NHL Top 50 Player Rankings - December 23, 2011

A rash of concussions has knocked out many top players for varying lengths of time. Some of the more notable players include: Chris Pronger, Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Milak Michalek, Kris Letang, and Jeff Skinner. The loss of these players is tragic, and NHL management, teams, and other players are struggling to adjust. Let's take a look at the top 50 players in the NHL right now, some of which may drop off of future top 50 lists due to being sidelined with concussions for extended periods of time.

The purpose of these rankings is to give you an idea of the most valuable NHL players based upon a number of factors, including past production, injury history, age, average time on ice, performance predictions, etc.

As always, don't forget to check out our starting goalies, line combos, team pages, weekly schedule, TOI tool, and forum for more information on all things NHL.

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	Explanation	Prev
1	Daniel Sedin	VAN	L	39 points in 33 games. Will be near the top in points at the end of the season.	1
2	Steven Stamkos	TBL	C	Tied for league lead in goals now.	3
3	Sidney Crosby	PIT	C	Post-concussion symptoms...	2
4	Claude Giroux	PHI	R	Returned from concussion with a 4-point outing.	4
5	Evgeni Malkin	PIT	C	Sidney who? 6 goals and 9 assists in his last 6 games.	8
6	Henrik Sedin	VAN	C	1st in assists and tied for 2nd in points.	6
7	Tim Thomas	BOS	G	Except for getting pulled recently, Thomas continues to dominate.	9
9	Jonathan Toews	CHI	C	Probably the best player in the league the past few weeks.	19
8	Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	G	1.85 GAA, .935 SV% in 7 December starts.	7
10	Alex Ovechkin	WSH	L	Appears to be taking more shots under new coach, so there's still hope.	5
11	Corey Perry	ANA	R	Steady points but no breakout.	11
12	Ilya Bryzgalov	PHI	G	Started December with 6 wins and is now the star of HBO's 24/7.	12
13	Phil Kessel	TOR	R	Showing no signs of letting up yet.	14
14	Zach Parise	NJD	L	8 points in his past 5 games. Starting to click nicely with Kovalchuk.	18
15	Shea Weber	NSH	D	He's got my vote for the Norris Trophy at this point.	21
16	Thomas Vanek	BUF	L	Vanek dealing with an injury the past few games and is now day-to-day.	15
17	Anze Kopitar	LAK	C	Hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 22nd.	10
18	Jonathan Quick	LAK	G	Starting to look good again after some up and down play.	13
19	Martin St Louis	TBL	R	Although sidelined for a couple weeks with an injury, he's starting to score.	16
20	Pavel Datsyuk	DET	C	Still going strong since he caught fire in mid-November.	23
21	Patrick Kane	CHI	R	He's played very well and helped his team secure the top spot in the league.	26
22	Marian Hossa	CHI	R	Has points in 7 straight games.	27
23	Pekka Rinne	NSH	G	Was shaky for a bit, but seems to have righted himself.	24
24	Marian Gaborik	NYR	R	In case you didn't notice, Gaborik is tied for the league lead for goals.	28
25	Tomas Vokoun	WSH	G	Neuvirth looking more like Washington's #1 goalie right now.	20
26	Nicklas Lidstrom	DET	D	Nothing flashy; consistently strong defense with a nice offensive upside.	25
27	Patrick Sharp	CHI	L	Really clicking with linemate Hossa.	33
28	Jimmy Howard	DET	G	6-3-0 in December. Gave up 3 goals or more in each of the 3 losses.	31
29	Patrick Marleau	SJS	L	5 points in 4 games after going pointless in 7 straight.	22
30	Henrik Zetterberg	DET	L	Has continued a nice stretch after starting the season flat.	29
31	Nicklas Backstrom	WSH	C	Don't know how he keeps producing with all the line juggling in WAS.	30
32	Kris Letang	PIT	D	Hasn't played in nearly a month due to a concussion.	17
33	Roberto Luongo	VAN	G	7-1-1 in December; early season struggles over.	46
34	Ilya Kovalchuk	NJD	L	$100 million man? Maybe not, but he's starting to produce.	35
35	James Neal	PIT	L	Goals keep coming for Neal; he's up to 19 now.	36
36	Marc-Andre Fleury	PIT	G	Has given up 3 goals in 5 of his 7 December starts.	32
37	Carey Price	MTL	G	Price, along with the rest of his team, is struggling lately.	37
38	Zdeno Chara	BOS	D	7 G, 14 A, +17, 47 PIM, and averaging 25 min/game.	39
39	Kari Lehtonen	DAL	G	Could return soon from injury.	38
40	Brad Richards	NYR	C	Was hot for a couple weeks and then slowed down a bit again.	41
41	Erik Karlsson	OTT	D	Has more points than any other defenseman.	43
42	Ryan Getzlaf	ANA	C	Only 25 points and a -15.	34
43	Jeff Skinner	CAR	C	Another concussion victim; out indefinitely.	40
44	Joffrey Lupul	TOR	R	Starting to drop back from points leaders.	47
45	Brian Elliott	STL	G	Still looking great, but new coach has him splitting time with Halak.	49
46	Ryan Miller	BUF	G	Has given up 3 or more goals in 5 of 8 games in December.	42
47	Jason Spezza	OTT	C	Disappeared for a few years, but now has 37 points in 35 games.	-
48	Scott Hartnell	PHI	L	12 points in 10 December games, including a 6-game goal-scoring streak.	-
49	Martin Brodeur	NJD	G	Stats don't look great, and we're seeing more starts from Hedberg.	44
50	Teemu Selanne	ANA	R	Had a 9-game point streak before last game.	-

On the bubble:
Ryan Kesler (VAN C), Ryan Nugent Hopkins (EDM C), Jeff Carter (CBJ C), Tyler Seguin (BOS C), Dion Phaneuf (TOR D), Duncan Keith (CHI D), Ryan Suter (NSH D), Jason Garrison (FLA D), Keith Yandle (PHX D), Evander Kane (WPG L), Milan Michalek (OTT L), Jarome Iginla (CGY R), David Backes (STL, R), Kris Versteeg (FLA R), Rick Nash (CBJ R), Antti Niemi (SJS G), Ray Emery (CHI G)

Now for the best part - tell us what you think of our rankings. We know you won't agree with us on everything, but we hope we got some right. Let's hear your comments!