Predicting The NHL’s Quarter-Century Teams

With a relatively slow news day and the NHL’s announcement last night that each franchise will be selecting Quarter-Century Teams over the next couple of months, I decided to try predicting how each team will shake out.

The league says, “Each Club’s First and Second Quarter-Century Teams will be selected by a panel of media, retired players and executives specific to that Club. Players under consideration for selection are those who have appeared in a game for the respective franchises since Jan. 1, 2000.” I’m going to take that to mean that any legacy/performance of a player who played in the 1990s who carried over into the 2000s won’t be considered. That will disadvantage guys like Pavel Bure for Florida and likely keep Patrick Roy off the Avalanche’s First Team, for example – if that’s how each team’s panel interprets the guidelines.

Balancing longevity against peak performance is always a tough tightrope to walk. I tended to examine those difficult calls on a case-by-case basis. Whether team panels lean one way or the other could really affect how things shake out for the new kids on the block, especially Vegas.

And yes, I decided to consider the Thrashers’ history for the Jets teams, and I hope their panel will, too. Leaving Ilya Kovalchuk off this exercise seems ridiculous.

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Anaheim Ducks (Jan. 5)

First Team: F Ryan Getzlaf, F Corey Perry, F Teemu Selänne, D Cam Fowler, D Scott Niedermayer, G Jean-Sébastien Giguère

Second Team: F Bobby Ryan, F Rickard Rakell, F Jakob Silfverberg, D Hampus Lindholm, D François Beauchemin, G John Gibson

Arizona Coyotes (Jan. 1)

First Team: F Shane Doan, F Clayton Keller, F Radim Vrbata, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D Keith Yandle, G Mike Smith

Second Team: F Ladislav Nagy, F Martin Hanzal, F Nick Schmaltz, D Zbyněk Michálek, D Jakob Chychrun, G Ilya Bryzgalov

Boston Bruins (Jan. 14)

First Team: F Brad Marchand, F Patrice Bergeron, F David Pastrňák, D Zdeno Chára, D Charlie McAvoy, G Tuukka Rask

Second Team: F David Krejčí, F Glen Murray, F Joe Thornton, D Torey Krug, D Brandon Carlo, G Tim Thomas

Buffalo Sabres (Jan. 15)

First Team: F Thomas Vanek, F Jason Pominville, F Derek Roy, D Rasmus Dahlin, D Rasmus Ristolainen, G Ryan Miller

Second Team: F Jack Eichel, F Drew Stafford, F Jochen Hecht, D Henrik Tallinder, D Tyler Myers, G Martin Biron

Calgary Flames (Jan. 11)

First Team: F Johnny Gaudreau, F Jarome Iginla, F Mikael Backlund, D Mark Giordano, D T.J. Brodie, G Miikka Kiprusoff

Second Team: F Sean Monahan, F Matthew Tkachuk, F Elias Lindholm, D Dion Phaneuf, D Robyn Regehr, G Jacob Markström

Carolina Hurricanes (Jan. 17)

First Team: F Eric Staal, F Sebastian Aho, F Rod Brind’Amour, D Jaccob Slavin, D Brett Pesce, G Cam Ward

Second Team: F Jeff Skinner, F Teuvo Teräväinen, F Jordan Staal, D Justin Faulk, D Brady Skjei, G Artūrs Irbe

Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 31)

First Team: F Patrick Kane, F Jonathan Toews, F Patrick Sharp, D Duncan Keith, D Brent Seabrook, G Corey Crawford

Second Team: F Marián Hossa, F Alex DeBrincat, F Steve Sullivan, D Niklas Hjalmarsson, D Brian Campbell, G Jocelyn Thibault

Colorado Avalanche (Jan. 20)

First Team: F Nathan MacKinnon, F Milan Hejduk, F Joe Sakic, D Cale Makar, D Erik Johnson, G Semyon Varlamov

Second Team: F Mikko Rantanen, F Gabriel Landeskog, F Alex Tanguay, D Tyson Barrie, D John-Michael Liles, G Patrick Roy

Columbus Blue Jackets (Jan. 2)

First Team: F Rick Nash, F Cam Atkinson, F Nick Foligno, D Zach Werenski, D Seth Jones, G Sergei Bobrovsky

Second Team: F Boone Jenner, F David Výborný, F R.J. Umberger, D David Savard, D Fedor Tyutin, G Marc Denis

