Corey Perry vs Markus Naslund

[Regal]

oh man...close one.

Gonna go with Perry, brings more to the table....


maybe you are young, but at my age 2-3 years in a very long time...

2 years (I wouldn’t count the 9 for Perry without counting 7 for Naslund as I think the questionable years are similar). Naslund also has more years outside of those that would be too 6 level. 2 years in a hockey career is an advantage, but it isn’t a “lot longer” by any reasonable interpretation. Not sure why years would feel longer as you age either. 2-3 years is much smaller today than as a teenager/early 20-something.

 

[Duffy13]

Naslund.... He was saddled with Todd Bertuzzi a cinder block for hands finisher power forward who murdered offensive plays before he figured out he could murder other players, and Brendan Morrison as his center. who was fine as a No 2 Center, but Naslund really carried these guys into making people believe that they deserved to be on the top line.

 

[biturbo19]

This is one of those cases where Naslund was the "better player", but Perry definitely had the "better career". Perry landed in a great situation with a top tier playmaking Center who fit his game like a glove, on a Cup caliber team. That presented him with a lot of opportunity to shine. The resume for Perry is just a lot longer, and the shelf is full of more prestigious trophies. Can't deny that. But at his peak, i think Naslund did about as much with a lot less around him. If you were to do say, a Getzlaf vs Morrison poll, it'd be an insta-locked runaway (and for good reason).

 

[banks]

Naslund was a better player. And I liked him a heck of a lot more.

It's close. But it's Naslund.

 

[Albatros]

Perry had a good career year, but besides team silverware that's his only argument and it's not nearly enough. Näslund was arguably the best player in the game in the early 2000s.

 

[biturbo19]

Perry had a good career year, but besides team silverware that's his only argument and it's not nearly enough. Näslund was arguably the best player in the game in the early 2000s.

I feel like Perry's individual Rocket Richard and Hart Trophies make a pretty compelling case on his resume. Those aren't team awards, and Naslund doesn't have them. Those are two of the three biggest individual trophies you can take home as a player.


Obviously their respective situations (and contemporary competition) play into that, and i agree that Naslund was probably the "better player". But you can't just completely brush away the difference in resumes and hardware won.

 

[Cup or Bust]

At their best Naslund was the better player, but Perry had some great intangibles and had a great career.

 

[JaegerDice]

Corey Perry has been playoff gold basically his entire career He won pretty much every championship at every level.

Naslund... not so much. Great regular season hero.

This is Perry for me, no question.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I don't disagree with Perry being an amazing secondary player, or that he benefitted from getting passes from Getzlaf. I do think it's funny that his best season came when Getzlaf missed a bunch of games and he (Perry) was the go to guy.

 

[Regal]

I don't disagree with Perry being an amazing secondary player, or that he benefitted from getting passes from Getzlaf. I do think it's funny that his best season came when Getzlaf missed a bunch of games and he (Perry) was the go to guy.

Perry produced at a much higher clip with Getzlaf in the lineup that year though. He had a line of 67-41-42-83 in the games with Getzlaf and 15-9-6-15 without him. His hot streak down the stretch also coincided with Getzlaf’s return.

That said, Naslund had Bertuzzi in his peak years playing like a superstar for two of them as well.

 

[Albatros]

I feel like Perry's individual Rocket Richard and Hart Trophies make a pretty compelling case on his resume. Those aren't team awards, and Naslund doesn't have them. Those are two of the three biggest individual trophies you can take home as a player.


Obviously their respective situations (and contemporary competition) play into that, and i agree that Naslund was probably the "better player". But you can't just completely brush away the difference in resumes and hardware won.

I don't see any great value in Perry's Hart Trophy relative to Näslund's achievements, journos gave him that trophy but I'm not sure if anyone can say with a straight face that he was the best player in the league even just that single season. Besides Näslund was given the Pearson Award by the players which many would see as more meaningful anyway.