I'm pretty sure adding spoiler tags would just be a waste of everybody's time. You all know who I'm taking. The best player in the game today when healthy, the KID, Sidney Crosby.
I could author a lengthy write up, but why bother? There's only one argument to be made against him in this kind of format, and it all comes down to his health, which is admittedly a very real concern. What I'll say though, is that if you objectively look at the injuries that have sidelined him over the last few years, you'll see that he's simply had rotten luck. Without fluke injuries setting him back, he'd have been a runaway Hart winner in two of the last three seasons, and in 09-10 he had a very strong case as well. Despite the injuries, he's come back strong every single time and shown next to nothing in the way of regression. And again, I am confident given the random nature of his injuries that he is not as significant of a health risk as many would lead you to believe. He almost never takes direct shots anywhere, especially in open ice, and his freakishly strong lower body combined with his elusiveness and pure skating ability make him very difficult for defenseman to target along the boards.
I'm sure Murs will roll his eyes when I bring this up but I will anyways because it's absolutely a valid point. Crosby has played most of his career with mediocre wingers 5v5. Which isn't to say that he would have put up otherworldly numbers with star talent flanking him every shift, but it does allow me to focus more on other aspects of my team knowing that Crosby's line will be rolling whether I have stars alongside him or not as long as his wingers compliment his up-tempo style.