Bucci’s top 20 American-born hockey players: Where Patrick Kane, Mike Modano, others rank all time

The year is 2040. The NHL adds it’s 35th and 36th teams with the addition of the Atlanta Grits and the Kansas City Ribeyes. Alex Ovechkin announces the upcoming 2040-41 season will be his last at age 56. He enters the season with 1,287 career goals. This is also the final season for United States-born forwards Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. Matthews spent the last 10 years of his career with the homestate Arizona Coyotes, while Eichel spent the entirety of his with the Buffalo Sabres and won two Stanley Cups.

I’m now 74 years old. I still religiously get in my Dan Uggla wrist curls (50 sets of 50) regimen and still contribute to ESPN when called upon. So before I head out for my morning pickleball match with Darren Pang down in Naples, Florida, I sent in my top 20 American-born NHL players (sorry, Brett Hull, Canadian-born Americans are ineligible here).