Centers that were mainly goalscorers rather than playmakers

[Nick Hansen]

Matthews would be a clear and current example but what are som past ones?

Click to read more...

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Stamkos is another

 

[daver]

In the Top 50 goalscorers all-time for Centres:

Stamkos*
Esposito
Neiuwendyk*
Marleau
Unger*


* more career goals than assists

 

[BobbyAwe]

Brings to mind the obvious question of WHY would a coach keep someone at center if they were more of a goal scorer than a playmaker? Is it just because his team might not have enough centers otherwise, or he is good at faceoffs, or has a playmaking wing to work with?

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Jeff Carter

 

[The Macho King]

Brings to mind the obvious question of WHY would a coach keep someone at center if they were more of a goal scorer than a playmaker? Is it just because his team might not have enough centers otherwise, or he is good at faceoffs, or has a playmaking wing to work with?

Tampa's had great playmaking wingers Stamkos' entire career, but at the same time...

For some reason he just sucks when you put him on the wing.

 

[bobholly39]

Stamkos and St Louis has always been such a weird dynamic for me.

When I picture them, St-Louis seems like a natural center, and Stamkos a natural winger, and yet it's the opposite.

Stamkos is the first name that came to mind to me.

 

[justafan22]

tavares?

 

[koyvoo]

tavares?

Tavares can do both. Now that he’s in Toronto, he’s easily adjusted into more a pure poacher and finisher through having the luxury of playing with one of the most gifted playmakers in the league in Marner.

With NYI Tavares was more an architect and playmaker than he is now.

 

[decma]

Pierre Larouche. Slightly more career assists than goals, but its close.

 

[tony d]

Phil Esposito would be the best example of this I would think.

 

[Big Phil]

Throughout his whole career it was weird seeing Nieuwendyk at centre. Even as you watched him you thought of him as a scoring winger. But he was good at faceoffs and responsible defensively so I guess they felt he fit in better there.

Not sure if it matters much but Modano was top 10 in goals twice while top 10 in assists just once. Not a noticeable difference like others mentioned but if I had to pick I thought he was a better goal scorer when he wanted to be than a playmaker.

Roenick perhaps in his Hawk years

Lafontaine definitely in his Islander years and the numbers show this

 

[BenchBrawl]

Lalonde
Morenz
Barry
Bowie
Malone
Taylor

to name a few unmentioned

Pavelski and Seguin comes to mind more recently

Even Yzerman was probably biased towards goalscoring in a minor way, for his era.

 

[sr edler]

When Bowie (and Lalonde) (and Malone) played everyone was mainly a goal scorer (at least on the stat sheet).

 

[The Panther]

Phil Esposito would be the best example of this I would think.

I know what you mean, but actually there were only 2 seasons in Espo's career where he had more goals than assists (and one was 1966 in Chicago, when he had 1 more goal than his assists). It's often over-looked that Esposito led the NHL in assists three times, and was second four times.

Amazingly, Espo had more 1st and 2nd-place assists finishes than Adam Oates.

 

[DitchMarner]

Yashin?

 

[VanIslander]

Off the top of my head...

Gils Perreault
Pat Lafontaine
Alexei Yashin
John Tavares
Joe Nieuwendyk

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Esposito, Larouche, Lafontaine and Nieuwendyk were the first to come to mind. Also I always thought of Marcel Dionne as a shoot-first goal scorer, not quite as much as the others, obviously, a great passer in his own right, but was a primary trigger man.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Oh, yeah, plus guys like Rick MacLeish, Peter McNab, Paul Gardner, Mike Bullard and Ray Ferraro were shoot first types.

 

[VanIslander]

Esposito, Larouche, Lafontaine and Nieuwendyk....

The first that comes to your mind is a guy who I have never seen play (i am only turning 50).. is it the "garbage goal".. "slow skater" STEROTYPE?

Esposito was 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 5th, 6th in NHL assists...

"Mainly" goal scorer? That by no means accurately describes Phil's career statistically.

Please inform us what we are missing.

He sure looks as EQUALLY a pass or shoot threat.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Stephane Richer when he played center

 

[VMBM]

I thought about Mats Sundin, although the numbers don't heavily support it (but he did have a couple of seasons when he scored more goals than assists, for example).

Maybe it's all those key/last minute goals he scored against Finland that I'm thinking of?

 

[VMBM]

Off the top of my head...

Gils Perreault
Pat Lafontaine
Alexei Yashin
John Tavares
Joe Nieuwendyk

Huh?

He scored many beauties but no way he was "mainly" a goal-scorer.

 

[Pominville Knows]

I know what you mean, but actually there were only 2 seasons in Espo's career where he had more goals than assists (and one was 1966 in Chicago, when he had 1 more goal than his assists). It's often over-looked that Esposito led the NHL in assists three times, and was second four times.

Amazingly, Espo had more 1st and 2nd-place assists finishes than Adam Oates.

There are more assists than goals being recorded so i would say Esposito certainly fits the bill here. Its just that his goal scoring was all time great whilst his playmaking was just great. Not Adam Oates great obviously.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

how many of these guys (lafontaine, bullard) just scored a lot of goals because they didn't have good wingers to play with? both guys were later in situations where they had goal scoring support from teammates and put up very good assist numbers.

bullard, on the '88 flames, was on that crazy PP with macinnis and suter at the points, and loob, nieuwendyk, mullen, and others up front. he also centered tonelli and rookie brett hull that year. in hull's autobiography, he calls it the "what the bleep" line. i'm guessing you say a different word than bleep when you say it out loud. bullard had 55 assists, good for 19th in the league (he had 47 goals, 9th in the league; 11th in points with a career high 103).

lafontaine, of course, put up 95 assists and helped his wingers andreychuk and mogilny to career highs in goals. he also was a key cog on an excellent powerplay with those two, hawerchuk, and lucky beneficiary doug bodger on the other point.

i think it's similar with guys like sundin and modano. both might be more goals-oriented than your average center, but neither was "mainly" a goalscorer in the sense of a stamkos, say, or jeff carter or nieuwendyk, or ray ferraro (nice call on ferraro, iron mike). i would add ryan kesler to that list. in the summer of 2010, a switch flicked off in his head and he forgot that passing existed.