Sidney Crosby voted top franchise player in ESPN player poll

ESPN's Craig Custance enlisted the help of 14 elite NHLers who came to the conclusion that Sidney Crosby (who else?) is the player best suited to build a franchise around.

Crosby received four of the 14 first-place ballots and finished with 19 points –11 more than the runner-up, Jonathan Toews. 

Tuukka Rask led all goaltenders while Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist also received first-place votes along with forwards John Tavares, Ryan Getzlaf, Nathan MacKinnon and Claude Giroux (who voted for himself). 

As for Crosby, he didn't fill out a full ballot, but did tab Jamie Benn as the ideal cornerstone for his franchise.