#5 Steve Yzerman – A lifetime Red Wing, “ Stevie Wonder” amassed 1,755 points in his career with 692 goals. Yzerman was the Red Wings first round pick 4th overall in the 1983 NHL entry draft and was an immediate contributor scoring 87 points in his rookie campaign. Steve was undersized, but he had the heart of a lion. Early in his career Steve was known as a gifted offensive player, recording 155 points while winning the Lester B. Pearson Trophy. As the leader of the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman changed his game in the 90’s, becoming a threat on the defensive end. In order to win the Stanley Cup Steve worked hard on his defensive game with the help of legendary coach Scotty Bowman. In 2000 Yzerman won the Frank Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the game. Over his career Steve Yzerman won three Stanley Cups (‘97,’98,2002) winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1998 as the top player in the playoffs. “Stevie Wonder” sits 5th all time in league scoring and is known as one the best leaders ever.

#4 Phil Esposito – Phil played in the league from 1963-1964 until 1980-1981 recording 1,590 points good for eighth all time. Esposito led the league in scoring five times and won the Hart trophy as league MVP in 1969 and 1974. His most productive year was in 1970-1971 when he recorded 76 goals and 76 assists for 155 points with a plus ranking of 71. He spent time with three franchises the Chicago Blackhawks (4 years), the Boston Bruins (9 years) and the New York Rangers (6 years) to end out his career. Phil was a leader for Canada in the 1972 summit series, one the best moments in Canadian hockey history. During the summit series Esposito led Canada with 7 goals and 13 points in an 8 game series against Russia. Phil was a great playoff performer recording 137 points in a career 130 playoff games.

#3 Marcel Dionne - Marcel played his first season with the Detroit Red Wings in 1971-1972, but is well known as a Los Angeles King where he played 12 seasons. Fourth all time in scoring as a center, Dionne had 731 career goals and 1,771 career points. Marcel was known as a sniper firing shots from all over the ice and recorded over 230 power play goals over his illustrious career. He won the Art Ross in 1980 as the leagues leading scorer when he recorded 53 goals and 137 points. Playing in Los Angeles Dionne didn’t have the playoff success as the rest of the guys on this list only playing 49 career playoff games. Marcel represented his home country Canada through out his career in Canada Cups. It would have been nice to see Marcel Dionne play in more meaningful NHL games, we will never know how great he could have been. His downfall will always be that he never played more then 10 playoff games within a single season and no Stanley Cups.

#2 Mario Lemieux – “Super Mario” cannot be over looked as maybe the bast talent the NHL has ever seen. He battled injuries and illness throughout his career and played less games then anyone else on this list. He only played 915 games and still recorded 1,723 career points. He was drafted 1st overall in 1984 and played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Calder Trophy that year and went on to lead the Penguins to two Stanley Cup titles. No doubt his best season was in 1988-1989 when he recorded an astonishing 199 points with 85 goals and 114 assists. Lemieux was big and he had great hands and scored highlight goals seemingly in every game he played in. Mario also led Team Canada to an Olympic Gold Medal in 2002 along side another person on this list Steve Yzerman. Injuries and cancer caused Lemieux to retire from hockey after the 1997 season, but he made a triumphant return in 2000. Who knows if it wasn’t for the injuries and missed time we might talk about Mario Lemieux as the best player to ever lace up skates.

#1 Wayne Gretzky - Surprise, Surprise the “Great One” is at the top of this list. Wayne is the most productive player in NHL history, from the day he entered the NHL he was the best player on the ice. The career leader points Gretzky had 894 goals, 1963 assists and 2,857 points throughout his record smashing career. He won the Hart trophy as league MVP nine times and was by far the best player in the NHL throughout the ‘80’s. Its hard to say what his best season was, he recorded three straight years of 200 or more points between 1983-1987. He scored a career high 92 goals in the 1981-1982. He also was a great playoff performer winning the Conn Smythe for top performer in the playoffs twice, and recorded a career 382 playoff points. “The Great One” led the league in scoring 10 times and led the league in plus/minus four times. Wayne is the best player to ever play and I could go on forever listing his career records and highlights.

