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Blackhawks Daily: ESPN Again Shows its Contempt for Hockey

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The NHL has nationally been on ESPN for a few years now alongside TNT. It is a different feel than it was when NBC had exclusive national rights in the US because ESPN and TNT have very different styles. ESPN has been accused by many hardcore hockey fans to “disrespect” hockey for a long time now. It may be fair at times and other times it’s not. They didn’t help their case over the last week with a recent feature they put out. 



The “Top 100 pro athletes of all time” were named this week by ESPN and it was not kind to hockey. There were only three players on the list and even they are way too low. 

Sidney Crosby came in at 22, Alexander Ovechkin came in at 54, and Connor McDavid came in at 98. That is wildly disrespectful to those guys. There are athletes listed above them (in all three cases) that haven’t accomplished half of what these three have in their respective sports. 

Sidney Crosby, a three-time champion, is one of the five greatest hockey players of all time and the best of his generation. Alexander Ovechkin, a one-time champion, is 42 goals away from the record held by Wayne Gretzky. 

Connor McDavid is just getting started and is still already incredibly accomplished with multiple  Hart Trophy wins, a Conn Smythe, and almost 1000 points at his age. He should be in the top 20 along with the other two.  The group of players omitted from this list is wild to think about too. The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three times in the 21st century and had multiple Hall of Famers (Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews). None of them were listed in favor of athletes who didn’t do nearly as much in their sports. 

How about Evgeni Malkin? That guy has three Cups, a Hart Trophy, a Conn Smythe, and will pass 1300 points a week into the 2024-25 season. Leaving him off is a bad look. Other guys like Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, and Anze Kopitar could have also been considered. 

Nick Lidstrom won seven Norris trophies in the 21st century and was also the first European born player to be named a captain and also win the Conn Smythe trophy.

He didn’t crack the list.

Hopefully, ESPN hears the outcry and is better for it in the future. For now, we hockey folks have to just keep fighting for this wonderful game. 

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