If only all the players better than Selanne hadn't played those years, he would have won the Pearson!
Seriously, Selanne was a great player. But at no point in time during his prime years was he better than Jagr or Hasek. Nobody who was actually watching the game during those years would suggest otherwise.
No, I don't agree. There were definitely seasons during Selanne's prime where he was better Jagr... and most definitely where he was better than Hasek! I still think dominik Hasek is number 1 all time when he is on, which is a lot.
Selanne should have won the Pearson in 97' , Hasek still would have had the Hart+ Vezina in 97... even in 1999 when Jagr won all three... had they not introduced the Rocket Richard trophy that year (which Selanne won) I think he would have probably won the pearson, considering who infrequently players win all three... Hart+Art Ross+ Pearson.
from 92/93-1999 who scored more goals than Selanne? ... no one, but all he has to show for it is the Rockey in 99'? I think it's complete crap Selanne only has a Calder + one Rocket Richard for how much he dominated the league in the 1990's.
Also, I think Selanne probably should have got at least the Pearson over Crosby in 2007. (by far leading scorer on a team 3 points away from the Presidents trophy, and eventual cup winner.. hell you could even argue for the Hart that season. (since playoffs aren't supposed to be taken into account, right) this is basically the argument used for why Messier won the Hart in 1992... except his team did win the Presidents trophy...
Regardless, Selanne's 2007 season is very comparable to the Pearson win / Hart win of Messier in 1992, where Messier was 24 points behind the Art Ross winner Mario (who in my opinion.. his 92' season getting 131 points in 64 games is way more impressive than Sid getting 120 in 79) except the only difference is that Selanne didn't even take one piece of hardware home.
I'm not trying to cut down Messier at all, he was a great player... but I think his "leadership" is a tad over-exaggerated... I can't argue that Selanne should have won the Art Ross
because he never did... but he sure as hell could have at least won a single Hart, and especially a single Pearson.
yes, I was a live in 1992, but a very small child, stat's speak for themselves. If Mario can loose out on the Hart AND pearson that year, while completely outperforming Messier on the scoresheet... Selanne could have definitely had 1 Hart or Pearson over the years, especially in 2007.