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NHL fans are currently voting for the top 25 NHL players of the past 25 years through the NHL Quarter-Century Team Fan Vote presented by SAP.

The Fan Vote marks the second phase of the NHL Quarter-Century Team celebration during the 2024-25 season, following the reveal of each NHL team’s First and Second Quarter-Century Teams over the past six weeks. The players named to each team’s First Team, 191 stars in all, are eligible for selection in the Fan Vote.

Fans who wish to vote can do so at NHL.com/vote (fans can vote for 10 players per ballot and cast up to 10 ballots per day), or on social media platform X, using the hashtag #NHLQCTeam and one of the following: the player’s full name (with or without spaces); the player’s #firstandlastname; or the player's handle on X. Common misspellings will be counted, and reposts will count the same as native posts.

But why let fans have all the fun? NHL.com staff writers and editors did their own vote. Though the top 25 players, regardless of position, in the Fan Vote will comprise the NHL Quarter-Century Team presented by SAP and be revealed in the spring, we just couldn’t wait.

Here is the NHL.com Quarter-Century Team. The players, listed in alphabetical order with their corresponding teams from the ballot, were judged based on their NHL stats from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2024.

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

For so long, Bergeron was underrated and underappreciated, though maybe not by those who played against him. In the end, the Bruins captain will be remembered for his 200-foot game, his grace and toughness on the ice -- including playing in Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final with a punctured lung, separated shoulder and cracked ribs -- and the way he helped change the culture of the Bruins alongside Zdeno Chara. In 1,294 games in the quarter-century, Bergeron had 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists), won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and played in two more Cup Finals (2013, 2019), and won the Selke Trophy as the League's best defensive forward a record six times, plus the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and community contributions (2012-13) and the Mark Messier Leadership Award (2020-21).

Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils

It would be hard to overstate the impact of Brodeur on the past quarter-century, even though his career ended after 2014-15. Brodeur won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL four out of five seasons between 2002 and 2008 with the Devils, ceding the award only to Miikka Kiprusoff in 2005-06 (when Brodeur was runner-up). Add in winning the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003, and Brodeur's status as one of the greats of the past 25 years is unquestionable. And that's not even including the seven-plus years before Jan. 1, 2000, in which he was equally great.

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Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Owner of one of the fiercest beards in the NHL, Burns was the highest-scoring defenseman of the quarter-century with 893 points (258 goals, 635 assists) in 1,452 games. He helped lead the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015-16 during a season in which he had 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 82 games and 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 24 playoff games, and followed that up by becoming the first Sharks player to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2016-17 after he had 76 points (29 goals, 47 assists) in 82 games.

Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

One of the NHL's tallest players at 6-foot-9 inches, Chara was the captain and defensive anchor for the Bruins for three trips to the Stanley Cup Final (2011, 2013 and 2019) and one championship (2011). He won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 with Boston and was 11th among the League's defensemen in the quarter-century with 663 points (205 goals, 458 assists) in 1,561 games.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby's resume is among the best in NHL history. The center has won everything multiple times, including the Stanley Cup three times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup Playoff MVP), Hart Trophy (League MVP), Art Ross Trophy (points leader) and Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (goals leader) twice each. He has been the face of the NHL since his arrival as an 18-year-old in 2005. Now 37, he's still among the best players in the world.

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Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Even more impressive than his steady game is the heavy minutes he's played throughout his career (26:13 of ice time per game, fourth among NHL defensemen from Jan. 1, 2000-Dec. 31, 2024). Doughty has been tremendous, winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, and the Norris Trophy in 2015-16. He had 669 points (156 goals, 513 assists) in 1,177 games during the timeframe.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

Draisaitl has topped 100 points five times in his nine full NHL seasons, and the Oilers forward is on his way to doing it again this season. He's a three-time 50-goal scorer and likely will be again this season. Only Oilers teammate Connor McDavid has more points than Draisaitl since the start of the 2015-16 season.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins

He's at the top of the list for NHL goaltenders for wins (567) from Jan. 1, 2000-Dec. 31, 2024, for a reason. The biggest moments of his career came with the Penguins, who he led to the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017, but he also won the Vezina Trophy with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020-21. A true good guy of the game, he'll be missed when he retires at the end of this season.

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Hedman is the fourth-highest scoring defenseman of the past quarter-century with 756 points (160 goals, 596 assists) in 1,084 games. The No. 2 pick by Tampa Bay in the 2009 NHL Draft, Hedman is in 16th season with the Lightning and first as captain. He has won the Stanley Cup twice (2020, 2021), the Conn Smythe Trophy once (2020) and the Norris Trophy in 2017-18. Hedman was also a Norris finalist for six straight seasons from 2016-2022.

Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames

Iginla had 1,148 points (556 goals, 592 assists) in 1,285 games in the past quarter-century, ranking eighth in scoring over that period. The forward won the Art Ross Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award), voted most outstanding player by the NHL Players' Association, with Calgary in 2001-02. He helped the Flames advance to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2004, where they lost 2-1 to the Lightning. Iginla also won the Rocket Richard Trophy twice, leading the NHL in goals in 2001-02 (52) and tying for the lead in 2003-04 (41).

Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Kane is one of the most decorated players of his era, winning three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013, 2015), the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (2007-08), the Art Ross Trophy (2015-16), the Conn Smythe Trophy (2013) and the Hart Trophy (2015-16). And he did it with the style and flair that could bring fans out of their seats at any given moment.

