Iginla, Thornton, Chara among first six named to NHL Quarter-Century Team
The first six players of the NHL Quarter-Century Team have been revealed. Jerome Iginla, Joe Sakic, Nicklas Lidstrom, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara and Teemu Selanne are the first set of headliners for the team, the league announced on Thursday.
The first six players of the NHL Quarter-Century Team have been revealed.
Jarome Iginla, Nicklas Lidstrom, Joe Sakic, Zdeno Chara, Teemu Selanne and Joe Thornton, who all debuted before 2000, were named to the team by the league on Thursday.
From 2000 to 2017, Iginla registered 556 goals and 1,148 points in 1,285 games. In the 2001-02 season, the former Calgary Flames captain led the league in goals (52) and points (96) while winning the Ted Lindsay Award.
Lidstrom racked up 691 points on Detroit’s blue line from 2000 to 2012. The Swede won four Stanley Cups in his career — including two this century — and was named one of the NHL’s Greatest 100 Players in 2017.
Sakic captained the Avalanche for 17 seasons and led the way with 244 goals and 639 points in 567 games from 2000 to 2009. He also posted 96 points in 94 post-season games and helped the Avs win their first two Stanley Cups (1996, 2001).
The hulking Chara was always a menacing presence on the ice. Standing six-foot-nine and weighing 250 pounds, the longtime Bruins defenceman helped the team win a Stanley Cup and took home the Norris Trophy in the 2008-09 season.
Selanne helped lead the Ducks to the franchise’s lone Stanley Cup in 2007 while scoring 356 goals in the 2000s. The Finnish Flash was also named of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players alongside Lidstrom.
Thornton played a whopping 1,541 regular season games this quarter-century between the Bruins, Sharks, Maple Leafs and Panthers, racking up 402 goals and 1,057 assists. During the ’05-’06 season, Thornton became the only player in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy in a year he was traded.
The Quarter-Century Team honours the top 25 players of the last 25 years (2000-2025), voted on by hockey fans. The team reveal continues Friday.
