The Puck Stops Here

Since there is very little action in hockey today, and also since I want to stay out of the "he said/ she said" battle that has gone on between Bettman and Goodenow regarding the events of last weekend (which one is the she?) - other than to say its really a shame that the sport we love so much has come down to public bickering for the sake of bickering, I decided I would try to find other hockey things that might be more fun to discuss. I think its best to dive into the history of hockey for topics. But I need to find a few topics that are worth discussing and are timeless - in that discussing them now makes sense.

First such topic is to make an all time hockey team. This team has 12 forwards, 6 defenceman and 2 goalies. Its an all time all star team. I don't want to try to project forward any currently active players (because inevitably the projections will be wrong) - so I will stick to players who have retired or nearly completed their careers. With no further ado, here is my team:

Forwards:
Wayne Gretzky
Mario Lemieux
Gordie Howe
Maurice Richard
Jean Beliveau
Bobby Hull
Guy Lafleur
Phil Esposito
Mike Bossy
Ted Lindsay
Mark Messier
Steve Yzerman

Defencemen:
Bobby Orr
Doug Harvey
Eddie Shore
Ray Bourque
Larry Robinson
Paul Coffey

Goaltenders:
Patrick Roy
Terry Sawchuk