Underrated players from great teams

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Sabres11forever

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For those of you who are following the Red Fisher's Top 10 Canadiens List in the Montreal Gazette, one can't help but think that Guy Lapointe , Yvan Cournoyer and Jacques Lemaire are being under appreciated.

However, I think globally, most hockey watching enthusiasts understood and appreciated the value of Lemaire and Cournoyer...but Lapointe, I think he is the under rated guy and Steve Shutt might fall into that category as well.

However, the most under rated player of all time, with the exception of Steve Larmer, has to be Mike Walton...I mean, without him, nobody would have white tape on their sticks as he pioneered that cause at great cost while he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
 

Chili

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I think Red could have done a top 50 Habs players he's seen and left out some good players. The Habs had alot of great teams and players over that period.
 

mcphee

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Juicer said:
For other teams:

Oilers: Randy Gregg was overshadowed by Coffey, Lowe, and Huddy, But he was a solid defensive player who rarely made any mistakes in his own zone.

Stars/Canadiens: Craig Ludwig was a beast to play against. HE blacked everything and was just a nasty guy. One of the most underrrated Dmen I have seen.(Rick Green was also very underrated for the Habs)

Devils: Sergei Brylin doesn't score much, is not physical, is not very flashy, etc. But I think he has played a nice role for the Devils on 3 cup teams. Nice role player IMO.

Other guys:

Kjell Samuelsson, Ryan Walter, Bob Bourne and Jamie Macoun.

Good call on Brylin. He's exactly the type of player I had in mind. He's always filled different roles and done them well. He's perfectly suited to his team. They'd miss him if he was gone and he probably wouldn't be the same player somewhere else.
 

acr*

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Another thing, Adam Oates does get recognition of being a very good player, but I think that unless you watched him every day, you couldn't imagiune just how good a playmaker he was.

I'm not trying to say he's better than Gretzky or Lemieux, because he's not, but I do believe that he was a better Centerman than both of them, if you understand what I'm trying to say here. He played the position better than anyone, whereas the others were superior scorers who scored from all over the ice. I've never seen a center work with his wingers like Oates.
 

Lou is God

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mcphee said:
Good call on Brylin. He's exactly the type of player I had in mind. He's always filled different roles and done them well. He's perfectly suited to his team. They'd miss him if he was gone and he probably wouldn't be the same player somewhere else.
Your right, we would miss him, he's not flashy or puts up great numbers but he is one of those type of players you need if your looking to win cups. But the only thing I disagree with is that he might not be the same player with a differnt team and only because he's what I consider a complete hockey player and these types usually don't have trouble fitting in with other clubs.
 

mcphee

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Lou is God said:
Your right, we would miss him, he's not flashy or puts up great numbers but he is one of those type of players you need if your looking to win cups. But the only thing I disagree with is that he might not be the same player with a differnt team and only because he's what I consider a complete hockey player and these types usually don't have trouble fitting in with other clubs.
Maybe, but sometimes a player is defined by the need. If he signed as a UFA somewhere, I'm sure someone would figure that they'd remove the 'shackles' of NJ hockey and watch his numbers rise in his new top 6 role, which probably wouldn't suit him. Remember Murray Wilson with the 70's Habs ? He'd fillin anywhere, contribute to whatever style line he was on and you assumed if he went anywhere else, he'd light it up. He never really got the chance due to injury but to me he was one of those guys who could fill any role as long as the role was spelt out to him. Take a guy like that and put him on aline for 80 games and the results don't add up. Houle was like that in Mtl. I could be wrong, I just see the guy in that mold.
 

Chili

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There must be some other Devils to mention...how about Ken Daneyko?

Good call on Kjell Samuelsson, Juicer. He was awesome on the pk. When he stretched out his arms, he was virtually impossible to get around. He was very good around his own net and moving the puck out of the zone.
 

BubbaBoot

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Gee Wally said:
definately Don Marcotte...

always looked upon as a defensive one dimensional player..while if there was a Selke award in those days he'd have won many...his offense was nothing to sneeze at either.

He may have been one of the best * all around * players I have ever seen.

http://www.bruins-legends.com/M/marcotte.htm
Because of the lockout, NESN, the Boston /New England sports channel that partially owns the Bruins and Red Sox, has been showing "Fan's Attic", which replays certain games of the past, or features rivalry contests....and they have past Bruins sitting in and commenting in a group setting.

The usual suspects who remained in the Boston area, or that have some current association with the club and/or the TV channel, are there....Middleton, (should be in the HoF as far as I'mc oncerned), Bucyk, Neely, etc...Marcotte showed up in an episode featuring the hot Montreal v. Bruins games....and damned if he doesn't look like he could lace them up and skate in today's game....definitely one of the most underrated players of his era.

Youth coaches should show gamefilm of him and tell his young charges, "This is the way the game is supposed to be played".
 

Big Phil

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How about Butch Goring? The Isles didnt win until they traded for him in March of 1980. But then again he did win the 1981 Conn Smythe Trophy so he did get noticed. Even though Bossy, Trottier, Potvin and Smith are the core everyone talks about.

Jacques Lemaire to a lesser extent. He was always there. And actually played in more seasons where he won a Cup then not (something Only H. Richard, Beliveau and Cournoyer can say I believe). Lemaire was good but you think more of Lafleur, Shutt, Dryden and the Big three on D.

How about Danny Gare? Never won a Cup with the Sabres but played in the shadow of the French Connection line. He scored 50 or more goals twice and actually led the league in goals once. He's no Gilbert Perreault but he scored very well.

To a lesser extent Chris Drury was always lost in the mix in the Avs. He scored a lot of clutch goals, and was a big part of the Cup win in '01. But when you have Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, Blake, Foote, Bourque, and even Tanguay and Hejduk then your left out.
 

mercury

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I don't think he is underrated as such, but of the '70s Flyers teams, Reggie Leach was awesome. People know how good he was, but his name doesn't pop up when discussing great forwards of that era as much, probably because of his relatively short career. All he did was score goals. 61 in 1975-76! :eek:
 
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Darth Milbury

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Gee Wally said:
definately Don Marcotte...

always looked upon as a defensive one dimensional player..while if there was a Selke award in those days he'd have won many...his offense was nothing to sneeze at either.

He may have been one of the best * all around * players I have ever seen.

[url="http://www.bruins-legends.com/M/marcotte.htm"]http://www.bruins-legends.com/M/marcotte.htm[/url]
Completely agree.

He got less press than Gainey, but he was the equal of Big Bob defensively and much better offensively.
 

MiamiScreamingEagles

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mercury said:
I don't think he is underrated as such, but of the '70s Flyers teams, Reggie Leach was awesome. People know how good he was, but his name doesn't pop up when discussing great forwards of that era as much, probably because of his relatively short career. All he did was score goals. 61 in 1975-76! :eek:

He netted 133 goals in 193 games (R/S and PO) in his first two seasons in Philadelphia. Most impressively: 19 playoffs goals in 1976.
 
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