Best NHL Performer each season 1990 to 2004

[The Panther]

The 60s is basically Hull, Mikita, with a little Howe/Orr.

The 70s is basically Orr/Lafleur, with a little Clarke/Trottier.

The 80s is basically Gretzky, with a little Lemieux at the end.

The 90s is much more diverse in terms of best performer each season, and this carried on into the 2000s, so let's take it all the way to 2003-04, making 15 seasons to break down.

Because I don't want to get into the usual debate about what "best player" means (i.e., Mario Lemieux was still the best player in 1993-94 even though he barely played, etc.), let's treat it as "best performer" each season. So, unless you played most of the games, you're not really a candidate. Of course, we already have the Hart trophies ("most valuable to his team") and Pearson awards to go by, but we seem to often disagree on the selections (and merits) of those awards.

Oh, and this is for REGULAR SEASON ONLY. Disregard playoffs completely. And feel free to list "ties" with as many equal performers per season as you like (I often have several).

So, I'll try:

1989-90
Ray Bourque / Wayne Gretzky / Mark Messier / Patrick Roy
(Close: Mario Lemieux, but missed a few too many games and poor 5-on-5 results, and Brett Hull)

1990-91
Wayne Gretzky
(Close: Adam Oates, but missed some games, and Brett Hull)

1991-92
Mario Lemieux / Mark Messier / Patrick Roy
(Close: Brett Hull)

1992-93
Mario Lemieux
(Close: Pat Lafontaine, Alex Mogilny, Teemu Selanne)

1993-94
Dominik Hasek / Sergei Fedorov
(Close: Doug Gilmour, Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, but missed some games, and Patrick Roy)

1995
Jaromir Jagr / Eric Lindros
(Close: Dominik Hasek)

1995-96
Mario Lemieux
(Close: Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Joe Sakic)

1996-97
Dominik Hasek / Mario Lemieux
(Close: Martin Brodeur, Paul Kariya, but missed some games, and Teemu Selanne)

1997-98
Dominik Hasek / Jaromir Jagr
(Close: Peter Forsberg)

1998-99
Dominik Hasek / Jaromir Jagr
(Close: Peter Forsberg, Eric Lindros, Teemu Selanne)

1999-00
Chris Pronger
(Close: Jaromir Jagr, but missed too many games, and Pavel Bure)

2000-01
Joe Sakic
(Close: Jaromir Jagr)

2001-02
Jarome Iginla / Jose Theodore

2002-03
Peter Forsberg
(Close: Markus Naslund, Joe Thornton, Marty Turco)

2003-04
Martin St.Louis
(Close: Roberto Luongo, Joe Sakic)


**************

Whaddaya got??

Click to read more...

 

[quoipourquoi]

If I had a Hart ballot, it would be something like...

1990
Messier, Bourque, Roy
1991
Hull, Gretzky, Belfour
1992
Messier, Roy, Lemieux
1993
Lemieux, Lafontaine, Gilmour
1994
Fedorov, Vanbiesbrouck, Hasek
1995
Coffey, Lindros, Jagr
1996
Lemieux, Messier, Lindros, Sakic, Forsberg
1997
Brodeur, Hasek, Lemieux, Selanne, Roy
1998
Hasek, Selanne, Forsberg, Jagr, LeClair
1999
Jagr, Selanne, Sakic, Hasek, Forsberg
2000
Pronger, Jagr, Bure, Sakic, Lidstrom
2001
Sakic, Cechmanek, Lemieux, Elias, Jagr
2002
Roy, Theodore, Iginla, Burke, Naslund
2003
Forsberg, Naslund, Turco, MacInnis, Giguere
2004
St. Louis, Kiprusoff, Luongo, Sakic, Niedermayer


But there’s also a very good chance I would submit Khabibulin and Giguere in 2002 in place of Iginla and Naslund just because the idea of a five-goaltender ballot appeals to me.

 

[bobholly39]

1990 - Gretzky
1991 - Gretzky (Hull is right there too, but 160+ points hard to ignore)
1992 - Lemieux
1993 - Lemieux
1994 Fedorov/Hasek
1995 Jagr/Lindros
1996 Lemieux
1997 Lemieux/Hasek
1998 Hasek/Jagr
1999 Hasek/Jagr
2000 Jagr
2001 Lemieux/Sakic/Jagr
2002 Theodore (Roy not far, but #2)
2003 Forsberg
2004 St Louis

 

[Theokritos]

I hope one day we'll be in the position to do this for earlier NHL seasons (O6 era etc) through collective mining of the resources.

