Every Monday until the end of the season, Hockey Prospectus will provide updated Player Power Rankings for the top 10 skaters and top five goalies in the NHL based on HP's proprietary value metric, GVT, a statistic that combines player contributions in all aspects of the game, including defense and the shootout.
In the second edition of the rankings, a Sabre has soared to the top of the rankings on the strength of a big week.
Player Power Rankings: Skaters
These rankings
are through Feb. 3.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Off. GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Thomas Vanek
Buffalo Sabres
F
6.2
0.9
0
7.1
Last year, amid big expectations for Buffalo, Vanek managed only
10.2 GVT, his lowest total since his rookie season. This year he's
spearheading Buffalo's offense and leads the league in points and offensive
GVT.
2
Patrick Marleau
San Jose Sharks
F
5.9
0.6
0
6.5
Marleau has slowed down a bit since his first four games, but
he's still firing away (10 shots in his past 3 games) and the Sharks remain
undefeated in regulation.
3
Steven Stamkos
Tampa Bay Lightning
F
6.2
0.2
0
6.4
Stamkos headlines the league's most potent offense, with the
Lightning averaging almost 5 goals per game so far. It's hard to imagine at
this point that he's not the favorite to lead the league in scoring at the
end of the year.
4
Joe Thornton
San Jose Sharks
F
4.7
1
0
5.7
Thornton already has led the league in assists three times (in
2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08) and is tied for the league lead again this
season with 11.
5
Eric Staal
Carolina Hurricanes
F
4.2
1.2
0
5.5
Staal is third overall among NHL forwards in total ice time,
playing almost 22 minutes a game. Staal and Alexander Semin have played
almost every minute of every Hurricanes power play so far this season.
6
Cory Conacher
Tampa Bay Lightning
F
4.4
0.9
0
5.3
Conacher is only 5-foot-8 and was undrafted before being signed
as a free agent by the Lightning, yet he has 12 points in his first eight NHL
games. Reminds us of another pint-sized superstar on that team.
7
Sidney Crosby
Pittsburgh Penguins
F
3.7
0.7
0.7
5.1
With Crosby at full strength, the Penguins are back in their
traditional spot, atop the Atlantic. On top of his four goals and 10 points,
he also has scored a shootout winner against Ottawa.
8
Patrick Kane
Chicago Blackhawks
F
4.4
0.5
0
5
With the shortened season, many players may establish
career-best paces but fail to exceed career-best totals. Kane, with 13 points
in his first nine games, may well be one of them.
9
Jason Pominville
Buffalo Sabres
F
4.3
0.7
0
5
Between them, Pominville and Vanek represent 42 percent of all
points scored by Sabres players so far this season.
10
Martin St. Louis
Tampa Bay Lightning
F
4.6
0.1
0
4.8
Among the NHL's top 10 scorers, Joe Thornton is the second
oldest, at 33 years old. St. Louis is by far the oldest, at 37. He has ranked
in the top 20 league scorers each of the past seven seasons.
Player Power Rankings: Goalies
These rankings
are through Feb. 3.
Rank
Player
Team
Pos.
Goalie GVT
Def. GVT
Shootout GVT
Total GVT
1
Craig Anderson
Ottawa Senators
G
13.8
-0.3
-2
11.5
To think that Colorado gave up on Anderson in 2010-11 after what
was, essentially, a bad 30 games. Since then he has posted 36.8 GVT in 83
games for Ottawa and made them the surprise team of the league for a second
year in a row.
2
Antti Niemi
San Jose Sharks
G
6.4
-0.4
1.3
7.3
Niemi has been excellent in regulation, with a .936 save
percentage, and also has been strong in the shootout, going 6-for-7.
Unfortunately the one goal he allowed ended the Sharks' season-opening
winning streak.
3
Roberto Luongo
Vancouver Canucks
G
5.4
0.5
-0.1
5.9
Just when everyone had given up on Luongo, he reminds us why he
is an elite goaltender. His .944 save percentage is second in the league; not
bad for a guy who wasn't even expected to be in Vancouver at all this season.
4
Carey Price
Montreal Canadiens
G
5.2
-0.2
0
5
Price just completed a pair of back-to-back gems, stopping 30
shots in a 6-1 win against Buffalo and 32 shots in a 2-1 squeaker against
Ottawa Sunday.
5
Corey Crawford
Chicago Blackhawks
G
5.5
0.1
-0.7
5
Crawford's first year as a No. 1, in 2010-11, went pretty well;
last year went much worse. Crawford so far has performed more like the former
than the latter. He has yet to allow more than two goals in a game or lose a
game in regulation.
A version of this story originally appeared at ESPN Insider .
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Player Power Rankings (01/29)
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