Dallas Stars (Jan. 16)

First Team: F Jamie Benn, F Tyler Seguin, F Mike Modano, D Sergei Zubov, D John Klingberg, G Marty Turco

Second Team: F Brenden Morrow, F Jason Robertson, F Roope Hintz, D Esa Lindell, D Miro Heiskanen, G Kari Lehtonen

Detroit Red Wings (Jan. 23)

First Team: F Pavel Datsyuk, F Henrik Zetterberg, F Dylan Larkin, D Nicklas Lidström, D Niklas Kronwall, G Jimmy Howard

Second Team: F Tomas Holmström, F Johan Franzén, F Brendan Shanahan, D Brian Rafalski, D Mathieu Schneider, G Chris Osgood

Edmonton Oilers (Jan. 30)

First Team: F Connor McDavid, F Leon Draisaitl, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, D Darnell Nurse, D Evan Bouchard, G Tommy Salo

Second Team: F Ryan Smyth, F Aleš Hemský, F Jordan Eberle, D Steve Staios, D Oscar Klefbom, G Cam Talbot

Florida Panthers (Jan. 3)

First Team: F Aleksander Barkov, F Jonathan Huberdeau, F Olli Jokinen, D Aaron Ekblad, D Jay Bouwmeester, G Roberto Luongo

Second Team: F Stephen Weiss, F Sam Reinhart, F Nathan Horton, D Gustav Forsling, D Dmitry Kulikov, G Tomáš Vokoun

Los Angeles Kings (Jan. 8)

First Team: F Anže Kopitar, F Dustin Brown, F Jeff Carter, D Drew Doughty, D Ľubomír Višňovský, G Jonathan Quick

Second Team: F Alex Frolov, F Adrian Kempe, F Tyler Toffoli, D Alec Martinez, D Jake Muzzin, G Félix Potvin

Minnesota Wild (Jan. 7)

First Team: F Mikko Koivu, F Marián Gáborík, F Kirill Kaprizov, D Jared Spurgeon, D Ryan Suter, G Niklas Bäckström

Second Team: F Zach Parise, F Pierre-Marc Bouchard, F Andrew Brunette, D Jonas Brodin, D Mathew Dumba, G Devan Dubnyk

Montreal Canadiens (Jan. 19)

First Team: F Tomáš Plekanec, F Max Pacioretty, F Saku Koivu, D Andrei Markov, D P.K. Subban, G Carey Price

Second Team: F Brendan Gallagher, F Nick Suzuki, F Alex Kovalev, D Jeff Petry, D Shea Weber, G José Théodore

Nashville Predators (Jan. 29)

First Team: F Filip Forsberg, F David Legwand, F Martin Erat, D Roman Josi, D Shea Weber, G Pekka Rinne

Second Team: F Craig Smith, F Ryan Johansen, F Viktor Arvidsson, D Ryan Ellis, D Mattias Ekholm, G Juuse Saros

New Jersey Devils (Jan. 22)

First Team: F Patrik Eliáš, F Travis Zajac, F Zach Parise, D Andy Greene, D Brian Rafalski, G Martin Brodeur

Second Team: F Scott Gomez, F Jesper Bratt, F Nico Hischier, D Colin White, D Damon Severson, G Cory Schneider

New York Islanders (Jan. 24)

First Team: F John Tavares, F Brock Nelson, F Anders Lee, D Ryan Pulock, D Nick Leddy, G Ilya Sorokin

Second Team: F Josh Bailey, F Mathew Barzal, F Kyle Okposo, D Noah Dobson, D Adam Pelech, G Rick DiPietro

New York Rangers (Jan. 26)

First Team: F Chris Kreider, F Mika Zibanejad, F Artemi Panarin, D Adam Fox, D Ryan McDonagh, G Henrik Lundqvist

Second Team: F Derek Stepan, F Jaromír Jágr, F Mats Zuccarello, D Dan Girardi, D Marc Staal, G Igor Shesterkin

Ottawa Senators (Jan. 25)

First Team: F Daniel Alfredsson, F Jason Spezza, F Dany Heatley, D Erik Karlsson, D Wade Redden, G Craig Anderson

Second Team: F Brady Tkachuk, F Marián Hossa, F Mark Stone, D Chris Phillips, D Thomas Chabot, G Patrick Lalime