 

[quoipourquoi]

I hope one day we'll be in the position to do this for earlier NHL seasons (O6 era etc) through collective mining of the resources.

Could be a fun project if enough of us were involved. HOH submits retroactive awards ballots. 1943-2004. Two weeks per season, and we’ll knock it out in a little over two years.

Got anything scheduled from now through 2022?

 

[MS]

The 60s is basically Hull, Mikita, with a little Howe/Orr.

The 70s is basically Orr/Lafleur, with a little Clarke/Trottier.

The 80s is basically Gretzky, with a little Lemieux at the end.

The 90s is much more diverse in terms of best performer each season, and this carried on into the 2000s, so let's take it all the way to 2003-04, making 15 seasons to break down.

Because I don't want to get into the usual debate about what "best player" means (i.e., Mario Lemieux was still the best player in 1993-94 even though he barely played, etc.), let's treat it as "best performer" each season. So, unless you played most of the games, you're not really a candidate. Of course, we already have the Hart trophies ("most valuable to his team") and Pearson awards to go by, but we seem to often disagree on the selections (and merits) of those awards.

Oh, and this is for REGULAR SEASON ONLY. Disregard playoffs completely. And feel free to list "ties" with as many equal performers per season as you like (I often have several).

So, I'll try:

1989-90
Ray Bourque / Wayne Gretzky / Mark Messier / Patrick Roy
(Close: Mario Lemieux, but missed a few too many games and poor 5-on-5 results, and Brett Hull)

1990-91
Wayne Gretzky
(Close: Adam Oates, but missed some games, and Brett Hull)

1991-92
Mario Lemieux / Mark Messier / Patrick Roy
(Close: Brett Hull)

1992-93
Mario Lemieux
(Close: Pat Lafontaine, Alex Mogilny, Teemu Selanne)

1993-94
Dominik Hasek / Sergei Fedorov
(Close: Doug Gilmour, Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, but missed some games, and Patrick Roy)

1995
Jaromir Jagr / Eric Lindros
(Close: Dominik Hasek)

1995-96
Mario Lemieux
(Close: Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Joe Sakic)

1996-97
Dominik Hasek / Mario Lemieux
(Close: Martin Brodeur, Paul Kariya, but missed some games, and Teemu Selanne)

1997-98
Dominik Hasek / Jaromir Jagr
(Close: Peter Forsberg)

1998-99
Dominik Hasek / Jaromir Jagr
(Close: Peter Forsberg, Eric Lindros, Teemu Selanne)

1999-00
Chris Pronger
(Close: Jaromir Jagr, but missed too many games, and Pavel Bure)

2000-01
Joe Sakic
(Close: Jaromir Jagr)

2001-02
Jarome Iginla / Jose Theodore

2002-03
Peter Forsberg
(Close: Markus Naslund, Joe Thornton, Marty Turco)

2003-04
Martin St.Louis
(Close: Roberto Luongo, Joe Sakic)


**************

Whaddaya got??

Todd Bertuzzi was the best hockey player on the planet from January - April 2002 (and honestly, it wasn't even close), but didn't do enough in the first half of that season to win the Hart.

 

[Theokritos]

Could be a fun project if enough of us were involved. HOH submits retroactive awards ballots. 1943-2004. Two weeks per season, and we’ll knock it out in a little over two years.

Got anything scheduled from now through 2022?

It's would be a long-term endeavour if there ever was one. But the advantage is that you wouldn't need preliminary lists to determine which players are eligible. History determines eligibility: everyone who played in the NHL in a given season is up for discussion and voting.

