Sidney Crosby
Jean Beliveau
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Sidney Crosby leads 3 of 5 categories. Our all-time ranking places Sidney Crosby at #5 and Jean Beliveau at #8.
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The case for Sidney Crosby
The most complete player of his generation, Sidney Crosby has carried the Pittsburgh Penguins and Canadian hockey for two decades. Drafted first overall in 2005 amid impossible hype as The Next One, he delivered: three Stanley Cups (2009, 2016, 2017), two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP, two Hart Trophies, and the 2010 Olympic gold medal, which he clinched with the Golden Goal in overtime against the United States, the most famous goal in Canadian hockey since 1972. Through the 2024-25 season he has amassed more than 1,650 points and over 600 goals, and remains a point-per-game player deep into his thirties. Crosby's genius is his two-way command and his puck protection down low, where his low centre of gravity and strength make him nearly impossible to dislodge. A relentless competitor and a model captain, he elevated the Penguins into a modern dynasty and stands as the defining North American star of the post-lockout era, bridging the game's past and present.
The case for Jean Beliveau
Regal, powerful and impossibly graceful, Jean Beliveau captained the Montreal Canadiens through the most successful era any franchise has known. He won ten Stanley Cups as a player, more than anyone in history except his teammate Henri Richard, and lifted seven more as a club executive, putting his name on the Cup a record 17 times. Le Gros Bill scored 507 goals and 1,219 points, won two Hart Trophies and the inaugural Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1965, and did it all with a dignity that made him one of hockey's most respected figures long after retirement. A big centre at a time when the position was being redefined, he combined a scorer's touch with a playmaker's vision and a leader's presence. Beliveau declined an offer to become Governor General of Canada, so revered was he. On the ice, his elegant stride and commanding two-way game set the template for the complete franchise centre that every organization has sought ever since.