Doug Gilmour - Babysitter case

[wetcoast]

"Never" driving the bus....? I suggest you go back and watch games 4 and 5 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Final. Anderson drove the bus.

By driving the bus, I mean like being a top 3 player in the regular season or playoffs (81-82 is the only season as the Oilers were still really young but once the dynasty started yes passenger is a good way to describe him on that Oilers team, a high level passenger but still) but especially playoffs as that's why Anderson is in the HHOF

Also, his regular season being "meh" seems a bit harsh. Anderson was the 2nd Oiler, ever, to post a 100-point season, beating Messier, Kurri, and Coffey to that. Up to 1986, there was always a debate of whether Messier or Anderson was the better player. From '82 through '86, Anderson outscored Messier and Trottier and he was the 4th-highest scoring winger in the NHL (not far off Goulet).

Sure and that season was his only top 10 season.

Blair Macdonald had a 94 point season in Gretzky's rookie year as well so

I do tire of this "passenger" argument towards good players who happened to be on teams with other good players. Literally nobody who followed the Oilers from 1981 to 1990 thought of Anderson as a "passenger".

No but if you asked in the post seasons to rank who were the top Oilers in the playoffs other names come up first and when Gretzky was there his impact really trickled down to everyone else.

There's of course a good argument against players like Anderson in the Hall of Fame, but to make it I don't think we need to post fake-news like "meh" and "passenger", which are simply false accusations.

I use the term meh in comparison to his counting stats, if one only looked at those and never saw the Oilers play they would get the wrong impression that he would be a legit 100 point guy anywhere and that I doubt and also this was the 80s when scoring was really ramped up in the first place.

 

[RegDunlop]

By driving the bus, I mean like being a top 3 player in the regular season or playoffs (81-82 is the only season as the Oilers were still really young but once the dynasty started yes passenger is a good way to describe him on that Oilers team, a high level passenger but still) but especially playoffs as that's why Anderson is in the HHOF


Sure and that season was his only top 10 season.

Blair Macdonald had a 94 point season in Gretzky's rookie year as well so


No but if you asked in the post seasons to rank who were the top Oilers in the playoffs other names come up first and when Gretzky was there his impact really trickled down to everyone else.

I use the term meh in comparison to his counting stats, if one only looked at those and never saw the Oilers play they would get the wrong impression that he would be a legit 100 point guy anywhere and that I doubt and also this was the 80s when scoring was really ramped up in the first place.

Obviously you were watching too much of Tony Tanti and Stan Smyl then to see Anderson I guess

 

[wetcoast]

Obviously you were watching too much of Tony Tanti and Stan Smyl then to see Anderson I guess

sure that must be it and not that he was 6th in goals and 11th in points during his prime and brings little else and probably got an Oiler bump in points?

 

[RegDunlop]

sure that must be it and not that he was 6th in goals and 11 in points during his prime and brings little else and probably got an Oiler bump in points?

Come on
'brings little else'?

Anyway not going to rail thread. But I don't think Anderson needs to be slagged

 

[wetcoast]

Come on
'brings little else'?

Anyway not going to rail thread. But I don't think Anderson needs to be slagged

I can see how you looked at it but I meant outside of those 7 prime years he doesn't add to his legacy and it's not like he was some great defensive player or brought leadership, he was a passenger on those Oilers teams.

 

[FerrisRox]

I can see how you looked at it but I meant outside of those 7 prime years he doesn't add to his legacy and it's not like he was some great defensive player or brought leadership, he was a passenger on those Oilers teams.

This is utter nonsense.

Were you actually watching the game back then and you're saying this???

 

[wetcoast]

This is utter nonsense.

Were you actually watching the game back then and you're saying this???

As a Canuck fan in my early teens when Gretzky and the Oilers joined the NHL I watched him a lot.

He skated really well and "looked good" but often played disinterested and was sneaky dirty with his stick.

If he had played on a team other than the Oilers dynasty there wouldn't even be a discussion about him and the HHOF.

 

[FerrisRox]

As a Canuck fan in my early teens when Gretzky and the Oilers joined the NHL I watched him a lot.

He skated really well and "looked good" but often played disinterested and was sneaky dirty with his stick.

If he had played on a team other than the Oilers dynasty there wouldn't even be a discussion about him and the HHOF.

He "looked good" because he was good.

His speed was an enormous part of the Oilers offence and excellent tool for back up defences very quickly. His speed was such a force it needed to be game-planned for on team filled with players you need to game-plan for.

Additionally, you act like Anderson's grit and willingness to play right on the edge of the rules was a negative thing, but it's a huge part of why he was so important to the Oilers roster. Beyond Mark Messier, there wasn't a lot of toughness in the glory day Oilers top six and Anderson was never a guy that got pushed around and often gave as good as he got. Again, this was an extremely important aspect of the makeup of the Top Six.

Anderson, when paired with Messier, gave the Oilers a line that played at a high pace and always right on the edge of the rules. They were extremely daunting. In the '87 playoffs, the line of Messier, Anderson and Nilsson was absolutely deadly. (They finished with 28, 27 and 19 points in 21 games.)

I'm astonished that anyone that actually watched Glenn Anderson's career could possibly call him a passenger.

 

[wetcoast]

He "looked good" because he was good.

His speed was an enormous part of the Oilers offence and excellent tool for back up defences very quickly. His speed was such a force it needed to be game-planned for on team filled with players you need to game-plan for.

Additionally, you act like Anderson's grit and willingness to play right on the edge of the rules was a negative thing, but it's a huge part of why he was so important to the Oilers roster. Beyond Mark Messier, there wasn't a lot of toughness in the glory day Oilers top six and Anderson was never a guy that got pushed around and often gave as good as he got. Again, this was an extremely important aspect of the makeup of the Top Six.

His stick work is just stuffI I hate in every player he would take cheap shots he wasn't very good defensively and was basically a really fast skilled floater who would score points on a downhill team but isn't a guy you would want as one of your top 1,2 or 3 forwards.

Anderson, when paired with Messier, gave the Oilers a line that played at a high pace and always right on the edge of the rules. They were extremely daunting. In the '87 playoffs, the line of Messier, Anderson and Nilsson was absolutely deadly. (They finished with 28, 27 and 19 points in 21 games.)

I'm astonished that anyone that actually watched Glenn Anderson's career could possibly call him a passenger.

It's like his time with the Leafs he was mailing it in at age 31 then Gilmour shows up so when he is paired with an awesome player isn't exactly the type of guy I'd want historically.

 

[FerrisRox]

It's like his time with the Leafs he was mailing it in at age 31 then Gilmour shows up so when he is paired with an awesome player isn't exactly the type of guy I'd want historically.

Yeah, it was a really mystery why Anderson improved when Doug Gilmour became his centre versus when Brian Bradley, Mike Krushelnyksi, Peter Zezel and Mike Bullard were the centres.

It's worth noting that Anderson's first year with the Maple Leafs - when he was mailing it in according you - he led the team in scoring.

 

[wetcoast]

Yeah, it was a really mystery why Anderson improved when Doug Gilmour became his centre versus when Brian Bradley, Mike Krushelnyksi, Peter Zezel and Mike Bullard were the centres.

It's worth noting that Anderson's first year with the Maple Leafs - when he was mailing it in according you - he led the team in scoring.

I know he broke the top 100 and was tied for 91st.

He had already started the year before with the Oilers.

I can see that we have different thoughts about Anderson.