Best Players to Memorize for Grid Games (Cheat Sheet)

Multi-Team Superstars: Your Swiss Army Knives

Elite players who moved between multiple franchises are grid gold. They satisfy team combinations while also hitting award and stat threshold requirements, giving you multiple uses per player before the no-repeat rule kicks in.

Jaromir Jagr: The Ultimate Grid Answer

Jagr's career touches almost everything:

• Teams: Pittsburgh, Washington, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, New Jersey, Florida, Calgary
• Awards: Art Ross trophies, Hart finalists, All-Star appearances
• Stats: 500+ goals, 1,000+ points, scoring titles
• Eras: 1990s superstar through 2010s depth player

If a cell involves scoring achievements, multiple teams, or longevity, Jagr probably fits. He's arguably the single most valuable player to memorize for hockey grids.

Other Multi-Team Stars to Know

Phil Housley (defense):

• Eight different teams over 21 seasons
• 1,200+ games, 300+ goals as a defenseman
• Hall of Fame inductee with multiple All-Star games
• Covers many team pairings other defensemen don't touch

Mike Gartner (forward):

• 700+ goals across Washington, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Toronto, Phoenix
• Consistent 30-40 goal scorer who moved frequently
• Hall of Fame without a Cup (notable for trivia)
• Covers 1980s and 1990s team combinations

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Classic Journeymen: The Depth Chart Heroes

Players who bounced between many teams without superstar status are essential for obscure team × team cells. These journeymen often provide the only correct answer when star players never connected two specific franchises.

The All-Time Team-Hopper

Mike Sillinger holds the record:

• Played for 12 different NHL teams
• Never a star but had a long, productive career
• Appeared in 1,000+ games across 17 seasons
• When you're stuck on an obscure team pairing, try Sillinger first

If you can't think of anyone else for a weird team combination, Sillinger is your Hail Mary guess that's right more often than you'd expect.

Other Valuable Journeymen

Lee Stempniak:

• Seven teams over 13 seasons
• 500+ games with scoring touch (200+ points)
• Played for Calgary, Toronto, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New Jersey, Boston, Carolina
• Useful for 2010s team combinations

Dominic Moore:

• Ten different NHL teams
• Defensive specialist who moved constantly
• Appeared in 897 games with consistent role
• Covers many 2000s and 2010s team pairings

Thomas Vanek:

• Eight teams including Buffalo, Minnesota, New York Islanders, Montreal, Detroit, Florida, Columbus, Vancouver
• 400+ goals and near point-per-game player
• Moved frequently despite being productive scorer
• Bridges star and journeyman categories perfectly

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Award "Face Cards": Your Trophy Winners

Memorizing major award winners by team gives you instant answers for award-based cells. You don't need every winner ever, just the biggest names who won multiple times or with multiple teams.

Hart Trophy / MVP Winners

Core group to memorize:

• Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton, Los Angeles, multiple wins)
• Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh, multiple wins)
• Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh, two-time winner)
• Alexander Ovechkin (Washington, three-time winner)
• Connor McDavid (Edmonton, multiple wins already)

These five players cover most Hart Trophy cells. Add a few historical winners (Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Bobby Clarke) and you're set for nearly any Hart combination.

Norris Trophy Winners (Best Defenseman)

Essential defensemen:

• Bobby Orr (Boston, eight wins)
• Denis Potvin (New York Islanders, three wins)
• Paul Coffey (Edmonton, multiple wins)
• Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit, seven wins)
• Erik Karlsson (Ottawa, San Jose, two wins)

Knowing just these five covers the vast majority of Norris cells in grids.

Vezina Trophy Winners (Best Goalie)

Key goaltenders:

• Jacques Plante (Montreal, multiple wins)
• Ken Dryden (Montreal, multiple wins)
• Patrick Roy (Montreal, Colorado, multiple wins)
• Martin Brodeur (New Jersey, multiple wins)
• Dominik Hasek (Buffalo, Detroit, multiple wins)

Roy and Brodeur are especially valuable because they played for multiple teams or appeared in different eras.

Read more: All 32 NHL Teams Ranked by Offense (2025-2026 Season)

Stat-Threshold Clusters: Milestone Members

Players who crossed major statistical milestones appear in many grids. You don't need to know every member of each club, just enough to have options for different team combinations.

500+ Goal Club

The most commonly tested milestone:

• Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Brett Hull
• Mario Lemieux, Alex Ovechkin, Mike Gartner, Mark Messier
• Steve Yzerman, Teemu Selanne, Jarome Iginla, Joe Sakic

Twelve names give you coverage for virtually any 500-goal cell. Focus on players who moved teams (Jagr, Gartner, Hull, Selanne) over one-team stars (Yzerman, Sakic) unless the team matches.

1,000+ Point Club

Overlaps heavily with goal scorers but includes some playmakers:

• Most first-ballot Hall of Famers reached 1,000 points
• Focus on players from teams that appear in grids frequently
• Include some defensemen (Coffey, Bourque, MacInnis)
• Playmakers like Adam Oates, Joe Thornton, Ron Francis

This list is longer (nearly 100 players) so focus on players who touched multiple franchises.

Single-Season Achievements

Players who hit major single-season marks:

• 50+ goals in a season (somewhat exclusive club)
• 100+ points in a season (smaller group)
• 60+ goals in a season (very rare)

Knowing who reached these thresholds and for which teams covers many stat-based cells.

Relocation / Expansion Anchors

When grids feature relocated or expansion franchises, knowing the stars who were there during the original location provides instant answers.

Nordiques/Avalanche Connection

Key players:

• Joe Sakic (entire career from Quebec to Colorado)
• Peter Forsberg (drafted by Quebec, starred in Colorado)
• Peter Stastny (Quebec superstar before relocation)
• Mats Sundin (early Quebec years before Toronto trade)

These four cover most Quebec Nordiques cells in grids.

Whalers/Hurricanes Connection

Essential names:

• Ron Francis (Whalers captain, all-time great)
• Rod Brind'Amour (later Whalers, became Hurricanes star)
• Kevin Dineen (Whalers star)
• Gordie Howe (played final NHL season with Whalers)

Francis and Brind'Amour bridge the relocation particularly well.

Original Jets/Coyotes Connection

Players to remember:

• Dale Hawerchuk (original Jets franchise player)
• Teemu Selanne (76-goal rookie season in Winnipeg)
• Thomas Steen (entire career with original Jets)
• Keith Tkachuk (early Coyotes star after relocation)

Hawerchuk and Selanne are the most valuable since both had Hall of Fame careers.

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Building Your Personal Cheat Sheet

Customize this list based on grids you actually play:

• Track which players you wish you'd known after seeing solutions
• Note which teams appear most frequently in your grids
• Focus on players from those franchises
• Build lists of 10-15 players per common category

Your personal cheat sheet should reflect the grids you play most often rather than trying to know everything about every possible combination.

The 80/20 Rule for Grid Games

This principle applies perfectly to grid gaming:

• 20% of players provide 80% of grid answers
• Focus on multi-team stars, journeymen, and award winners
• Don't waste time memorizing one-team depth players
• Build coverage across teams, eras, and achievement types

The 50-100 players on this cheat sheet give you enough coverage to complete most grids while leaving room to discover obscure answers through actual gameplay rather than exhaustive memorization.

Read more: NHL Betting: The Ultimate Guide for the 2025/2026 Hockey Season

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