ResilientBeast
Proud Member of the TTSAOA
Round 1:
Least Fav:
Neely. For reasons stated by others.
Get ready Neely's playoff heroics knock your team out of the playoffs
Round 1:
Least Fav:
Neely. For reasons stated by others.
Get ready Neely's playoff heroics knock your team out of the playoffs
How many Conn Smythe winners ya got?
Bossy, Pulford (retro), Savard, and Niedermayer say hello
Pretty sure Mikita does have a retro....was looking that up the other day.
Nieuwendyk would know. The two were instrumental in Dallas' Stanley Cup victory in 1999. Nieuwendyk may have won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Brett Hull may have scored the famous (infamous?) goal but think about what Belfour had to do. In the 1999 playoffs Belfour beat Grant Fuhr, Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek to win the Stanley Cup.
Round 4:
Not saying Bure's rise was totally unjustified (and Milt Schmidt is a great center for him), but is he THAT much better than Gordie Drillon? Oh sorry, I tooted my own horn.
Least Favorite:
Ovechkin. Wonderful regular season #'s and awards but has rarely lifted his team in crunch time. Look at the other top 50 players. Most of them have done so (sometimes multiple times). I value leadership more than most probably.
The guy actually has really strong offensive numbers in the play-offs. Sure he sucks defensively, and he doesn't bring leadership, but offense is what he brings, and he definitely does that in the play-offs.
Agreed. He's top 5 among active players in playoff PPG. Dreak rules!The guy actually has really strong offensive numbers in the play-offs. Sure he sucks defensively, and he doesn't bring leadership, but offense is what he brings, and he definitely does that in the play-offs.
Agreed. He's top 5 among active players in playoff PPG. Dreak rules!
NHL Leaders
Rank Player PTS/G
1. Sidney Crosby 1.280
2. Evgeni Malkin 1.169
3. Claude Giroux 1.100
4. Martin St. Louis 1.079
5. Alex Ovechkin 1.052
A snapshot of the top-5 ACTIVE players from 50, 75 and 100 years ago include undrafteds, so it ain't so impressive.Agreed. He's top 5 among active players in playoff PPG. Dreak rules!
Mmmmk. Like i said, one playoff run boosts those totals.
MSL raised his PPG during his career in the playoffs and helped carry a team to a ring. Was between good and outstanding in 3 of his 5 trips to the postseason.
Giroux? Same story minus the ring, although he has at least played in a Cup final.
Crosby and Malkin? Both have rings, Malkin a Conn Smythe. Crosby's PPG drop but not to the extent of Ovechkin and both have played in far more playoff games which makes comparing PPG that much harder as totals will generally come down over time.
Either way, the point remains. Ovechkin is not a postseason savior or guy you should count on to show up consistently. He's basically been average since 08-09 in the postseason and downright crap the past 2 years. Those are facts.
Mmmmk. Like i said, one playoff run boosts those totals.
Either way, the point remains. Ovechkin is not a postseason savior or guy you should count on to show up consistently. He's basically been average since 08-09 in the postseason and downright crap the past 2 years. Those are facts.
Agreed, TDMM. I was trying to ignore his cherry picking. I love the first half analysis.Other facts:
1) He was over a PPG in his first 4 playoffs
2) If you're going to remove his best playoff run, someone else could just as easily remove his worst playoffs (last year), when he was playing injured
Yeah, he hasn't outscored any good players in the playoffs.A snapshot of the top-5 ACTIVE players from 50, 75 and 100 years ago include undrafteds, so it ain't so impressive.
Other facts:
1) He was over a PPG in his first 4 playoffs
2) If you're going to remove his best playoff run, someone else could just as easily remove his worst playoffs (last year), when he was playing injured
Yeah, he hasn't outscored any good players in the playoffs.
24. Alex Ovechkin 1.052
25. Guy Lafleur* 1.047
26. Denis Savard* 1.036
27. Doug Gilmour* 1.033
28. Kevin Stevens 1.029
29. Theoren Fleury 1.026
30. Brian Leetch* 1.021
31. Dale Hawerchuk* 1.021
32. Gordie Howe* 1.019
Round|Good Value|Not Good Value
1|Lemieux, Jagr|Richard, Yzerman
2|Esposito, Lalonde|Kharlamov, Pronger
3|Brodeur, Makarov|Niedermayer, Fedorov
4|Nobody really stands out|
5|St. Louis, Thornton|Primeau, Broadbent
6|Schriner, Stewart, Cowley|Middleton, Datsyuk
7|Barry, Martinec|Smith, Gonchar
8|Balderis|Konstantinov, Gainey, Barber, Provost
9|Bowie, Dillon|Bailey, Carbonneau
10|Krutov|Hall, Shutt
11|Goldham, Backstrom|Bondra, Andreychuk, Tikkanen
12|Novy, Weiland|Nobody really sticks out
13|Patrick|Toews, Sanderson
14|Nieuwendyk, Gottselig, Kerr|Corbeau
15|Burrows, Demitra, Vadnais|Abel, Sutter, Clark, Reijo, Morrow
16|Barrasso, Rowe, Hatcher|Nobody sticks out
None of these guys are bad players, but I either liked them compared to other guys available, or thought there better alternatives available.
LOL Hawk. Who's cherry picking now? ...
You are.... He's under a PPG player without that year factored in. ...
Over the years VI has claimed about a half dozen teams as his own. Have a nice day....You can roll your eyes at me being a Pens fan, but when somebody like VanIsles, who's been a Caps fan for years, largely backs up my position, there is some merit, IM...O.
He has had one great play-off run and one bad one. The rest have been good.
Maurice Richard had some pretty crappy play-off years. What does that mean to his legacy?
You are.
Over the years VI has claimed about a half dozen teams as his own. I have to take my son to school. Have a nice day.
I already proved he's top 5 among active players. Whether I use active or retired there's a problem. Other players such as The Flower played on better teams with better teammates. That's not a factor?LOL Hawk. Who's cherry picking now? All those guys are retired and you almost always see a drop in PPG as a career enters the "twilight years". ...
And again, what did any of those performances do for his team? I already pointed out that the other players have lifted their games to greater heights during the postseason and have the hardware to go with it.
And it's not like the Caps were mediocre teams for many of those runs. They have been bounced TWICE in the first rd as #1 seeds vs 8.
Nobody is arguing his regular season accomplishments. He's a HOF'er based on that alone. He's just somebody i've seen a lot of over the years and the statistics don't back up a player you can count on to raise his game in the postseason. Much like Peyton Manning in football (although even Manning has a ring, but has choked far more than succeeded).
You can roll your eyes at me being a Pens fan, but when somebody like VanIsles, who's been a Caps fan for years, largely backs up my position, there is some merit, IMHO.
If Ovechkin "raised his game" in the playoffs, he'd be a borderline first round pick in the ATD. We're talking about a guy whose regular season resume has already surpassed Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy, in my opinion (although not by much).
He is what he is - an above average playoff performer for a player whose team never went anywhere. Overall, I wouldn't count on him to be clutch in the playoffs, but I wouldn't expect him to be bad either.