Players coasting/conserving energy during multiple Cup runs

[Canadiens1958]

Just steer clear of the main boards with such logic.

Sid understands the grind. He's only 30 and yet is still in his 13th season. Between the volume and injury past he knows that going balls to the wall every night over 82 games isn't conducive to being fresh come the postseason or your health, long term at this point of his career. And frankly scoring titles simply don't matter to him. I believe it when he says all that extra crap really isn't important to him. He just wants to play for Cups.

Sidney Crosby understands the process and the prime objectives of winning - The Stanley Cup. The individual by-products do not matter.

He understands the process of integrating new or young players. The need to give them sufficient ice time and gradual responsibility to get them fully integrated and playoff ready.

 

[ImporterExporter]

Sidney Crosby understands the process and the prime objectives of winning - The Stanley Cup. The individual by-products do not matter.

He understands the process of integrating new or young players. The need to give them sufficient ice time and gradual responsibility to get them fully integrated and playoff ready.

This is a very apt observation. Some stars don't want to be troubled with the "new guy(s)" and Crosby has always gone out of his way to make the newer players feel comfortable and he's usually the one being asked to skate with the young, inexperienced scoring types or even the bottom 6 grinder. You listen to any mid/off season acquisition or call up from the minor leagues and they've spoken highly of 87 when it comes to being a class act in the dressing room.

 

[Big Phil]

Just steer clear of the main boards with such logic.

Sid understands the grind. He's only 30 and yet is still in his 13th season. Between the volume and injury past he knows that going balls to the wall every night over 82 games isn't conducive to being fresh come the postseason or your health, long term at this point of his career. And frankly scoring titles simply don't matter to him. I believe it when he says all that extra crap really isn't important to him. He just wants to play for Cups.

He's won two Art Rosses and two Harts. More of both if not for the injuries that took a toll on him in 2011, 2012, 2013 and for the heck of it he's right there with Ovechkin in 2008. All in all, he has led the NHL in PPG 5 times, but has just two scoring titles. That should tell you something on a per game basis.

But yeah, in 100 years we'll still gravitate to the teams that won multiple Cups in a row.

Now, here is the question, do we prefer the Lafleur-type who had the reputation of never taking a game off but burned the candle at both ends by the time he was in his early 30s? I mean, I'll even say about Gretzky that I am pretty sure he never took a game off himself.

 

[ImporterExporter]

He's won two Art Rosses and two Harts. More of both if not for the injuries that took a toll on him in 2011, 2012, 2013 and for the heck of it he's right there with Ovechkin in 2008. All in all, he has led the NHL in PPG 5 times, but has just two scoring titles. That should tell you something on a per game basis.

But yeah, in 100 years we'll still gravitate to the teams that won multiple Cups in a row.

Now, here is the question, do we prefer the Lafleur-type who had the reputation of never taking a game off but burned the candle at both ends by the time he was in his early 30s? I mean, I'll even say about Gretzky that I am pretty sure he never took a game off himself.

Well I certainly think those are 2 guys who rarely ever took a game off. And that's pretty rare for more modern superstars. But, as you pointed out, I think especially in Lafleur's case it probably had a little something to do with his faster decline. Gretzky, from a team standpoint was finished being an "elite" player once he was sent to LA but even then he still put up ridiculous totals, even as an older guy. Sometimes you just don't end up in the right spot/time when it comes to team success and LA did a lot of things wrong during Gretzky's time there.