Is Jamie Benn the Best LW in the NHL?
By Jordan Dix
Recently, the experts at NHL.com voted Jamie Benn as the top left-wing in the NHL right now. It’s pretty hard to disagree, considering all of the things that Jamie Benn does on the ice. Who else joins him in that upper echelon of left-wingers? Zach Parise is up there with the way he plays, Taylor Hall was tied for 6th in NHL scoring despite being on a bad Edmonton Oilers team, and Patrick Sharp who finished 12th in NHL scoring this past season. For this article, I won’t be looking at players like Alex Ovechkin and Joe Pavelski, who play multiple positions at times and therefore have limited playing time at left-wing. Instead I will focus on players who played almost exclusively at left-wing this past season and who deserves to be called the best.
Offense
If we look at exclusively offensive output, Taylor Hall edges Jamie Benn by a point. Obviously that isn’t the only factor in deciding who is the best at a particular position, but it is a good starting point. Hall finished a point above Benn and two points ahead of Sharp despite playing fewer games than each of them. Hall also lead all left-wingers in assists this season with 53, eight more than Benn’s 45, who came in second. Keeping the trend going, Hall lead everyone in even-strength points as well with 62, five better than second place Jamie Benn’s 57. Hall’s 1.07 points per game were only matched by Henrik Zetterberg, who played 30 fewer games than Hall. The numbers just don’t lie, as Taylor Hall was clearly the best offensive left-winger in the NHL this season despite being on an Oiler team that was 24th in goals scored. Point production isn’t everything that is looked at, however.
Defense
To be a complete player in the NHL you have to be solid your own end as well. This includes general defensive coverage, takeaways, and not turning the puck over. Looking strictly at takeaways, guess who we see at the top again? Taylor Hall lead all left-wingers with 76 while Jamie Benn landed in second once again with 70. Turnovers, however, is what finally costs Taylor Hall. He had 100 giveaways this past season which is a whopping 29 more than Milan Lucic who gave it away the second-most with 71. Jamie Benn slots in at third with 68 giveaways. Benn was 5th in the league for left-wingers with 60 blocked shots, which is significantly higher than anyone who even comes close to matching his point production. When it comes to playing well defensively, I have to give the edge to Jamie Benn over any other left-winger who is close to his point production.
Leadership
Out of the current 23 captains in the NHL, 4 of them are left-wingers. Jamie Benn, Henrik Zetterberg, Gabriel Landeskog, and Andrew Ladd. The leadership factor has to come into play when considering who is the best at a position in this league. In Benn’s first season as captain of the Dallas Stars, he lead them to their first playoff berth in five years and was by far their best player in the postseason. When looking at leadership, you also have to look at how players lead a team into a difficult environment. Patrick Marleau lead all left-wingers with 42 road points, followed closely by Benn and Sharp with 37 a piece. Having the captaincy is a huge responsibility and Benn, Zetterberg, and Landeskog were among the best with it.
My Final Rankings
Attempting to be completely objective, I have to give Jamie Benn the edge as the current best left-winger in the game. That is about where my agreement with the NHL.com rankings comes to an end. I put Jamie Benn just slightly above Taylor Hall, and that is strictly because of the leadership and the overall defensive ability of Benn. In terms of pure offense, Hall and Benn are neck and neck, and an argument could easily be made that Hall is slightly better than Benn offensively. Following Hall for me is Henrik Zetterberg. Even though he only played 45 games this past season, he put up 48 points those games which tied Hall for the most points per game for left-wingers. He also had a humongous part to play when it came to leading the injury-ridden Detroit Red Wings to the playoffs. After Zetterberg comes the young Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. A power-forward who plays in all situations, Landeskog finished a +21 with 65 points. He is only going to get better as he is just 21 years old. Rounding out my top-five is the veteran Patrick Marleau. He was fourth among left-wingers in points, fifth in goals, and seventh in takeaways. He’s still got it and he has been one the reasons the San Jose Sharks have been so successful in the regular season. Three of the top five, Benn, Hall, and Landeskog, have yet to even reach their prime. They will certainly be the three to watch in coming years in the NHL.
Who do you think deserves to be called the best LW in the game? Leave your comments below!