 

[JackSlater]

1990: Lemieux (very tough year with Gretzky/Messier/Yzerman/Bourque putting up top end seasons. If there is a games missed penalty I'd go with Messier I suppose)
1991: Gretzky (tough loss for Hull, he would win many season with his year)
1992: Lemieux (small step up above a tight group below him, mainly due to games)
1993: Lemieux
1994: Fedorov
1995: Lindros (just slightly over Jagr and then Hasek)
1996: Lemieux
1997: Hasek
1998: Hasek
1999: Jagr
2000: Jagr (I guess Pronger if there is a penalty for missed games)
2001: Sakic
2002: Woof (Iginla I guess but it's a terrible year. Then Theodore or Roy. I wish Lidstrom had enjoyed one of his very best years that year)
2003: Forsberg
2004: St. Louis (Would be hypocritical to put Kiprusoff there but it's close, I would have gone with Forsberg if he'd played just a few more games)

 

[Oheao]

Could be a fun project if enough of us were involved. HOH submits retroactive awards ballots. 1943-2004. Two weeks per season, and we’ll knock it out in a little over two years.

Got anything scheduled from now through 2022?

Have HOH done a retro-active Conn Smythe for the years before the trophy?

 

[quoipourquoi]

Have HOH done a retro-active Conn Smythe for the years before the trophy?

No, but the Society for International Hockey Research did.

 

[Big Phil]

So from 1990 to 2004 who had the best "season"? So taking away things like in 1990 Lemieux likely has the best year out of anyone if he plays healthy. Okay, I might factor in postseason play too if it comes down to it.

1990 - Bourque/Messier/Gretzky - probably not a wrong answer here
1991 - Gretzky
1992 - Lemieux
1993 - Lemieux
1994 - Fedorov/Hasek
1995 - Lindros
1996 - Lemieux
1997 - Lemieux
1998 - Hasek
1999 - Jagr
2000 - Jagr
2001 - Sakic
2002 - Lidstrom/Naslund/Sakic
2003 - Forsberg
2004 - St. Louis/Brodeur

 

[The Panther]

If I had a Hart ballot, it would be something like...

Cool beans, but I'm specifically asking who was the best performer (i.e. best player in isolated seasons), not who was most valuable to his team (depending on your perspective, these are very different categories).

 

[The Panther]

Okay, I might factor in postseason play too if it comes down to it.

Oh, and this is for REGULAR SEASON ONLY. Disregard playoffs completely.

 

[The Panther]

Man, has there ever been a seemingly weaker year for forwards then 2001-02?

 

[Big Phil]

Man, has there ever been a seemingly weaker year for forwards then 2001-02?

2004 maybe.

2000 at least had Jagr doing something pretty remarkable by winning the scoring title in 63 games. But yeah, one of those weak years. Mario injured, Forsberg sits the whole year out, Lindros isn't the same anymore, Selanne and Kariya aren't the same anymore, Bure is injured, Jagr has those weird years in Washington starting this year. Sakic has a good year but takes a step back as well. And guys like Thornton, Heatley, Kovalchuk, Lecavalier, etc. hadn't taken the next step yet.

 

[scott clam]

By Calender year(with some overlap) probably something like:

1990: Gretzky, Messier, Bourque,
1991: Lemieux, Hull, Gretzky,
1992: Lemieux, Messier, Roy
1993: Lemieux, Gilmour, Roy,
1994: Fedorov, Hasek, Gilmour
1995: Lindros, Jagr, Fedorov
1996: Lemieux, Jagr, Sakic,
1997: Hasek, Jagr, Lemieux
1998: Hasek, Jagr, Forsberg
1999: Jagr, Hasek, Forsberg
2000: Jagr, Pronger, Bure
2001: Sakic, Jagr, Lemieux
2002: Lidstrom/Sakic/Roy/Forsberg/Iginla(very difficult year)*
2003: Forsberg, Naslund, Lidstrom
2004: St. Louis, Brodeur, Iginla

*if we want to include international play, Sakic is probably the most consistently good player of that year.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

2002 is not weak. It just lacks serious competition in relation to all-time talent. Theodore put on one of the best seasons a goaltender could put together, even if it was only spark. His team was absolute trash and his numbers are ridiculous. Compare Theodore to other peak years and his singular season still holds up.

 

[scott clam]

2002 is not weak. It just lacks serious competition in relation to all-time talent. Theodore put on one of the best seasons a goaltender could put together, even if it was only spark. His team was absolute trash and his numbers are ridiculous. Compare Theodore to other peak years and his singular season still holds up.

problem with 2002 is that Lemieux and Forsberg are injured, and that Jagr has a mediocre season(by his standards) after being traded.

