art Ross each of the past two seasons and the Ted Lindsay last season. Kucherov has scored at least 113 points in each of the past three seasons and was tied for fifth in regular-season points per game in the quarter century (1.22) and sixth in the playoffs (1.14).

Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon led the Colorado Avalanche in goals (349), assists (611) and points (960) in the quarter-century. He won the Calder Trophy in 2013-14; the Lady Byng Trophy in 2019-20; the Cup in 2022; and the Hart and Ted Lindsay in 2023-24. In points per game, MacKinnon tied for ninth in the regular season (1.16) and ranked third in the playoffs (1.30) in the quarter-century. The center is a seven-time 30-goal scorer and has finished in the top five in Hart voting in six of the past eight seasons.

Evgeni Malkin

A three-time Stanley Cup winner (2009, 2016, 2017), Malkin has an impressive resume which includes the Calder Trophy in 2006-07, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009, the Hart and Ted Lindsay in 2011-12, and the Art Ross in 2008-09 and 2011-12. The Penguins center ranked fourth in the quarter-century in points with 1,327 (506 goals, 821 assists) behind Crosby (1,637), Alex Ovechkin (1,577) and Joe Thornton (1,459).

Connor McDavid

The Oilers center has been the most dominant player since entering the League in 2015-16, leading the League in points five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) and winning the Hart Trophy three times (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23). He also became the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy from the losing team when he led the playoffs with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 2024, a seven-game loss to the Florida Panthers. McDavid’s rate of 1.53 points per game was the best in the NHL during the quarter-century, when he had 1,036 points (350 goals, 686 assists) in 679 games and he has scored more regular-season points than anyone since making his debut. His 1.58 points per game in the playoffs in the quarter-century (117 points in 74 games) was also first.

Alex Ovechkin

Ovechkin, who was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players, became the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer this past season when he scored his 895th to pass Wayne Gretzky. The Washington Capitals forward won the Hart Trophy three times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13), the Calder Trophy (2005-06), the Art Ross Trophy (2007-08) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (2018) when he captained the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship. Ovechkin has led the NHL in goals a record nine times and compiled 19 30-goal seasons, 14 40-goal seasons, nine 50-goal seasons and one 60-goal season.

Steven Stamkos

The forward, who played the first 16 of his NHL seasons with the Lightning before signing with the Nashville Predators last season, was one of the top goal-scorers of the quarter-century. Selected No. 1 by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Draft, Stamkos was third in goals (566) and seventh in points (1,160) in the quarter-century. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy twice (2009-10, 2011-12) and helped the Lightning win the Cup twice (2020, 2021). Stamkos has scored at least 30 goals in a season nine times, 40 goals seven times and 50 goals twice.

Defensemen

Drew Doughty

Among NHL defensemen from Jan. 1, 2000-Dec. 31, 2024, Doughty’s 26:13 of ice time per game ranks fourth. The Kings defenseman has won the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014) and the Norris Trophy in 2015-16. He had 669 points (156 goals, 513 assists) in 1,177 games during the timeframe, including five seasons of 50 or more points. Doughty was also very durable; he didn’t miss more than five games in a season from 2008-21.

Victor Hedman

Hedman was the fourth-highest scoring defenseman of the past quarter-century with 756 points (160 goals, 596 assists) in 1,084 games during the span. The No. 2 pick by Tampa Bay in the 2009 NHL Draft, Hedman has won the Stanley Cup twice (2020, 2021), the Conn Smythe Trophy (2020) and the Norris Trophy in 2017-18. The Lightning captain was also a Norris finalist for six straight seasons from 2016-2022. He has eight seasons with at least 50 points and five seasons with at least 60 points.

Duncan Keith

Keith played 1,256 career regular-season games for the Blackhawks and Oilers from 2005-22, scoring 646 points (106 goals, 540 assists). He is one of only two defensemen to have 600 points for the Blackhawks (625 points; 105 goals, 520 assists), along with Doug Wilson (779). Keith won the Stanley Cup with Chicago three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2015. He also won the Norris Trophy twice (2009-10, 2013-14) and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players during the League’s Centennial Celebration in 2017.

Cale Makar

The Avalanche defenseman won the Calder Trophy in 2019-20, the Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021-22 and Stanley Cup in 2022; no other player in NHL history has won all four of those and he did so by his third NHL season. Makar is also a two-time Norris winner after winning again last season, and a five-time finalist. He leads defensemen in goals (116), points (428), power-play goals (41), power-play points (179) and game-winning goals (24) since entering the League.

Alex Pietrangelo

Debuting in 2008 with the St. Louis Blues, Pietrangelo led all Blues defensemen in goals (109), assists (341) and points (450) in the quarter-century and played 758 games for them, second to Barrett Jackman (803). He was also the captain of the Stanley Cup winning team in 2019. He has 637 points (148 goals, 489 assists) in 1,087 games for the Blues and Vegas Golden Knights and has topped 50 points five times. Pietrangelo, who also won the Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023, has averaged 24:22 of ice time per game in his career.

Shea Weber

Weber played from 2005-21 with the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens and had 589 points (224 goals, 365 assists) in 1,038 games and averaged 24:03 of ice time per game in his career. Almost half of those goals (106) came on the power play. He also had 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 97 playoff games, averaging 25:20 of ice time. A first-team NHL All-Star in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and a second-team All-Star in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he was also known for his physical play. Weber is Nashville’s all-time leader in hits (1,695).

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury

Fleury, who retired at the end of the season, ranks second all-time in wins (575), and leads goalies in wins and playoff wins (92) since Jan. 1, 2000. He has had nine seasons with at least 30 wins and helped the Penguins advance to the Cup Final four times, winning in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Fleury has the distinction of leading two NHL teams all-time in wins; ranking first with the Penguins (375) and Golden Knights (117). He led the Golden Knights to the Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2018 and won his only Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the League with them in 2020-21. He is tied for third all-time in postseason wins (92).

Jonathan Quick

The Kings all-time leader with 370 wins, 57 shutouts and 743 games played in the regular season, Quick led them to the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014), including winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012, when he was 16-4 with a .946 save percentage, 1.41 goals-against average and three shutouts. His 398 wins in the timeframe are sixth and his 62 shutouts rank fifth. Quick has won at least 30 games six times and has a 2.31 GAA and .921 save percentage in the playoffs.