Craig Janney: Passing Fancy

Wayne Gretzky is without doubt the greatest playmaker of all time. Now Craig Janney certainly isn't the second best of all time, but he may have been the second best of his era. Adam Oates and Doug Gilmour also deserve recognition as the best set up man not named Gretzky in the 1990s.

Janney was the puck feeder for some great players, most notably Cam Neely in Boston and Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan in St. Louis. He was an extraordinary puck master, creating space for his line mates with slick moves. He possessed great hockey sense, much like Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle.

Janney was quick to dish off acclaim as he is to dish off the puck.

"I've been pretty fortunate to play with some terrific goal scorers," said the unpretentious center. "The guys who pass the puck are only as good as the guys who put it in the net. That's the real hard job, the scoring. I've been fortunate to play with guys like Neely, Hull and Shanahan."

Full Craig Janney Biography