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Lisa Gansky, Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who are the top American-born players in NHL history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Frank Brimsek: one of the NHL’s first great American-born players, Brimsek won the Calder Trophy as well as a pair of Vezina Trophies while leading the Boston Bruins to two Stanley Cup titles in the pre-World War II era.
9. Phil Housley: the highest-scoring American-born defenseman in NHL history, Housley racked up 1,232 career points during a 21-year career across eight teams; he was the highest-scoring American-born player period until surpassed by Mike Modano.
8. Joe Mullen: the first American-born player with 500 career goals (503) and 1,000 career points (1,063), Mullen also won the Lady Byng Trophy twice and was part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams.
7. Keith Tkachuk: one of the best power forwards in league history, Tkachuk was the first American-born player to lead the league in goals scored (52 in 1996-1997) en route to 538 career goals and 1,065 career points.
6. Jeremy Roenick: the third American-born player with 500 career goals (after Mullen and Mike Modano), Roenick was a consistently great forward for nearly two decades, finishing with career totals of 513 goals and 1,216 points.
5. Pat LaFontaine: though his career was plagued by concussion issues, LaFontaine was electrifying when healthy, including a 148-point season in 1992-1993, and has the highest points-per-game average among American-born players.
4. Brian Leetch: the Conn Smythe winner during the New York Rangers’ 1993-1994 Stanley Cup run, Leetch was also a Calder and 2x Norris Trophy winner who put up over 1,000 career points from the blue line.
3. Chris Chelios: one of the NHL’s all-time iron men, Chelios was a 3x Norris Trophy winner who played more career games than any other defenseman and appeared a record 24x in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
2. Mike Modano: currently the NHL’s all-time leader in goals and points scored by an American-born player, Modano spent all but one season of his career with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise and amassed 561 goals and 813 assists for 1,374 career points.
1. Patrick Kane: perhaps the greatest American player ever, Kane was the first US-born player to win the Hart and Ross Trophies and has won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks while amassing over 1,000 career points.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: While Brett Hull played for Team USA internationally, he was born in Canada and has dual citizenship and thus is not included as part of this list.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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