Top 10 Playmakers in the NHL

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest playmaker in NHL history. You would find it an impossible task to find anyone willing to debate that point. However, there are a few among today's crop of NHL players that, while certainly not on par with the great one, are at least in the ballpark when it comes to vision on the ice. This list of the top 10 playmakers in the NHL mostly consists of young, up and coming stars that may yet have a shot at Gretzky's title. That's not to say they'll break his records. Gretzky had the luxury of playing in the most wide open era in NHL history, and his 1,963 career assists will likely never be touched. Still, a few of the players on this list of the top 10 NHL playmakers seem to possess the same uncanny vision on the ice and the same ability to make even their most cement-handed teammates better. The sky is the limit for these young stars. Watch out Mr. Gretzky, your title may be in jeopardy.

10 - Nicklas Backstrom

Sure he may have just finished his rookie season, but this guy is already one of the top 10 playmakers in the NHL. Just ask Alexander Ovechkin. It's no coincidence he won the Hart, the Art Ross, and the Richard trophy the same year this guy showed up on his line. Watch for these two to become one of the most lethal one-two punches in NHL history.

9 - Ales Hemsky

Ironically, this guy is probably a better shooter than he is a passer, but despite his blazing wrist shot he opts to pass almost all the time, and his linemates reap the benefits, while coach Craig MacTavish pulls his hair out in frustration. Still, Mac-T can't get too upset. Sure, Hemsky passes up some golden opportunities to shoot, but he has such great vision and is such a gifted playmaker, that goalies are often left floundering, still facing down Hemsky while a teammate is tucking his pinpoint pass into the wide open cage.

8 - Nicklas Lidstrom

Yes, that's right, a defenseman on the list of the top 10 playmakers in the NHL. No rearguard in the league moves the puck better than this perennial Norris trophy winner. Sure, the Red Wings have great talent up front, but it is Lidstrom who makes that first tape to tape pass out of the zone, jumpstarting Detroit's offense, and breaking down the opposing teams' traps with the greatest of ease.

7 - Pavel Datsyuk

Is there anything this gifted Russian can't do with, or for that matter without, the puck? The slickest stickhandler in the league, with a lethal shot, and a standout defensive player, why wouldn't Datsyuk also be one of the NHL's most gifted passers? Not only does Detroit have Lidstrom to get the puck to the offensive zone, once it's there Datsyuk can thread it through three sets of legs right on the tape of a teammate for an easy tap-in. No wonder Detroit waltzed to a Stanley Cup championship this past spring.

6 - Peter Forsberg

If he could only stay healthy, this superstar Swede would surely be much higher on this list of the top 10 playmakers in the NHL. Few players in the history of the game have owned the puck down low like Forsberg does. At times it seems glued to his stick as he twists and turns, drawing multiple defenders to him before finally making a perfect pass to a wide open teammate. Much like Orr and Lemieux, Forsberg is so talented he could have put up some truly dizzying numbers if he could only have stayed healthy.

5 - Jason Spezza

Another guy that seems prone to injury, Spezza hasn't suffered the health woes that Forsberg has, but he seems unable to play a full season without missing at least a little time. Despite that, he still manages to be up among the league leaders in assists, and many feel that if he can get a full 82 games under his belt in a single season he could challenge for the Art Ross. Playing with snipers like Heatley and Alfredsson, Spezza's uncanny ability to pass pucks over sticks and through legs make the line even more threatening. Sure, sometimes his creativity ends up in a turnover, but those gaffs are a rarity, and I'm sure his coach would gladly take the occasional errant puck in exchange for the magic Spezza performs on a nightly basis.

4 - Henrik Sedin

Perhaps the most unsung of the players on this list of the top 10 playmakers in the NHL, Henrik Sedin is, nonetheless, wholly deserving of a spot. Fans in Vancouver will tell you that if they ever find a true sniper to play with this guy his assist total will rival anyone in the league. Much like Forsberg, Sedin is a master at holding the puck down low, eventually drawing defenders out of position. His passes always seem to find their target. The only problem is, that target is rarely talented enough to make the most of the chance he's been given. Brother Daniel has been most effective in the role, but he is not a natural shooter. Come on Gillis, find a sniper to play with this guy!

3 - Marc Savard

For years Marc Savard has been flying under the radar as one of the NHL's top playmakers, but you can only put up huge numbers for so long before people finally start to sit up and take notice. Sure Savard might not have the flash of a Forsberg or a Datsyuk, but he does what a playmaker is supposed to: he gets his teammates the puck. He's not fancy, he doesn't take foolish chances. He holds the puck, waits until a teammate gets open, puts the puck right on the tape, and bang, it's in the net. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

2 - Joe Thornton

It is strange the way that Jumbo Joe's career has played out. Looking at this towering forward you'd figure him for a crash and bang power forward with a bull in a china shop mentality, running over opponents, crashing the net and muscling the puck in past opposing goalies. However, he has turned out to be almost exactly the opposite, playing on the perimeter with precision and grace, dishing the puck to streaking teammates, and routinely leading the NHL in assists. His style of play may not be what coaches and fans want from him, but it is pretty hard to argue with the numbers he has put up throughout his career.

1 - Sidney Crosby

Though Thornton usually leads the league in assists, for my money Sidney Crosby is the only logical choice for the number 1 spot on the list of top 10 playmakers in the NHL. Crosby, like Gretzky and Orr before him, seems to have that uncanny ability to find open teammates without ever looking in their direction. This incredible vision makes him almost possible to defend against. His skill with the puck is such that defenders are forced to cheat to him when he is bearing down on them. But that attention is exactly what Crosby wants, since it means that somewhere on the ice one of his teammates is open. 9 times out of 10 Crosby finds that open man. More often than not the puck winds up in the net. If he can have a long, healthy career there is no telling what kind of numbers Crosby will put up. Perhaps Mr. Gretzky's records aren't so safe after all...