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Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

Only Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom (seven) won the Norris Trophy more times since 2000 than Karlsson, who did it three times (2011-12, 2014-15, 2022-23). He finished with 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) for the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23, becoming the first defenseman to reach 100 points in a season since Hall of Famer Brian Leetch (102 points) in 1991-92.

Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

Part of the core of the Chicago dynasty after joining the team in the 2005-06 season, Keith played 1,256 career regular-season games for the Blackhawks and Oilers through 2021-22, scoring 646 points (106 goals, 540 assists). He is one of only two defensemen to score 600 points for the Blackhawks (625 points; 105 goals, 520 assists), after Doug Wilson (779). He won the Stanley Cup with Chicago three times (2010, 2013, 2015) and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2015. Keith also was voted the Norris Trophy winner twice (2009-10, 2013-14).

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

The first player from Slovenia to make it to the NHL, Kopitar has been a mainstay in the Kings lineup since the 2006-07 season. Among NHL forwards, his 1,250 points (431 goals, 819 assists) were sixth during the past quarter-century. He helped Los Angeles win the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014); won the Selke Trophy twice (2015-16, 2017-18); was twice awarded the Lady Byng Trophy, given annually to the League’s most gentlemanly player (2015-16, 2022-23); and won the Messier Award in 2021-22. He has represented the Kings in the NHL All-Star Game five times, most recently in 2020.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

One of the focal points of the Red Wings dynasty, Lidstrom played the final 914 games of his legendary 1,564-game NHL career during the past quarter century. In that span, he had 691 points (155 goals, 536 assists) and a plus-260 rating, which was topped by only two defensemen: Ryan McDonagh (plus-268), who played 48 more games, and Chara (plus-323), who played 647 more games. Lidstrom won the Stanley Cup twice after the turn of the century (2002, 2008) and four times overall. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2002 and the Norris Trophy seven times since 2000, becoming the first Swede to earn the honors.

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Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

He ranked fourth in wins (459) in the quarter-century and tied for third in save percentage (.918) among goalies who played at least 500 games. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12 with the Rangers and was a finalist four other times.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

In points per game, MacKinnon tied for ninth in the regular season (1.16) and ranked third in the playoffs (1.30) in the quarter-century. The center won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022 and the Hart Trophy in 2023-24.

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

A three-time Stanley Cup winner (2009, 2016, 2017), Malkin has teamed with Crosby on the Penguins for 19 seasons in one of the best 1-2 center tandems in NHL history. His resume includes the Hart Trophy in 2011-12, the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009 and his 1,327 points (506 goals, 821 assists) during the quarter-century, which were fourth in the League behind Crosby (1,637), Alex Ovechkin (1,577) and Joe Thornton (1,459).

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

With his combination of speed and offensive skill, the Oilers center has been a force since entering the NHL in 2015-16, leading the League in points five times (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) and winning the Hart Trophy three times (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23). McDavid’s rate of 1.53 points per game was the best in the NHL during the quarter-century, when he had 1,036 points (350 goals, 686 assists) in 679 games.

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

The left wing could go down as the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history, not just the quarter-century, along with winning the Hart Trophy three times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13) and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2018 when he captained the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship. Ovechkin has led the NHL in goals a League-record nine times, and, with 879 goals in his 20 NHL seasons, including 870 during the quarter-century, he is 16 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.

Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

The United States-born forward was a workhorse during his 18-season NHL career. He played his first 13 seasons with the Sharks and final five with the Dallas Stars, reaching the Stanley Cup Final once with each team. He was 11th in games played in the quarter-century (1,332), ninth in goals (476), and 14th in points (1,068). Not bad for a player selected in the seventh round (No. 205) of the 2003 NHL Draft.

Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

Price holds Canadiens franchise goaltending records for regular-season wins (361), games played (712), starts (700), saves (19,304) and shots against (21,059), his 49 shutouts ranking him third behind early-era star George Hainsworth (75) and Jacques Plante (58). He had a historic sweep in 2014-15, winning the Hart and Vezina trophies, the Ted Lindsay Award and a share of the William M. Jennings Trophy (awarded to the goalies for the team allowing the fewest goals). The fan favorite calmly stole many games during his 15-season career (2007-22), all with the Canadiens, with enormous, opportune saves.

Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche

Roy turned impressively into the start of the quarter-century with the fourth of his four Stanley Cup championships and his third of three Conn Smythe Trophy wins in 2001, plus won the Jennings Trophy in 2001-02. Always a hugely confident leader in the dressing room who usually backed up his bold talk, the Hall of Famer retired in 2003 as one of the greatest goalies of all time.

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

How does two Stanley Cup titles, two goal-scoring titles, one Messier Award and 1,160 points sound? It sounds like Steven Stamkos. The forward, who played the first 16 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay before signing with the Nashville Predators this past offseason, was one of the preeminent goal-scorers and leaders of the quarter-century. Selected No. 1 by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Draft, Stamkos was third in goals (566) and seventh in points in the quarter-century, all while serving as captain for a Tampa Bay team that reached the Stanley Cup Final four times and won the Cup twice (2020, 2021).

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Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

One of the most colorful, talented and respected players in NHL history, Jumbo Joe helped put San Jose on the NHL map when he was traded there by Boston on Nov. 30, 2005. He would go on to become the franchise leader in assists (804) -- he’s also second in points (1,055) and third in games played (1,104) -- while helping the Sharks reach the playoffs in his first nine seasons with them and get to the Cup Final in 2016. He won the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy in 2005-06, the season he was traded. In the quarter-century, he was third in games played (1,541) with the Bruins, Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, first in assists (1,057) and third in points (1,459).

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