There are a lot of talented forwards in the Eastern conference and some of them are very hard to rank. Where do I rank the top ten best forwards in the Eastern Conference? Let's find out.
10. Nicklas Backstrom, Detroit Red Wings: Backstrom is coming off yet another good season for the Capitals. He had 61 assists last season which was third in the NHL behind Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby. He should have another great season for Washington this year under new coach Barry Trotz.
9. Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings: This guy will be in the top ten until he retires. Zetterburg is coming off a really bad injury to his back a lot of last season. He's lucky he made it back in time for the playoffs. He should have a huge bounce back season for the Wings this year since he will be fully healthy. He'll also have Datsyuk and Nyquist as his linemates which is deadly.
8. Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs: Kessel is coming off another monster season despite missing the playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had 37 goals last season which was tied for fifth in the league and also had a good olympics for team USA even though they fell short of medals. If the Leafs want to make the playoffs this season, he's going to have to replicate what he did last season or things could turn ugly again in Toronto.
7. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers: Giroux started the season awful but rebounded to rack up 86 points last season and lead his team back to the playoffs after they didn't make it the year before. They may have a tougher time making the playoffs this season due to the division and how the defense is decimated because of Kimmo Timonen's potenttialy career ending blood clot injury. If the Flyers are going to make the playoffs, it will have to be because of Giroux.
6. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals: Ovechkin had another great goal scoring season for the Capitals as he topped the 50 goal mark again in his career. He also won the Rocket Richard trophy for the most goals in the NHL. If he wants to also get the Capitals back to the playoffs, he's going to have to lower that plus/minus rating (which was embarrasing at -35) and score over 50 goals this season which I'm sure he is very capable of doing.
5. John Tavares, New York Islanders: Normally Tavares would be higher but I'm being a little generous by putting him here for right now. He missed a lot of the season last year for the Islanders after he tore his ACL during the Olympics for team Canada. That really seemed to make Islanders GM Garth Snow mad since his team wouldn't be the same without him. He should put up great numbers for the Islanders this year much like he did in 2012-2013.
4. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins: Malkin is one of the best players in the world and for good reason. Not long ago he won the Hart trophy for MVP and Art Ross trophy for leading the league in scoring. Injuries derailed him a bit last season as he missed a little bit of time and just wasn't himself at times. He started to turn it up a notch in the playoffs when he netted a hat trick during game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He also had a couple great goals against the Rangers too. If he can stay healthy this season, he could have another great season.
3. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings: The "Magic Man" as some people call him is still one of the best players in the world despite his age. He can still dangle like no one else and put up some nice numbers. Like I mentioned above with Zetterburg, he will play with Z and Nyquist this season. Watch out folks.
2. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning: Stamkos was having an unbelievable season before he went down with a broken leg that sidelined him for a few months. He came back just in time for the playoffs and played well but it didn't mean much as they were swept in the first round by the Montreal Canadians. Stamkos could possibly win the Hart this year if he stays healthy. He can also challenge Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard as well.
1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins: Did any of you think I would put anyone else here than Sid? He's the best player in the East and the best player in the world. He's coming off an amazing year where he led the league in points and won the Art Ross, Ted Lindsay, and Hart trophies. He's going to need to be insane again this season and into the playoffs if he wants to win another cup.