The National Hockey League's new guard is becoming more apparent by the day. After nearly a decade of dominance, franchise superstars Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are no longer the sport's only top dogs — that's not to say the two are slowing down, as both are having incredible trophy-worthy campaigns. Crosby is currently in search of his third Stanley Cup ring in a row, and 32-year-old Ovie just potted an NHL-leading 49 goals this season.
However, this past calendar year has truly shown that, much like the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball, the NHL is finally stacked with elite-level talent. The easiest way to notice this trend is through the year-end jersey sales, where new fan favourites rise to the top of the chart. Of course to no one's surprise, the usual suspects all have a spot in the top 15 sellers, but there's also some welcome new faces on the list this time around.
As per the NHL's press release, these numbers are pulled from jersey manufacturing company Fanatics, which sells the league's authentic replica threads. Leafs young gun, Auston Matthews and Sid the Kid took the first and second spot respectively. There were five newcomers this year including Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and Caps winger TJ Oshie. You can take a peek at the full rundown below.
1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
4. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
5. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
6. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
7. Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers
8. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
9. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
10. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
11. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
12. T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
13. Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
14. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
15. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
