If you were given the responsibility of putting together the greatest NHL hockey team of all time what would the roster look like? The players would be their fresh, young selves, at the peak of their careers, and for those that are now dead and gone…well, they’d be alive again.
Think about it. In the meantime here’s our list:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Bobby Orr
4. Maurice Richard
5. Gordie Howe
6. Dominik Hasek
7. Doug Harvey
8. Guy Lafleur
9. Scott Stevens
10. Mark Messier
11. Patrick Roy
12. Bobby Hull

Forget it. Vincent Lecavalier may just be leaving Crosby in the dust as you read this.

The Tampa Bay Lightning centre has 45 points in 29 games and is showing no signs of easing off.
“Once you start scoring, it seems like you can really see the net,” Lecavalier said on an NHL conference call. “But, you know, if you go three, four, five games (without scoring), you get to squeezing your stick a little bit, obviously you see the goalie a lot bigger. It kind of goes both ways.”

So far Lecavalier has been able to hold off defending Art Ross Trophy winner and Pittsburgh phenom, Sydney Crosby, as well as Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings.

The kid can scrap too. Earlier this year Lecavalier made hockey headlines when he dropped the gloves in back-to-back games- something Gretzky could only of fantasized about.

When an athlete becomes the best player his sport has ever seen, everyone wants to anoint a successor. The NBA hopes LeBron James will be the “new” Michael Jordan; NHL fans herald Sidney Crosby as their latest Next One to assume the throne once held by The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

Talk about high expectations. Gretzky won nine Hart Trophies and four Stanley Cups while obliterating nearly every scoring record in the book. And he did it with iconic flair, taking both Hollywood and Broadway by storm.

Crosby is well on his way. In a league where scoring is at a premium compared to 20 years ago, “Sid the Kid” topped the 100-point mark in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart as a sophomore. Now all he has to do to match Gretzky is stay at the top of his game for another decade and lead a Pittsburgh Penguins dynasty. Piece of cake.

Eric Lindros is expected to hang up the skates Thursday after 14 years in the NHL. It’s a career that was riddled with injuries, including six concussions, and some believe his chances at entering the Hall of Fame have been damaged by his last four largely unproductive seasons. Who else might want to quit while they’re ahead?

Patrice Brisebois, Montreal: “Breeze-By” is on his last legs, but at least he gets to go out with his original NHL team.

Doug Weight, St. Louis: Just three assists in 13 games for the 15-year veteran.

Martin Gelinas, Nashville: The last active NHL player involved in the first Wayne Gretzky trade. Currently out with an eye injury.

Bobby Holik, Atlanta: You know the Thrashers are in trouble when their captain only gets 14 minutes of ice time.

Owen Nolan, Calgary: Two assists in 15 games. Has it really been 10 years since he called that goal at the All-Star Game?

I’ll leave you with some hockey nostalgia: A Wayne Gretzky career highlights video. Enjoy.