Evgeni Malkin vs Peter Forsberg

authentic

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How is it easily? Forsberg has more games played, more points and points per game in the regular season and playoffs at this point. He was also more physical and quite a bit better defensively.



In 12 seasons Malkin has played 70+ 4 times, and 3 of those were his first 3 seasons... Forsberg had 5 in 12 seasons (not including the 9 and 2 games at the end of his career if you are counting those then I could see where you're coming from). Forsberg also played less than 60 games 3 times, and the same for Malkin. Forsberg also did however play 47 of the 48 games in the lockout season.

As far as more well rounded, I don't think you ever watched Forsberg play. He was better defensively and more physical than Malkin. Malkin was a better goal scorer and that's about it. Everything else they are fairly comparable in.

Going to take Foppa here. His two-way play and edge tweak past Malkin's offensive edge and health.

See the bolded part of my previous post.
 

Legionnaire11

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Yes but going forward Malkin will play many more total games than Forsberg, it's different types of injuries. Malkin's are things you heal up from and get back, Forsberg's we're career ending.

Not to mention different eras where Forsberg probably played through many minor things and today a player sits out with any small tweak.

Malkin can play 1000 games.
 

Asiantuntija

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There is only one Forsberg. Never forget what Fobba did to Team Finland. We was leading the game 5-1 going to period 3 and after that Fobba started to play. He bring himself team back to the game and for the win.
 

JAS 39 Gripen

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Yes but going forward Malkin will play many more total games than Forsberg, it's different types of injuries. Malkin's are things you heal up from and get back, Forsberg's we're career ending.

Not to mention different eras where Forsberg probably played through many minor things and today a player sits out with any small tweak.

Malkin can play 1000 games.

"Minor things"? Ok, I think we're done here
 

Ben White

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I take the guy who's 4th all time i assists per game, 8th in points per game, 9th in playoff ppg, 12th in playoff game winners and 4th in adjusted reg. season ppg. All time!
 

Cursed Lemon

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The only thing Malkin really has over Forsberg is a second Art Ross and a hugely dominant playoff performance that resulted in a Cup win.

Those things can weigh in as much as you want them to.
 
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psycat

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Taking Malkin, but on a game per game basis they are as close to equal as superstars can get.

FWIW I do believe Forsberg was elite defensively.
(He was also in contention for the best player in the world when healthy for several seasons, same could be argued for Malkin obviously which is why id still pick him)
 

Go Wings

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As a Wings fan and these 2 players being on Detroits biggest rivals I have gotten the chance to watch these players a lot. I am a fan of Forsberg and Malkin and I think they are both amazing and somewhat underrated playing in the shadow of other greats Sakic and Crosby.

For me Forsberg is the better play but not by much. Forsberg was almost to stop he was almost never knocked off the puck as he was so strong. Malkin is similiar but a little less so. Both great player and hall of famers but Forsberg has the edge.
 

Felidae

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Odd, I typed in exactly as the title is in the search engine. Thought all options would appear.

I take the guy who's 4th all time i assists per game, 8th in points per game, 9th in playoff ppg, 12th in playoff game winners and 4th in adjusted reg. season ppg. All time!

This in itself could be quite convincing, but comparisons of Average TOI, Powerplay time and GPG in the seasons each player played in would have to be made.

The only thing Malkin really has over Forsberg is a second Art Ross and a hugely dominant playoff performance that resulted in a Cup win.

Those things can weigh in as much as you want them too.


Forsberg might more than make up for the lack of a Conn Smythe by having more consistently productive playoff performances. As evidenced by his higher PPG in more games played and only having 3 of his postseasons out of 13 below PPG, as opposed to Malkin's 4. But as stated in my reply to the previous user, for this argument to hold more weight, comparisons of postseason GPG would have to be made. Not taking into consideration that some may argue his teams were clearly superior than any of the teams Malkin has been in.

As for the one less Art Ross, I think it's more definitive Forsberg compensates for his superior all around play. While having the same amount of PPG finishes and more abundant point finishes. I'd still argue Malkin being the slightly better offensive player, but it's not a disparity especially when you compare both their all around games.
 

The Winter Soldier

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I will take Forberg on the assumption of best season by both players. If health is a consideration, I would have gone Malkin.
 

Legionnaire11

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"Minor things"? Ok, I think we're done here

So you don't think players 20 years ago played through more little nagging injuries than players today? And players 20 years before that played through more. Heck, each previous generation played through more major injuries as well. As diagnosis and treatment has improved, along with overall awareness of injuries, so too has the caution that holds players out for smaller injuries.

Not to mention I never said Forsberg only suffered minor injuries, which seems to be what you're implying, only that he would have played through more of the smaller ones.
 

KevinRedkey

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I watched most of Forsberg's career and I still pick Malkin.

I personally think Forsberg is overrated, but it's close regardless.
 

Sasso09

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Malkin slight edge in prime and bigger edge in career. He's the more well rounded and durable player.

But they're certainly a good comparison in terms of skill and roster situation. I just think Malkin is a bigger driver of the league narrative than Forsberg was.

Malkin... more well rounded than Forsberg? Ha....
 

cgf

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Slightly misread the poll. I think Forsberg has been better through his prime; but since Malkin has stayed healthier I think his prime will end up better than Forsberg's was when all's said & done.

I love both players and they are as close as it gets to being one another's era equivalents...hopefully Malkin can develop an elite two way game to make the comparison even more perfect. Good poll.

Malkin slight edge in prime and bigger edge in career. He's the more well rounded and durable player.