I would be remised if I didn’t mention some of the players who easily could have made this list, Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Stan Mikita, Joe Sakic, Alex Delvecchio and Bryan Trottier All of these players are hall of famers and are big part of NHL history

The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is awarded to the champion of the NHL, Lord Stanley’s Cup is obviously the most important award the National Hockey League hands out.

The Hart Trophy

The Hart is the NHL’s version of the Most Valuable Player in the league. A little different then most professional sports leagues the award is for the player who is most valuable to his team. The original trophy was donated to the league in 1923, and can be found in Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Wayne Gretzky won eight straight Hart’s between 1980 – 1987, Sydney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin won it the last two years respectively.

The Vezina Trophy

This is the goalie trophy, handed out to the net minder who has been the best that season. The trophy is a memorial to great Canadians goalie George Vezina and has been awarded annually since 1927. Martin Brodeur has won the award four of the last five seasons and the great Patrick Roy won the trophy three times.

The Calder Trophy

The NHL’s best rookie is awarded the Calder Trophy at years end. The trophy is named after Frank Calder, a former president of the National Hockey League. A lot of NHL greats have won this award and over history a lot of Hall of Famers win the Calder in there first season. NHL greats Terry Sawchuk, Bobby Orr, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux and Peter Forsberg have all won the trophy. Last year Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane won the Calder.

The Jack Adams Trophy

The coach judged to be the best that season wins the Jack Adams award. Jack Adams the man was a coach and manager in the Red Wings organization and the trophy was donated by NHL broadcasters. A lot of great coaches have won this award including Don Cherry, Scotty Bowman and Pat Burns. Last year there was a surprise winner when Washington Capitols head coach Bruce Boudreau took home the award.

The Norris Trophy

Named for the late owner and president of the Detroit Red Wings James Norris. The award is handed out annually to the leagues top defenceman. In recent history the award had been dominated by future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom who has won the award an amazing six of the last seven years. Bobby Orr won the trophy a record eight times and Ray Bourque won it five times.

The Art Ross Trophy

This trophy is not voted on, it is given to the player who records the most points in the season. Art Ross a manger with the Boston Bruins donated the trophy in 1947. Guy Lafleur won the award three straight years in the 1970’s, Wayne Gretzky won the award an amazing ten times and Jaromir Jagr won it five times. Along with the Hart Alex Ovechkin won the Art Ross last season.

The Selke Trophy

The best defensive forward in the NHL is awarded the Selke Trophy. The award is in honor of Frank Selke who managed great NHL championship teams. The first four times the trophy was handed out it was won by Montreal Canadiens great Bob Gainey who was an excellent defensive forward. In recent years the award has been won by players like Steve Yzerman in 2000, Michael Peca in 2002 and Pavel Datsyuk last season.

Lester B. Pearson Trophy

The trophy is named after former Prime Minister of Canada Lester B. Pearson, and has awarded since 1971. This is a special award to a lot of players because it is voted by the players themselves. The players vote who they think the most valuable player of the league is. Last year it was won by Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby won in 2007. Dominik Hasek won the award in back to back years in 1997 – 1998 and Phil Esposito won the first award in 1971.

There are plenty more awards the NHL hands out, Maurice Richard Trophy (top goal scorer), Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP), Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship), Masterton Memorial Trophy (dedication to hockey) and the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against average).

Teams can also receive awards like the Presidents’ Trophy (top regular season team), Clarence Campbell Bowl (western conference winners) and the Prince of Wales Trophy (eastern conference champions).

You can find all these trophies displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The National Hockey league does a great job honoring its players. The league celebrates its past and respects all the people who were involved in the game. These trophies are ingrained in the game and young players dream of winning some of these awards. Most of these awards have a lot of history some of which have been around since the 1920’s. To win an award and look at the engraved names and see NHL icons and your idols alike. The National Hockey League treats its players like true celebrities on award night which is truly unique to the league. To be a true hockey fan you need to respect the past, because without the greats of this game there would be no game. If you have a chance check out the Hockey Hall of Fame, you will find this game is full of great stories and emotions and you will not be disappointed.