Which NHL Team Has the Most Russian Players?
Contents
- NHL teams with the most Russian players
- The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Stanley Cup wins
- The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Calder Cup wins
- The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Hart Trophy winners
- The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Vezina Trophy winners
The NHL has had a long history of Russian players, with some of the game’s greatest ever coming from the country. But which team has the most Russian players on their roster?
NHL teams with the most Russian players
There are currently 14 Russian-born players in the NHL, spread out over 9 different teams. The Carolina Hurricanes have the most Russian players of any team in the league, with 3 on their roster. The Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks all have 2 Russians each on their rosters.
The other 5 NHL teams with at least 1 Russian player are the Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Of these 14 Russian NHLers, 3 are goalies, 9 are forwards, and 2 are defensemen.
Some of the more notable Russian NHLers include Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers (the leading scorer among all Russians in the league), Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the best goalie in the NHL).
The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Stanley Cup wins
research shows that the NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Stanley Cup wins. In fact, of the past 10 Stanley Cup winners, eight have had more Russian players than any other nationality on their roster.
The most recent Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals, have 11 Russians on their roster. In addition to Ovechkin, other key Russian contributors to the Capitals’ Stanley Cup run include Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov.
Previous Stanley Cup winners with a significant number of Russian players include the Pittsburgh Penguins (8), Chicago Blackhawks (6), Los Angeles Kings (5) and Boston Bruins (5). Of these teams, only the Blackhawks have won more than one Stanley Cup with a lineup featuring a large number of Russian players.
Interestingly, the two most recent Stanley Cup finalists, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning, do not Have as many Russians on their roster as some of the other teams that have been successful in recent years. The Golden Knights have just three Russians on their team, while the Lightning don’t Have any at all.
The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Calder Cup wins
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 active teams, of which 7 are located in Canada and 23 in the United States.
As of the 2019-20 season, there were 26 Russian players in the NHL, spread across 11 teams. The Carolina Hurricanes lead the way with 4 Russian players on their roster, while the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals all have 3 Russians each.
So which NHL team has the most Russian players? And does that team also happen to be the one with the most Calder Cup wins?
The answer is yes! The Blackhawks have won 6 Calder Cups, more than any other NHL team, and they also have 3 Russian players on their roster. In fact, all of the teams with 3 or more Russian players have won at least one Calder Cup.
So if you’re looking for a winning team with a strong Russian presence, your best bet is the Chicago Blackhawks!
The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Hart Trophy winners
The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Hart Trophy winners. This is because the majority of NHL teams have at least one Russian player on their roster, and those teams with the most Russian players tend to be the ones with the most successful seasons. In addition, the teams with the most Russian players also tend to be the ones that are the most competitive in terms of Stanley Cup appearances and wins.
The NHL teams with the most Russian players have the most Vezina Trophy winners
The National Hockey League (NHL) has seen a surge in the number of Russian players in recent years. In fact, Russians now make up the second-largest group of NHL players behind Canadians.
Not only are there more Russian players in the NHL, but they are also some of the league’s best players. In the last 10 years, Russians have won the Vezina Trophy (given to the NHL’s best goaltender) six times. They have also won the Hart Trophy (given to the league’s MVP) three times and the Art Ross Trophy (given to the league’s leading scorer) twice.
So which NHL teams have the most Russian players? The answer might surprise you.