But they're certainly a good comparison in terms of skill and roster situation. I just think Malkin is a bigger driver of the league narrative than Forsberg was.

:amazed:

I agree with almost everything you've said, but if Malkin had Foppa's two way game he'd have a lot more people questioning if Crosby really was his better this whole time..
 

mpp9

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Can any Avs fan shed light on Forsberg's quality of linemates? I tend to take Geno in a lot of these because he's one of a very select few in the history of the game to dominate, win two scoring titles and a Smythe while mostly carrying his line.
 

Ben White

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Can any Avs fan shed light on Forsberg's quality of linemates? I tend to take Geno in a lot of these because he's one of a very select few in the history of the game to dominate, win two scoring titles and a Smythe while mostly carrying his line.

Not an Avs fan per se (loved the Avs during that era though) but I can inform you that his linemates wasn't better than Malkin's by any means during his peak. Hejduk, Tanguay and Drury were all good players but far from elite.

Edit: By the way OP, you forgot Forsberg's Calder Trophy. (And that +\- award)
 
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Hockey Outsider

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Here's an excerpt of a post I wrote in June:

At this point, I think Malkin and Forsberg are quite comparable... Statistically they're very close. They're virtually even in games played (Forsberg ahead 708-706), and Forsberg has outscored Malkin by 53 points (6%). Their eras were, overall, roughly even in terms of levels of offense. Malkin finished 1-1-2 in scoring (never again in the top ten) while Forsberg was 1-2-4-5-9. I generally don't like per-game arguments, but both players were injured often, and have similar placings in PPG (1-1-2-4-5-6-6-9 for Forsberg, 1-2-2-3-3-4-7-8 for Malkin). It's remarkably close.

Both players spent most of their careers (or all, in the case of Malkin) sharing ice time with an even better center. I believe Forsberg generally got tougher matchups than Malkin.

Awards? Both were first-team all-stars three times (Malkin never really came close to making the year-end all-star team again, Forsberg had a year when he 3rd behind Lemieux and Gretzky). Both won a Hart, but Malkin was a runner-up twice (Forsberg never even again in the top five).

Playoffs? Pretty close. Yes, Malkin has an extra Cup and a Smythe. But both led the playoffs in scoring twice (and both have one more top five finish - 5th place for both of them). In two more games Forsberg has 14 extra points. Forsberg led his team in playoff scoring more often (6-4). Forsberg contributed a larger percentage of his team's offense but it's close (35% vs 34%).

Defensive play? Forsberg is clearly better.

As of today, I think Malkin and Forsberg should be nearly even in an all-time ranking. Malkin was probably a bit better at his very best (three years as a Hart finalist compared to one for Forsberg, and one truly historic playoff run). But he was also less consistent and lacked Forsberg's strong (though sometimes overrated) two-way play.
 

Nocashstyle

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I knew this was going to be way closer than it should. Forsberg could walk on water, right? Most overrated player on this forum.
 
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Ben White

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Here's an excerpt of a post I wrote in June:

At this point, I think Malkin and Forsberg are quite comparable... Statistically they're very close. They're virtually even in games played (Forsberg ahead 708-706), and Forsberg has outscored Malkin by 53 points (6%). Their eras were, overall, roughly even in terms of levels of offense. Malkin finished 1-1-2 in scoring (never again in the top ten) while Forsberg was 1-2-4-5-9. I generally don't like per-game arguments, but both players were injured often, and have similar placings in PPG (1-1-2-4-5-6-6-9 for Forsberg, 1-2-2-3-3-4-7-8 for Malkin). It's remarkably close.

Both players spent most of their careers (or all, in the case of Malkin) sharing ice time with an even better center. I believe Forsberg generally got tougher matchups than Malkin.

Awards? Both were first-team all-stars three times (Malkin never really came close to making the year-end all-star team again, Forsberg had a year when he 3rd behind Lemieux and Gretzky). Both won a Hart, but Malkin was a runner-up twice (Forsberg never even again in the top five).

Playoffs? Pretty close. Yes, Malkin has an extra Cup and a Smythe. But both led the playoffs in scoring twice (and both have one more top five finish - 5th place for both of them). In two more games Forsberg has 14 extra points. Forsberg led his team in playoff scoring more often (6-4). Forsberg contributed a larger percentage of his team's offense but it's close (35% vs 34%).

Defensive play? Forsberg is clearly better.

As of today, I think Malkin and Forsberg should be nearly even in an all-time ranking. Malkin was probably a bit better at his very best (three years as a Hart finalist compared to one for Forsberg, and one truly historic playoff run). But he was also less consistent and lacked Forsberg's strong (though sometimes overrated) two-way play.

I don't think many Avs fans or people following the Avs during that period believe Sakic was a better player than Forsberg. There are absolutely no facts to back up such an opinion. Sakic in fact achieved less individually, when it comes to those sorts of comparisons you guided us through above, even though he had a much longer and much healthier career. I mean, health and longevity can't = better if you don't manage to show it.

I mean we don't even have to sniff the per game stats in this case. Sakic has 3 first all star selections (just like Peter but in like 4X more chances if you think about Peter's amount of full or fairly full seasons). He never ever won an Art Ross and he certainly can't blame any injuries for that. He had 2 great playoff runs but so did Pete. The Conn Smythe looks better in your legacy but I don't think it proves that he played better hockey individually than Peter did when he became the only player in history (and still is) to win the SC scoring title without reaching the finals (and he did it twice). At best, Sakic accomplishments are comparable to Pete's and, as I said, if we're looking at any kind of per game stats, Forsberg blows Sakic out of the water.
 
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