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    Best American hockey players in the NHL

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    Best American hockey players in the NHL

    Best American hockey players in the NHL. Since its inception, hockey has been mostly played by Canadians, but that has changed in recent years as the sport has expanded to include players from around the world. 

    Best American hockey players in the NHL. Since its inception, hockey has been mostly played by Canadians, but that has changed in recent years
    Credit – https://thehockeywriters.com/

    As a matter of fact, American players have always had a significant impact on hockey, particularly in the National Hockey League.

    With some honorable mentions, we’ll look at the ten greatest American players of all time. We won’t just look at a player’s time in the NHL; we’ll also consider his or her accomplishments at the collegiate and international levels. Let’s have a look at it now.

    1) Chris Chelios

    Chris Chelios, a defenseman born in Chicago, had the longest and most successful career of any American player. If you’re looking for one of the finest defenseman in the history of the sport, go no further than him.

    Chelios has played in the most NHL games of any American player, coming in at number eight all time. He scored 185 goals and had 763 assists for a total of 948 points in 1,651 games. He also has the 18th-best career plus/minus (+351) mark in the league’s history.

    2) Mike Modano

    Mike Modano is not just a Dallas Stars legend, but also one of the all-time greats of the game in the United States. For games played, he is second among all Americans born forwards, and among all American NHL players for goals (561), points (1374) and postseason point totals he comes in second (146). Modano grew up in Livonia, Michigan, and made a name for himself in the Canadian Hockey League as a teenager. However, that would be the last time he would play for a Canadian team.

    In 1988, he was selected first overall by the Minnesota North Stars. He would score 29 goals and 46 assists for 75 points in his first season and finish second in the Calder Trophy voting behind Sergei Makarov, who would win the award. In light of Makarov’s age and the fact that he was a member of Russia’s KHL, this decision would be controversial. The next year, players over the age of 26 will no longer be eligible for the Calder Trophy due to a rule change by the NHL.

    3) Patrick Kane

    Patrick Kane, a native of Buffalo, New York, is only one of two active players on this list, but he is unquestionably deserving. With 1088 points in his career, he is currently 32 years old and has already had two 100-point seasons (106 in 2015-16, and 110 in 2018-19).

    In his rookie season, Kane earned the Calder Trophy with 72 points, beating off Nicklas Backstrom, Carey Price, and teammate Jonathan Toews to the honour. In overtime of Game 6, he scored the game-winning and series-clinching goal to earn his first of three Stanley Cups that season. He led the Blackhawks in scoring that year, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy with 19 points in 23 games.

    4) Cammi Granato

    Cammi Granato, a native of Downer’s Grove, Illinois, has the most worldwide success of anyone on this list. During her time as captain of both the 1998 and 2002 Olympic teams, she won two golds and a silver.

    At the IIHF Women’s World Championships, Granato was also a standout, taking home one gold medal (2005) and eight silvers (intermittently between 1990-2004). As well as taking home two gold medals and five silver medals at the Four Nations Cup between 1997 and 2003, she also won gold in 1997 and 2003.

    5) Brian Leetch

    Brian Leetch was drafted ninth overall by the New York Rangers in 1986 and has since been an integral part of the team’s identity. He’s one of the NHL’s best-ever defensemen, despite his relatively modest stature. Dennis Potvin is only the fifth defender to score 100 points in a season (he tallied 102 in 1991-92), and he is the first one to do so since Paul Coffey and Al MacInnis.

    6) Neal Broten

    There must be some mention of the Miracle on Ice on any ranking of the greatest American hockey players. Neal Broten did not score a point in the semi-final game against the USSR, but he still contributed two goals and an assist to the United States’ gold medal victory in the tournament.

    On the 1980 roster, Broten would have the most successful professional career. He spent the first 13 years of his professional career playing for the Minnesota North Stars, his hometown team just south of the Canadian border in Roseau, Minnesota. Of his 923 career points and 876 games played, he played in 796 of them with them. First American to score more than 100 points in a season was him in 1985-86.

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