NHL Draft: Top three first overall picks from the 1990s

The 1990s were a great decade for the NHL. Let’s take a look at the best first overall picks in the NHL Draft from that decade.

Continuing on with our series of the best first overall NHL Draft picks from each decade, today’s article is going over the top 3 first overall picks of the 1990s.

This list was much different than the 2000’s and 2010’s pieces, as the 1990s did not have nearly as much star power as the two more recent decades. In fact, two players that went first overall in the 1990s in Alexandre Daigle (1993) and Patrik Stefan (1999) are regarded as some of the biggest draft busts of all-time.

There still were, however, some very talented players taken with the first pick in that decade. Here are the top three.

It is sometimes hard to remember just how dominant Vincent Lecavalier was during his prime. The Quebec native played in a total of 1,212 NHL regular season games, the majority of which came with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Near the end of his career he spent some time with the Philadelphia Flyers, and also had a short stint with the Los Angeles Kings, which ended up being the final team he played for.

The former Lightning captain had some dominate years in Tampa, which included winning a Maurice Richard Trophy after his 52 goal, 108-point 06-07 season.

He also played a big role in the Lightning’s first and only Stanley Cup Championship (2003-04) to date, putting up 32 goals and 64 points that season, and an additional nine goals and 16 points in 23 playoff games.

His Lightning career came to a disappointing end when the team decided to buyout his 11-year contract which still had seven years remaining. Although it made sense from a salary cap perspective, it was certainly not Lecavalier’s fault as he posted 32 points in 39 games during the lockout shortened 2012-13 season.

He would go on to play for both the Flyers and the Kings, but was never able to produce anywhere near the offense he had in Tampa for so many years. His last season came in 2015-16, and although it felt like a disappointing ending it was still a fantastic career.

He ended up with 421 goals and 528 assists for 949 points, and 26 goals and 56 points in 75 playoff games. Lecavalier was a fantastic pick for the Lightning and will forever be regarded as one of their best players of all-time.

2. Eric Lindros (1991, Quebec Nordiques)

Regarded as one of the most dominant power forwards of all-time, Eric Lindros was a fantastic first overall draft pick. Though the Nordiques drafted him, management and fans alike never got to witness him play for their team as he demanded a trade immediately after being drafted.

Lindros was eventually dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers, were he almost immediately became an NHL superstar. When his time with the Flyers was all said and done, he had put up an incredible 290 goals and 369 assists for 659 points. Those numbers are great in their own right, but even more impressive when you realize he only played in 486 games.

Lindros had many great seasons with the Flyers, none better than the 1995-96 season in which he put up 47 goals and 68 assists for 115 points. Those numbers secured him a Hart Trophy along with a Lester B. Pearson Trophy. He also put up 57 playoff points in 50 games as a member of the Flyers. Unfortunately, Lindros struggled with concussions during his time in Philadelphia, which resulted in many missed games over the years.

After eight seasons with the Flyers, his relationship with team management soured after he felt they had misdiagnosed some of his concussions, and as a result he sat out the 2000-01 season in hopes of a trade.

He eventually got his wish and was dealt to the New York Rangers, who he spent three seasons with. He also played one season each with Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars, but was not the same dominant player he had been with the Flyers.

Once it was all said and done, Lindros appeared in 760 regular season games, posting 372 goals and 493 assists for 865 goals. His concussions robbed him of becoming one of the best players of all time, but he still had a spectacular career, and was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.

Joe Thornton, more commonly known as Jumbo Joe, was taken first overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1997 draft. His career started off quite poorly, as he posted just seven points in 55 games during his rookie campaign. It didn’t take him long to turn things around however. Five seasons later, Thornton posted 36 goals and 65 assists for a then career high 101 points.

His problem with the Bruins was a lack of playoff production. The following season after his 101-point outbreak, he put up 73 points in 77 games but was completely shutdown in the playoffs, recording zero points in seven games.

Bruins management started to grow weary on whether or not he could bring the team to a Stanley Cup Championship, and traded him to the San Jose Sharks 23 games into the 2005-06 season, despite already having 33 points at the time.

He went on to play 58 games for the Sharks that season, posting 92 points. His season totals gave him 125 points, which was good enough to capture both the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy. He is now in his 15th season with the Sharks, and although he is starting to slow down, he still has a respectable 31 points on the year. The NHL pause puts a question on Thornton’s career, seeing as even if the league were to resume play, the Sharks are nowhere near a playoff position.

One certainly hopes this isn’t the last we have seen of Thornton in the NHL, but if it is it has been an incredible career. In 1,636 career regular season games, he has posted 420 goals and 1,089 assists for 1,509 points. His point total has him sitting 14th all time, while his assists total has him at seventh all-time.

Unfortunately, he has not been able to win a Stanley Cup, but make no mistake, he is a first ballot Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the best playmakers of all time. This pick by the Bruins was not only the best first overall pick of the 1990s, but one of the best first overall picks of all time.