It's no secret that fans of the hit show Heated Rivalry are fascinated by the love story between two professional players has some real-world parallels.
While there are no out players in the NHL, author Rachel Reid — who wrote the books that Heated Rivalry is based on — has gone on record to say that one of her inspirations for the romance was "the extremely entertaining rivalry between [Sidney] Crosby and [Alex] Ovechkin."
There are over 43,000 stories shipping real-life men's professional hockey players with each other on an Archive of Our Own (AO3), the internet's premier site for fan fiction.
Surprisingly, the Sidney Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin tag only happens to include 153 works listed. On the other hand, most of the most popular ships on the platform center teammates, not rivals! Namely, both Crosby and Ovechkin are both in the top 10, but they've made it onto the list while being shipped with their teammates.
Readers must register on AO3 requires readers to have an account to access all fics on the site, and the names on this list reflect some of the players who have been fanfic faves over the years.
Discover some of the most popular real-person NHL fanfics below.
Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin (4105)
Evgeni Malkin (left) and Sidney Crosby (right)
Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
The most popular real-person ship in men's hockey includes Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. In this case, however, Crosby is shipped with his longtime teammate, Evgeni Malkin. With over 4,000 fanfics about the couple, these two athletes lead the pack within the most-shipped NHL pairs on AO3.
Read Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews (2974)
Jonathan Toews (left) and Patrick Kane (right)
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
There are nearly 1,500 fics about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who played for the same team (literally — not figuratively!) in Chicago between 2007 and 2022. Overall, Toews and Kane come in second place as the most popular NHL ship across AO3.
Read Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin (1484)
Tyler Seguin (left) and Jamie Benn (right)
Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images
Tyler Seguin started playing for the Dallas Stars in 2013, and has been teammates with Jamie Benn ever since. This pairing also has quite a history on AO3.
Read Tyler Seguin/Jamie Benn fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews (1475)
Auston Matthews (left) and Mitch Marner (right)
Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images
Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are no longer teammates following Marner's decision to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights instead. Nonetheless, fans loved the period in which they played together for the Toronto Maple Leafs between 2016 and 2025.
Read Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick (1312)
Travis Konecny (left) and Nolan Patrick (right)
Elsa/Getty Images
Travis Konecny started playing for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2016. Then, in 2017, he was joined by Nolan Patrick. Even though Patrick's career was hampered by injuries, at least the fanfics written about him live on.
Read Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuk (1141)
Matthew Tkachuk (left) and Leon Draisaitl (right)
Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images
With over 1,000 fics about them, Matthew Tkachuk/Leon Draisaitl are the most popular ship between "rivals" in the sport. Draisaitl plays for the Edmonton Oilers, and Tkachuk played for the Calgary Flames for six years, cementing them as rivals in Alberta.
Read Matthew Tkachuk/Leon Draisaitl fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Macklin Celebrini/Will Smith (1092)
Macklin Celebrini (left) and Will Smith (right)
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are two teammates who play as centers (hockey position) for the San Jose Sharks. Smith was drafted in 2023, while Celebrini was drafted in 2024.
Read Macklin Celebrini/Will Smith fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Jamie Drysdale/Trevor Zegras (827)
Trevor Zegras (left) and Jamie Drysdale (right)
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Drysdale and Zegras have been teammates for both the Anaheim Ducks and the Philadelphia Flyers. Given that history — which goes beyond just one team — it makes sense why fans ship them so much.
Read Trevor Zegras/Jamie Drysdale fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Nicklas Bäckström/Alexander Ovechkin (699)
Nicklas Backstrom (let) and Alex Ovechkin (right)
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
While Heated Rivalry may be partially based on Crosby and Ovechkin, most fanfic writers actually ship Ovechkin with Nicklas Bäckström. These two hockey athletes have played on the Washington Capitals since 2007.
Read Nicklas Bäckström/Alexander Ovechkin fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
Nico Hischier/Jack Hughes (652)
Nico Hischier (left) and Jack Hughes (right)
Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images
Many fans have shipped these two New Jersey Devils teammates, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, ever since Hughes was drafted in 2019 and the two of them started playing side by side.
Read Nico Hischier/Jack Hughes fanfics on Archive of Our Own.
