Who Are The Worst Playoff Performers Of All Time?

[Kaako Kappo]

Mikko Rantanen, apparently, according to the Avs fanbase.

 

[Hennessy]

Joe Thornton averaged 0.717 ppg in his career in the playoffs. That was a bit under his 0.900 regular season average.
But to call him a playoff choker is just histrionics. Very few players in the history of the game have outperformed their regular season averages in the playoffs. Thornton's numbers put him at 153rd all-time. Not amazing, but hardly scorn-worthy.
I think people remember one or two postseasons he had in Boston and it just became a label that was never updated and has been lazily repeated for so long that it's now "common knowledge".
Honestly, it reminds me of people who talk about the President's Trophy curse. It's parroting nonsense. Stop it.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

Thanks! Great goaltender most of the time, but once it really mattered he clearly didn't have his nerves and focus in the right place.

He also botched game six against Chicago.

 

[BigTomBomber]

Tyler Seguin as a Dallas Star. Just 40 pts in 74 games, and a -3

For a 0.87 pt/g player, he’s barely over 0.5 in the playoffs

 

[nyrallday]

Rick Nash. I'm sure there are others but he almost made me cry during our cup run in 2014. f*** that guy

 

[flying squirrel]

Apparently seems to be Kucherov after winning Art Ross

 

[ijuka]

mcdavid and thats why he wont pass crosby all time

He's actually a better playoff performer than Crosby.

 

[Mandar]

Jake Gardiner…..especially in game 7’s

 

[Avs2022]

Zach Parise

Until this year

Mikko Rantanen, apparently, according to the Avs fanbase.

Mikko has been awesome in playoffs the previous years. This year is another story.

 

[Schennanigans]

Not the worst but Mathew’s ppg is much lower than his regular season career average.

 

[The Panther]

Joe Thornton is an easy answer here. If I'm remembering this correctly, he appeared in 33 playoff series and he led ZERO of them in scoring. This is a guy who in his day was a regular Art Ross contender. Won the Hart.

But I'll also mention Keith Tkachuk. He may yet make the Hall of Fame, and probably should. A multiple 50-goal scorer and regular 40-goal type of player. Though they were short runs, three of his first four playoffs (two Winnipeg, one Phoenix) were actually quite productive. But, after that, when he was very much in his prime, he had 14 goals in 63 playoff games, which is bad.

(It's probably not fair to even mention him because he appeared in only 25 playoff games, but Dan Cloutier was brutal. In his 25 appearances, his stats show 27 goals against him above average. The thing is, though, nobody ever really thought he was anything special... except for Marc Crawford.)

Alex Mogilny was pretty poor, too, for large stretches of his playoff career (4 goals in 23 games when the Devils won the Cup). But he had some good years, too, so he doesn't really merit mention, I guess.

It's hard to say with Marcel Dionne. His numbers are mostly quite poor (esp. if you delete 1982, which was a fluky / weird playoff when the Kings upset Edmonton), but his teams were usually quite bad and overwhelmed in the first round, with atrocious goaltending. But, you know, if Steve Yzerman had had a career-ending injury in about 1995, we'd also be looking back at his playoff resume as similar to Dionne's. Sometimes, it's all about team context.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

I'm not gonna sit here and act like he was some playoff warrior but he did play 12 playoff games in Vegas' first run to the finals. Gotta be worse options than that.
Not that I need to entertain bad bait but he's a great playoff performer. Unfortuately for the Oilers he can't carry their offense and play goal at the same time.

This Oilers team is different man, they have solid depth

 

[Nicko999]

Max Pacioretty is an underrated pick. 40 goal scorer who frequently turned to mush in the playoffs.

He definitely could have been better but he gets a pass from me because he scored some important series clinching goals.

0.74 career PPG during the regular season vs 0.65 career PPG during the playoffs. Not that bad considering the thigher checking in the post season.

Rick Nash for example with a similar career PPG (0.76) but has a lower playoffs PPG (0.52). That would be a good candidate.

 

[AgeIess]

McDavid.

He's a playoff McNothingburger.

 

[GMR]

Luca f***in' Sbisa.

Sleeps with the fishes.

 

[shaner8989]

Connor Hellebuyck

This. He’s absolute garbage.

 

[miscs75]

Jeff Skinner count?

 

[ijuka]

McDavid.

He's a playoff McNothingburger.

Yeah, only 2nd all-time behind Gretzky in playoffs PPG.

 

[DitchMarner]

McDavid.

He's a playoff McNothingburger.

I'm sure the LA Kings would disagree emphatically.

 

[fahad203]

Nik Ehlers as 13 points in 35 playoff games

 

[Craig Ludwig]

For any diehard Habs fans, god bless what David Desharnais did in terms of never being drafted, so tiny, and then becoming the #1 Center for the Montreal Canadiens and subsequently set up for life financially. But come playoff time, he was so affraid of the contact and going anywhere near the boards, he was invisible. He is a prime example of why teams many times draft for size.

 

[Stlblue50]

Currently playing I will go with Hellebuyck and Jamie Benn. Outside of Hellebuyck’s first playoff run in 2017-18 and the Covid cup/half season, he transforms from a Vezina goalie every year in the regular season to a dud in the playoffs.

Even in 2019 where he posted a .913 save% doesn’t tell the story. He seems to give up very untimely goals with maybe 1 strong game a series to prop up his numbers.

I won’t look up Benn’s numbers (even thou I’m sure they’re bad), the guy simply disappears in the biggest games and moments. Can’t remember any big time playoff goals from the face of the franchise (tunure, contract, and wear the C)

 

[DitchMarner]

Guys like Thornton, Yashin, Seguin, Nash, Keith Tkachuk have already been mentioned...

Stamkos has been disappointing relative to talent, but when TB had great depth, they didn't need a ton of scoring from him. Now that their depth isn't that good, he's been one of their better performers this spring (GPG player); unfortunately for him, that likely won't be remembered since his team will be out in the first round.

Marner's had his share of disappointments (this year being another example). Matthews needs to have a defining playoff run where he dominates regularly. Panarin can use a very strong playoff run as well.

 

[PocketNines]

Keith Tkachuk at one time was a first line player on 3 of the (then) 20 teams in all NHL history that choked away a 3-1 series lead. Think of how difficult a feat that is. He played 85 playoff games and had 20 goals and they would be the padding goals in a 6-0 Game 1 win and absolutely never in a Game Seven or anywhere near the third period or anywhere near the times in the playoffs where you absolutely need a goal. In decades of watching hockey, Keith was the shittiest bum I ever saw in the playoffs. An absolute turd loser. I once saw this man in 2004 in Game 2 of the Sharks series with two minutes left in a one goal game that his team was losing and needed to win, decide to take five extra steps to hit Scott Hannan after Hannan had long sent the puck into the Blues zone and put his team down the final 2 minutes of the game. Remember his breakaway in a scoreless Game Seven in Vancouver in 2003? The Blues needed that goal, but he flubbed it of course, and went pointless like all his career Game 7s and they lost. He was a wretched suckhole of failure in the playoffs.

What his son did last year was the pure opposite of his dad, whose teams died on him never having any heroics, ever

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Monahan has to be up there. Invisible.