3 active players who should have cracked the NHL 100

The NHL honored its 100 greatest players Friday, tying together a century's worth of the game's best in a glamorous ceremony in Los Angeles.

On the list were six active NHLers: The ageless Jaromir Jagr, the core trio of the Chicago Blackhawks' modern dynasty in Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith, along with generational icons Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

While the aforementioned players have accomplished a great deal in their respective careers, there's certainly room for a few more active players on the list.

Here's the case for three current NHLers that should have been honored:

Evgeni Malkin

"Geno" should have been a lock.

It's easy to play second fiddle when you share a roster with Crosby, but Malkin has put together a Hall of Fame resume in 11 seasons with the Penguins, as one of the most consistent scorers hockey has ever seen.

Malkin's 1.178 points per game (814 points in 691 contests) ranks 14th all time. Not to mention, he's recorded 129 points in 124 playoff games.

He's a three-time first-team All-Star with two Stanley Cups, while his trophy case includes the Calder, the Conn Smythe, two Art Ross Trophies, the Hart, and the Ted Lindsay Award. A friendly reminder: he's 30-years-old.

Jarome Iginla

He's not producing like he used to, but Iginla's accomplishments speak themselves.

We'll get it out of the way: he hasn't won a Stanley Cup, we know, but capturing Lord Stanley is more a measurement of team than individual success.

Iginla has tallied 617 goals (16th) and 1,285 points (34th) in his career. He doesn't meet the points-per-game threshold, but only five players have logged 1,500-plus games and done so: Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, Jagr, and Steve Yzerman. All on the list.

Iginla had 11 consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals spanning from 2001-12, winning the "Rocket" Richard twice along the way. Add an Art Ross and a Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay), too. And if international success weighs into the equation, he's won two gold medals. He deserved a spot.

Joe Thornton

Thornton is the best playmaker of his generation, bar none.

By season's end, he'll be only the 13th player in league history to record 1,000 assists.

Thornton sits in 24th place - and counting - in points (1,372) and his 125-point, Hart Trophy-winning season in 2005-06 is the second-highest output by a player in the past 20 years.

Like Iginla, not winning a Stanley Cup probably kept him off the list, but Thornton is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, and warrants recognition as one of the best set-up men to ever take the ice.