Wayne Gretzky

First, Sidney Crosby was dubbed the “Next One.” Then, Alex Ovechkin was dubbed “The Great Eight.”

It seems like we are all just waiting for the next greatest hockey player and the fact of the matter is, we are never going to see it.

We’ll see some exceptional hockey players throughout the years, but no one quite like Wayne Gretzky and therefore fitting of sharing his nickname.

There may not be a sport that is more closely associated with its country than Canada and hockey. 

Whether it's the national team or club teams, Canadians are always proud of their stick wielding, puck handling heroes.

For the most part, Canadian hockey fans think of all hockey players fondly, unless of course they play on a rival team, but they hold their own kin most closely in their hearts.

Canada has had the greatest crop of hockey players to come out of one country. That fact then raises the  question - who are the greatest of the great?

Sidney Crosby: The young, phenomenal center for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Wayne Gretzky: The greatest player in NHL history.

Who is better? (And did I just answer my own question in that description?)

Let me ask a better question: Seriously?!

For the record, it is Gretzky. Take an honest moment, and shout out the better all-time player between the two.

How about this for a tall task?

Wayne Gretzky was the single greatest hockey player of all time. His list of accomplishments is jaw dropping. Most impressive, perhaps, is the 894 goals the Great One piled up during his 20 NHL seasons, which ranks first all time.

At this time of year on the hockey calendar, the news is pretty bare. Other than the occasional (and usually erroneous) trade rumor, most of the stories about free agents signed after July 1 have run their course, and the arbitration battles between players and their clubs are still about a week away.

Brady and Moss both had great 2007 seasons, but were they good enough to crack the top 20?

The athletes on this list had absolutely amazing and dominant seasons. There are some names you know will be on this list and there may be some you did not expect.

When it comes to uniforms, hockey is different than the other three major sports. Unlike basketball and football, the front of the jersey has only a logo instead of a number taking up most of the space (well...most of the time). Unlike baseball, each hockey team has a white jersey and a colored jersey instead of a white jersey and a gray jersey.

Anytime you make an "all-time" list of anything sports related, you better have thick skin as a writer.  Comparing players from different generations remains an elusive endeavor and a daunting task. 

How you handicap modern day changes such as nutrition, training, health care, and equipment technology?  What about the infusion of world talent in the NHL game?  How much weight is given to coaching styles and rule changes?

I knew I wouldn’t last long stating that Wayne Gretzky was one of the main sources of the Coyotes Downfall without backing it up.

I did some digging around news reports from 2009 to try to get the reports and quotes as close to the “Great One’s” departure from coaching as I could. The AP story posted on ESPN.com on September 25, 2009 was the most thorough story that was released just after Gretzky stepped down.

You might have looked at this title and wondered, "What is the Wayne Gretzky Trophy?"  So before I confuse anybody let me just state off the top that such an award doesn't exist.

But it should.

Every day from now until the awards ceremony, you will hear constant so-called experts telling you who should win the Hart Trophy, the league MVP. Will it be Daniel Sedin?   Steven Stamkos? Tim Thomas? Or someone else?