Philadelphia Flyers (Jan. 13)

First Team: F Claude Giroux, F Simon Gagné, F Jakub Voráček, D Kimmo Timonen, D Ivan Provorov, G Steve Mason

Second Team: F Sean Couturier, F Travis Konecny, F Wayne Simmonds, D Travis Sanheim, D Shayne Gostisbehere, G Roman Čechmánek

Pittsburgh Penguins (Jan. 9)

First Team: F Sidney Crosby, F Evgeni Malkin, F Jake Guentzel, D Kris Letang, D Sergei Gonchar, G Marc-André Fleury

Second Team: F Chris Kunitz, F Bryan Rust, F Patric Hörnqvist, D Brian Dumoulin, D Marcus Pettersson, G Matt Murray

San Jose Sharks (Jan. 27)

First Team: F Patrick Marleau, F Joe Thornton, F Joe Pavelski, D Brent Burns, D Marc-Édouard Vlasic, G Evgeni Nabokov

Second Team: F Logan Couture, F Tomáš Hertl, F Jonathan Cheechoo, D Dan Boyle, D Scott Hannan, G Antti Niemi

Seattle Kraken (Jan. 6)

First Team: F Jared McCann, F Jordan Eberle, F Oliver Bjorkstrand, D Vince Dunn, D Adam Larsson, G Philipp Grubauer

Second Team: F Yanni Gourde, F Matty Beniers, F Jaden Schwartz, D Jamie Oleksiak, D William Borgen, G Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues (Dec. 30)

First Team: F Vladimir Tarasenko, F Alexander Steen, F David Backes, D Alex Pietrangelo, D Colton Parayko, G Jordan Binnington

Second Team: F David Perron, F Keith Tkachuk, F Jaden Schwartz, D Kevin Shattenkirk, D Barret Jackman, G Jake Allen

Tampa Bay Lightning (Jan. 28)

First Team: F Steven Stamkos, F Nikita Kucherov, F Martin St. Louis, D Victor Hedman, D Dan Boyle, G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Second Team: F Vincent Lecavalier, F Brayden Point, F Alex Killorn, D Mikhail Sergachev, D Pavel Kubina, G Ben Bishop

Toronto Maple Leafs (Jan. 4)

First Team: F Auston Matthews, F Mitch Marner, F Mats Sundin, D Tomáš Kaberle, D Morgan Rielly, G Frederik Andersen

Second Team: F William Nylander, F John Tavares, F Phil Kessel, D Bryan McCabe, D Jake Gardiner, G Ed Belfour

Utah Hockey Club (Jan. 31)

First Team: F Dylan Guenther, F Logan Cooley, F Clayton Keller, D Mikhail Sergachev, D Michael Kesselring, G Karel Vejmelka

Second Team: F Nick Schmaltz, F Jack McBain, F Barrett Hayton, D Ian Cole, D Olli Määttä, G Connor Ingram

Vancouver Canucks (Jan. 21)

First Team: F Daniel Sedin, F Henrik Sedin, F Markus Näslund, D Alexander Edler, D Quinn Hughes, G Roberto Luongo

Second Team: F Elias Pettersson, F Alexandre Burrows, F J.T. Miller, D Sami Salo, D Mattias Öhlund, G Thatcher Demko

Vegas Golden Knights (Jan. 12)

First Team: F Jonathan Marchessault, F William Karlsson, F Reilly Smith, D Shea Theodore, D Brayden McNabb, G Marc-André Fleury

Second Team: F Mark Stone, F Max Pacioretty, F Jack Eichel, D Alex Pietrangelo, D Nate Schmidt, G Adin Hill

Washington Capitals (Jan. 18)

First Team: F Alex Ovechkin, F Nicklas Bäckström, F Evgeny Kuznetsov, D John Carlson, D Mike Green, G Braden Holtby

Second Team: F Alexander Semin, F T.J. Oshie, F Tom Wilson, D Dmitry Orlov, D Sergei Gonchar, G Olaf Kölzig

Winnipeg Jets (Jan. 10)

First Team: F Blake Wheeler, F Mark Scheifele, F Ilya Kovalchuk, D Dustin Byfuglien, D Josh Morrissey, G Connor Hellebuyck

Second Team: F Kyle Connor, F Nikolaj Ehlers, F Bryan Little, D Toby Enström, D Neal Pionk, G Ondřej Pavelec