Bure and the post-concussion Lindros also "jump the shark" around this time.

Lidstrom's wins his second and consecutive Norris trophy this season, but he flies under the Hart radar by playing on a regular season "all-star team".

 

[The Panther]

About 2001-02, I was just talking about forwards.

 

[Voight]

2001 was quite easily Sakic in my opinion. One of the finest seasons, even if he didn't come away with the scoring or goal titles.

 

[MS]

Man, has there ever been a seemingly weaker year for forwards then 2001-02?

Again, it's a weird thing because overall it was an incredibly weak year ... but inside that weak year Todd Bertuzzi put up what was probably the best half-season of hockey by any forward not named Jagr between 1997 and 2006. 60 points in 40 games while being a human wrecking ball. Bertuzzi for a brief moment reached the levels of absolute prime Lindros, but it just didn't last.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Todd Bertuzzi was the best hockey player on the planet from January - April 2002 (and honestly, it wasn't even close), but didn't do enough in the first half of that season to win the Hart.

for whatever reason bertuzzi becomes beast mode bertuzzi at exactly the beginning of 2002. on the first game of the new year, he begins a 15 game scoring streak after scoring just once in his previous four. he only failed to score four times for the entire rest of the season.

it's important to note: up to jan 1, 2002, naslund had 37 points in 42 games and was tied for 20th in scoring. he finished the season 2nd. bert finished 3rd despite that ten game suspension.

in that half a season when bertuzzi owned the league, he scored at a 70 assist pace, and a higher than 50 goal pace. over the entire DPE, 1997 to 2004, only one winger got 70 assists in a season, jagr of course, and he only did it once. his prorated points total of 123 would have been the second highest total of the DPE.

the canucks' record, prorated over a full season, would have been 53-23-6. only the four hundred hall of famers red wings would have finished with more points.

man, that really was the mother of hot streaks wasn't it?

then chelios figured him out in game three and that was that.

 

[MS]

for whatever reason bertuzzi becomes beast mode bertuzzi at exactly the beginning of 2002. on the first game of the new year, he begins a 15 game scoring streak after scoring just once in his previous four. he only failed to score four times for the entire rest of the season.

it's important to note: up to jan 1, 2002, naslund had 37 points in 42 games and was tied for 20th in scoring. he finished the season 2nd. bert finished 3rd despite that ten game suspension.

in that half a season when bertuzzi owned the league, he scored at a 70 assist pace, and a higher than 50 goal pace. over the entire DPE, 1997 to 2004, only one winger got 70 assists in a season, jagr of course, and he only did it once. his prorated points total of 123 would have been the second highest total of the DPE.

the canucks' record, prorated over a full season, would have been 53-23-6. only the four hundred hall of famers red wings would have finished with more points.

man, that really was the mother of hot streaks wasn't it?

then chelios figured him out in game three and that was that.

It was insane to watch. It's the most dominance I've ever seen from a Canucks player - including Bure and the Sedins.

There was an Eastern road trip in the middle of that stretch where he just wrecked the other team every single night and was the best player on the ice by a country mile - looked like he belonged in a different league. It wasn't just a 'hot streak' where things were going in for him - he was flat-out dominating.

 

[The Panther]

Okay, let's put the Kool-Aid down re: Bertuzzi! I lived in Vancouver then and was watching the Canucks a lot, too, and yes, he was great in that period, but he was great partly because of Naslund (whose peak I find under-rated on this forum, but that's another matter) and partly because the DPE allowed him to push defenders and goalies in the crease. To give Bertuzzi his credit, he had a great full season in 2002-03 (before disappearing in the playoffs), so we can say that he had 1.5 seasons of quite elite play.

I mean, he was impressive, but saying "he owned the League" and "the best half-season of hockey by any forward not named Jagr between 1997 and 2006" is way over-stating it.

 

[frisco]

1992-93
Mario Lemieux
(Close: Pat Lafontaine, Alex Mogilny, Teemu Selanne)

I think Pierre Turgeon's 1992-93 season is one of the underrated great seasons. Lemieux was on another planet but he still had Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Larry Murphy, Francis, Jagr all to play with. Selanne had Zhamnov and Housley and Mogilny/Lafontaine had each other. Turgeon went 58-74-132 with Stumpy Thomas and Derek King.

My Best-Carey