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Poll: NHL players in favor of keeping series-style schedule

Lars Baron / National Hockey League / Getty

Although the 2020-21 season was an unconventional one, there's one aspect of the campaign players want to keep.

According to the results of the 2020-21 NHLPA Player Poll released on Thursday, 66.3% of players are in favor of keeping series-style schedules. The mini-series were added specifically for the condensed season, but players clearly enjoyed the benefits of less travel and more rest.

However, the biggest change of the 2020-21 season, the temporary realignment, did not go over well with the players. Among 447 votes, 68.2% said they didn't want to see regional divisions moving forward. Fortunately for the majority, the NHL is aiming to return to the normal Atlantic, Metro, Central, and Pacific Divisions next season.

Here are the rest of the results from the poll:

On-ice

Who is the best goal-scorer?

Claus Andersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Player Vote %
Auston Matthews 46.27
Alex Ovechkin 33.82
David Pastrnak 6.02
Connor McDavid 4.56

Who is the best defenseman?

Player Vote %
Victor Hedman 64.71
Roman Josi 7.35
Cale Makar 7.35
Drew Doughty 2.73
John Carlson 2.10

Who is the best goalie?

Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Player Vote %
Andrei Vasilevskiy 54.12
Marc-Andre Fleury 8.88
Carey Price 8.25
Connor Hellebuyck 5.07
Tuukka Rask 4.02

Who is the most complete player?

Player Vote %
Sidney Crosby 23.78
Patrice Bergeron 23.78
Aleksander Barkov 14.65
Connor McDavid 7.22
Nathan MacKinnon 5.52
Anze Kopitar 4.46

If you need to win one game, who is the one player (any position) you would want on your team?

Darcy Finley / National Hockey League / Getty
Player Vote %
Connor McDavid 36.74
Sidney Crosby 23.04
Nathan MacKinnon 5.87
Patrice Bergeron 4.57
Andre Vasilevskiy 4.57
Patrick Kane 3.48

Who has the best shot?

Player Vote %
Alex Ovechkin 48.95
Auston Matthews 28.78
Shea Weber 5.04
Patrik Laine 2.94
Nathan MacKinnon 1.89
David Pastrnak 1.89

Who is the best stick-handler?

Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Player Vote %
Patrick Kane 49.48
Connor McDavid 25.79
Nathan MacKinnon 7.55
Auston Matthews 2.52
Mathew Barzal 1.47
Aleksander Barkov 1.26

Who is the best passer?

Player Vote %
Nicklas Backstrom 20.72
Patrick Kane 20.30
Leon Draisaitl 18.39
Connor McDavid 9.73
Mitch Marner 5.71
Sidney Crosby 4.23

Player personality

Who is the most superstitious player?

Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
Player Vote %
Sidney Crosby 27.35
Michael Frolik 5.09
Andrew Cogliano 4.83
Corey Perry 4.56
Samuel Girard 2.95

Which player is the most fashionable?

Player Vote %
Auston Matthews 21.16
David Pastrnak 11.08
P.K. Subban 6.55
Henrik Lundqvist 5.04
Kris Letang 4.53
Roope Hintz 2.52

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