The NHLPA (National Hockey League Players’ Association) Player Poll is an annual survey conducted among NHL players to gather their opinions on various topics related to the game, their peers, and the league itself. The poll covers a wide range of categories, including best player by position, toughest player to play against, best arena to play in, and more.
The NHLPA has released the results of its 2023-24 NHLPA Player Poll, which involved 639 NHLPA members from all 32 teams. The survey covered 15 questions on various hockey topics, with players anonymously sharing their opinions during the first half of the regular season. Categories included the most complete NHL player, preferred players for must-win games by position, toughest opponent they’d like on their team, best-styled player, most enjoyable to watch in the PWHL (Presidents’ Trophy Winning League), and more. Interestingly, players from 18 different teams earned top-five placements in the poll results.
Here are some of the most interesting results:
Results:
If you need to win one game, who is the goalie you want on your team?
46.92% – Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
6.49% – Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers
6.17% – Ilya Sorokin – New York Islanders
5.03% – Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
4.87% – Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators
If you need to win one game, who is the forward you want on your team?
48.71% – Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
11.58% – Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
6.59% – Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
5.31% – Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
2.57% – Artemi Panarin – New York Rangers
If you need to win one game, who is the defenseman you want on your team?
56.38% – Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
10.50% – Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
4.52% – Roman Josi – Nashville Predators
4.04% – Quinn Hughes – Vancouver Canucks
2.42% – Adam Fox – New York Rangers
Who is the best stick-handler?
35.53% – Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
20.89% – Patrick Kane – Detroit Red Wings
8.06% – Jack Hughes – New Jersey Devils
7.89% – Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
3.95% – Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
3.95% – Artemi Panarin – New York Rangers
Who is the most complete player?
38.37% – Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
14.60% – Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
8.15% – Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
7.81% – Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
6.62% – Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
Which arena is the toughest to play in as a visiting team?
31.36% – T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
16.31% – PNC Arena – Raleigh, North Carolina
15.59% – TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts
7.89% – Ball Arena – Denver, Colorado
4.66% – Bell Centre – Montreal, Quebec
Which global destination would you most like to see host NHL games?
11.95% – Italy
9.49% – Sweden
8.73% – England
8.35% – Switzerland
6.64% – France
