Category: The Torch

If you missed Friday's instalment, check out Part 1, covering the #1 defencemen from the league's first eight decades. We begin today in 1998. Scoring is down. International NHL talent is here to stay. Dominance at the position for long stretches will soon fade faster than Mats Sundin's hairline. 🔥 1998, 2006-09: Nicklas Lidstrom After two… Continue reading The Torch 🔥: Defencemen (Part 2) →

The Torch series launched in December with hockey's #1 forwards. Check out Part 1, explaining the High Noon player ranking system and covering 1918 to 1981. Part 2 featured the top forwards from 1982 to the present. Most of us are captivated by the feats of forwards. Checking the scoring leaders. Watching highlight reel goals.… Continue reading The Torch 🔥: Defencemen (Part 1) →

If you didn't catch yesterday's series opener, check out Part 1. It features a background on the approach and some ground rules, walking us from the NHL's founding season through 1981. 🔥 1982-88: Wayne Gretzky Uniquely pumping The Great One's tires is a difficult exercise at this point. No hockey player or their statistical prowess… Continue reading The Torch 🔥: Forwards (Part 2) →

The title of the best player in a sport is fascinating. Sometimes #1 is crystal clear, quickly pivoting to a best-ever debate. Sometimes #1 is murky, with several candidates vying for the splashy (and extremely unofficial) title. In golf or tennis, the official world rankings govern the sport's hierarchy. In your head-to-head sports like boxing,… Continue reading The Torch 🔥: Forwards (Part 1) →