Welcome to the NHL Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing -- it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world's attention.
These players are in no particular order when it comes to the amount of buzz that they're creating. We'll revisit the Star Power Index every week throughout the regular season.
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby scored his 500th career goal and became the 46th player in NHL history to reach that milestone. Crosby joined Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin as the only two active NHL players to score at least 500 goals.
Like so many times before, Crosby was well-positioned right on the doorstep and was able to lift the puck past Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart off a beautiful feed from teammate Evgeni Malkin.
Sidney Crosby hitting 500 career goals? That is the definition of a @PPG Colorful Moment. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Pl52ELkcTa
— NHL (@NHL) February 16, 2022
It seemed almost poetic that Crosby's 500th career goal came against the Penguins' arch rival in the Flyers. After all, over the course of his 17-year NHL career, Crosby has registered 50 goals and 69 assists in 79 career games against Philadelphia.
Perhaps Crosby isn't the top player in the league like he once was, but the Penguins star is still exceptional in so many different facets of the game.
Throughout the 2021-22 season, Crosby has 14 goals and 32 assists and has still been a key cog for the Penguins offense. Since Pittsburgh returned from the All-Star break, Crosby has scored a pair of goals while dishing out four assists. Crosby put together a strong two-point performance against the Flyers in Tuesday's historic contest.
Crosby is at the point in his career where he doesn't need to lead the Penguins in every offensive category. The Penguins possess an extremely deep roster that could make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they keep up their stellar play.
Much like Crosby, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is also in the midst of a very historic season.
All eyes have been on Ovechkin as he takes his aim to the NHL's all-time goals record. Earlier this season, the Capitals winger passed Marcel Dionne and Brett Hull to take fourth place on the all-time goals list. Entering Thursday, Ovechkin is just five goals from tying Jaromir Jagr for third place on the all-time list.
In December, Ovechkin set a new NHL record with the 275th power-play goal of his career. The Capitals star was also able to accomplish the feat in 409 fewer games than the previous record holder, Hall of Famer Dave Andreychuk.
Ovechkin recently returned to the lineup after testing positive for COVID-19, which caused him to miss the NHL All-Star Game earlier this month. In his three games since returning, Ovechkin has registered two goals and two assists, including a two-goal performance against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
While Ovechkin isn't on the absurd goal-scoring pace that he was earlier in the year, the 12-time All-Star is currently on pace to score 52 goals this season, which would be his highest goal-scoring total since the 2014-15 campaign when he had 53 goals.
Ovechkin is also still in the conversation for the Hart Trophy as the second half of the season begins. The Capitals star currently is fourth in the NHL in points (62) behind Leon Draisaitl (66), Connor McDavid (66), and Jonathan Huberdeau (64).
If Ovechkin is able to win league MVP this late in his career, he would be the oldest to win the award at 37 years old. Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins and Herb Gardiner of the Montreal Canadiens are currently tied as the oldest players to win it when they accomplished the feat at 35 years old.
The Vezina Trophy race has been wide-open throughout the 2021-22 season. We've seen everyone from Igor Shesterkin from the New York Rangers to Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames make an attempt to stake claim to being the frontrunner for the award. The latest goaltender to enter the conversation is Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Andersen spent the previous two seasons as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. During that time, the veteran netminder compiled a 267-74-36 record to go along with a 2.79 goals-against average and .914 save percentage, which aren't bad numbers by any means.
Still, Andersen has completely transformed his game and has looked like one of the top goaltenders in the league. Andersen currently ranks second in wins (25), third in goals-against-average (2.07), and third in save percentage (.928).
Last Thursday, Andersen recorded a shutout in Carolina's 6-0 win over the Bruins. Andersen did also surrender three goals in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday, but turned aside 28 shots in that contest.
If Andersen continues on his terrific season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the 32-year old netminder win the Vezina Trophy and lead his team deep into the postseason.
March 21 marks the NHL trade deadline and one of the bigger names that could be on the move is Philadelphia Flyers winger Claude Giroux.
Giroux has spent his entire 15-year career in the City of Brotherly Love, but the Flyers have put together a poor season to this point, and could be looking toward a rebuild. With that in mind, the Flyers could decide that the franchise is running out of time to get a decent return for Giroux.
The Flyers have dealt with a rash of injuries and COVID-19 outbreaks, so Giroux's numbers certainly aren't through the roof. However, the veteran winger has still been productive as of late.
In three games since the All-Star break, Giroux has registered a goal and an assist, including a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week. At the NHL All-Star Game earlier this month, Giroux showed why he's still one of the more dangerous players around the league as he earned MVP honors in Las Vegas.
Sure, Giroux may not classify as a superstar anymore, but the Flyers star would be a huge addition to a playoff team's top six group of forwards.
Giroux does have to sign off on any trade, so he may just decide to finish up his career with the only franchise he's ever known. Time will tell, but regardless of where he ends up finishing out the 2021-22 season, Giroux has still proved to be a valuable asset.
