Grantland: The 10 Greatest One-Team NHL Players, Ranked

We’re now a few weeks removed from Mariano Rivera’s final game at Yankee Stadium, which means most sports fans who watched it have had enough time to stop crying while awkwardly insisting that they’re not crying.

As a hockey fan, I watched Rivera’s exit while thinking How can I take that wonderful baseball moment and translate it into a hockey post? And that’s how I came up with the idea of listing 10 legendary NHL players who, like Rivera, played their entire career with one team.

And then I thought How can I take this idea for a feel-good walk through the pages of hockey history and turn it into an excuse for people to yell at each other? And that’s when I decided that instead of just listing 10 guys, I’d also rank them.

So here we go: the 10 best players in NHL history, in order, among those who spent their entire career with one franchise.

10. Denis Potvin, New York Islanders (1973-1988)

Potvin won three Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cups during a 15-year career in which he established himself as one of the most respected …

Hold on, I need to pause for a minute while all the Ranger fans chant “Potvin Sucks” for a while.

Still waiting.

Still waiting …

OK, you know what, there are only so many hours in the day so let’s just agree that Potvin was one of the most-respected players in the league as long as you weren’t in Madison Square Garden. He captained the Islanders’ early '80s dynasty that captured four straight championships and won 19 consecutive postseason series, a record that likely stands as completely unbreakable in the salary-cap era. He averaged just less than a point per game over his career, and retired as the league’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen.

As for you still-chanting Rangers fans, here’s a fun fact: Potvin claimed that Mike Keenan asked him to make a comeback and join the 1993-94 Rangers team that eventually won the Stanley Cup. Potvin, who by then was 41 years old and had been out of hockey for six years, considered the offer but eventually declined.

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Grantland weekend wrapup: Flyers, Oilers, Avs

It's always funny in Philadelphia

Well, that didn’t take long. Less than one full week into the season, we have our first coaching casualty: Flyers boss Peter Laviolette, who was canned after an 0-3 start and replaced by Craig Berube.

While the move may have come stunningly early, it’s not exactly a shock. The Flyers have looked awful so far. And despite this overflowing file folder by my computer labeled “pre-written Flyers goalie jokes," goaltending has been the least of their problems. The much-maligned Steve Mason has been fine in his two starts, including a 32-save performance in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes.

But the defense looks old and slow, spending long stretches pinned in its own zone in all three games. And even when the Flyers do get the puck into the other end of the ice, they don’t look dangerous. They’ve managed three goals on the year, just one of those at even strength, and top players like Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Jakub Voracek have all been held off the scoreboard.

None of that can be considered acceptable for a heavy-spending team that’s only managed to stay cap compliant thanks to long-term injured reserve exemptions, and that spent heavily on buyouts and acquisitions in the summer. In fairness, offseason additions Vincent Lecavalier and Mark Streit have looked good — with a combined four points, they’ve accounted for half of the roster’s total offense — but the team just isn’t clicking right now. This is where we’d normally add the “small sample size” disclaimer, but even that loses some impact when you recall the Flyers floundering through a 1-5-1 preseason.

Laviolette had long been rumored to be on the hot seat. Now that he’s gone, it may not be long before GM Paul Holmgren has a target on his back, too. The Flyers should be able to record their first win Tuesday night when they host the Panthers. If not, expect things to get ugly in Philadelphia.

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Grantland grab bag: Patrick Roy is the latest in a long line of crazy coaches

In the return of the weekly Grab Bag: A look back at Chris Terreri and/or Craig Billington, a debate over redesigning your uniform, the guy we all hate this week in our hockey pool, and breaking down a 1987 clip of violent coaches.

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Grantland: What we learned from opening night

The NHL season opened Tuesday night with three games — a classic rivalry matchup that saw the Leafs beat the Habs 4-3, the Blackhawks earn a 6-4 win over the Capitals on Stanley Cup banner-raising night, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Oilers 5-4 on their first visit to Edmonton in 17 years. Needless to say, we watched all of it.

Here are 10 vaguely connected thoughts from six hours of opening-night hockey.

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Grantland: The 2013-14 NHL season preview megapost

The NHL season opens tonight with three games,1which makes today final call for season previews. Personally, I like to wait until the very last moment to ensure that I can be as wrong as humanly possible about everything. So here we go!

Now, it's important to factor in that this year the NHL has undergone a realignment. The old six-division format, has been replaced by four new divisions: the Atlantic, Pacific, Central, and Metropolitan. The new format sees some teams shifting conferences and will have an impact on …

That's right, "Metropolitan." Yes, that's the actual name. Come on guys, stop laughing, the NHL's marketing department worked really hard on this and that was the best they could come up with.

Anyway, in the spirit of the league's new format, I figured I'd realign the league yet again for this preview. So here's a look at all 30 teams, shifted into four brand-new divisions that I made up: The contenders, the also-rans, the middle-of-the-pack, and the teams where I have absolutely no idea.

Hey, it makes more sense that "Metropolitan," right? Let's get started.

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