The selection used here reflects Hits and Takeaways that result in an offensive chance (shot, goal, missed shot, or blocked shot against) within the next 10 seconds, for the current season up through the All-Star break.
Chris Neil, OTT | 20 |
Craig Adams, CAR | 17 |
Antii Miettinen, DAL | 17 |
Matt Cooke, VAN | 16 |
Alexander Ovechkin, WSH | 14 |
Erik Cole, CAR | 14 |
Shane Doan, PHX | 14 |
Trent Hunter, NYI | 13 |
Ryan Hollweg, NYR | 13 |
Blair Betts, NYR | 13 |
Mike Fisher, OTT | 13 |
Jeff O'Neill, TOR | 12 |
Patrick Rissmiller, SJS | 12 |
Chad Kilger, TOR | 12 |
Sean Hill, NYI | 11 |
Patrick Eaves, OTT | 11 |
Jordin Tootoo, NSH | 11 |
The usual cast of spear-carriers fills the list here, along with a few elite scorers who aren't afraid to get their noses dirty...
Tomas Plekanec, MTL | 17 |
Alexander Perezhogin, MTL | 15 |
Tyler Arnason, COL | 14 |
Alexander Semin, WSH | 14 |
Marian Hossa, ATL | 14 |
Pavel Datsyuk, DET | 14 |
Andrei Markov, MTL | 13 |
Martin St. Louis, TAM | 13 |
Justin Williams, CAR | 13 |
Alexander Ovechkin, WSH | 12 |
Sheldon Souray, MTL | 12 |
Eric Belanger, CAR | 12 |
Dany Heatley, OTT | 12 |
Simon Gagne, PHI | 12 |
Saku Koivu, MTL | 12 |
Methinks either the official scorer in Montreal has a itchy trigger finger on the Takeaway button, or kleptomania is taught as a core piece of their hockey scheme.
Alexander Ovechkin, WSH | 26 |
Chris Neil, OTT | 24 |
Marian Hossa, ATL | 23 |
Patrick Eaves, OTT | 22 |
Mike Fisher, OTT | 22 |
Erik Cole, CAR | 20 |
Antii Miettinen, DAL | 20 |
Shane Doan, PHX | 20 |
Trent Hunter, NYI | 19 |
Tomas Plekanec, MTL | 19 |
Matt Cooke, VAN | 19 |
Fernando Pisani, EDM | 17 |
Craig Adams, CAR | 17 |
Martin St. Louis, TAM | 17 |
Blair Betts, NYR | 17 |
Jarret Stoll, EDM | 17 |
Eric Staal, CAR | 17 |
Comparing against last year's leaders, we find many of the same players among our current rankings, in particular Alex Ovechkin, Trent Hunter, Chris Neil, and Marian Hossa. Probably the biggest name to drop off this list is Brendan Morrow from the Dallas Stars, who posted 35 such chances, tied for second-best in the NHL. When he was promoted to team captain during the offseason, his style of play was singled-out as an example for the rest of the team to follow. This year, however, with only 8 such chances generated, he's on track to produce less than half as many as he did all last season.