Now that the days left in the season are whittled down to single digits and teams are clinching playoff berths or a place in the lottery, it offers us an opportunity to take a look around the league and wonder which one player on each team is the most important one to them for the immediate future.
Is it the player who piles up goals and points to such a degree that it feels like it would be hopeless without them? What about the defenseman who plays more than 20 minutes per game and silences the opposing attackers?