Oh, I agree that Nighbor benefited from the playoff format, but he's certainly not the only player. And also everyone played under those rules on the same sheet of ice. Nighbor's postseason numbers are quite ridiculous and that doesn't even touch on the fact he's still at a disadvantage because of the lack of assist totals. And then we need to examine how his defensive impact tilted the ice often in favor of Ottawa.
The very fact that a 31 year old Nighbor was the leagues first Hart winner (and Byng btw) is telling. He was highly respected for his peerless play. I really like to highlight Frank Selke's description of Nighbor. This isn't some fan or sportswriter. Selke had no direct connection to Nighbor as far as i know. Didn't coach him. Yet this is what he said:
Frank Selke in 11-10-1962 Montreal Gazette said:
With all due respect to the many wonderful players who have come and gone since 1900, there are few who could be rated above Frank Nighbor. Someone once called him the "peerless centre," and I can think of no label which would have been more apt. We always felt he could have played a complete game of hockey in formal attire without even putting a wrinkle in his suit. He was a leading scorer, an expert passer and a playmaker; and no rival forward could come close to him in defensive skill. Along with Jack Walker he developed the poke-check to such an extent that his contemporaries were forced to revamp completely their style of play in order to cope with him.
....
It is hard to say whether Morenz' style of play was more effective than Nighbor's, but there was this difference--Nighbor was so letter-perfect that a spectator could fall asleep watching him play, knowing just what was going to happen.