The annual anonymous survey asks 663 NHL players to vote on 12 hockey-related questions, ranging from on-ice talent to off-the-ice fashion sense and more.
Other superlatives included “most complete player” (Sidney Crosby, 34 percent of the vote), “best playmaker” (Nikita Kucherov, 48 percent) and “smartest overall player” (Crosby, 27 percent).
Crosby earned the higest number of votes for "most compete player" for the sixth season in a row, and earned three total superlatives. In addition to "most complete player" and "smartest overall player" he also was picked by his peers as the player who's most likely to win a faceoff.
"It means a lot," Crosby said at morning skate on Tuesday. "Those are the guys that you compete against every night. Yeah, I think that's one of the best compliments you can have is from the people that you compete against every night. So, that means a lot."
Some of the off-the-ice categories included “best fashion sense” (David Pastrnak and Auston Matthews each received 16 percent of the vote), “good broadcaster once they retire” (Kevin Hayes, 5 percent) and best ice at an NHL arena (Montreal, 45 percent).
The players were also asked to pick a rule from the PWHL that they would like to see in the NHL. The jailbreak goal rule received almost 30 percent of the vote. That rule gives players in the penalty box a chance to “break out” if their team scores a short-handed goal.
The 3-2-1-0 point system received the second-highest vote total at 24 percent.
-- NHL.com independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report
