Fedorov or Datsyuk

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I probably would have voted for Lidstrom that year, but in Yzerman's defense, he really did "lead" that team. It was his acceptance of equal ice time for all forwards that had everyone buying into the system. It was his sacrificing offense for defense that made everyone step in line with the left wing lock. And Yzerman was throwing his body in front of shots all over the place during those playoffs. You damned well better believe the rest of the Wings noticed.

Lidstrom only scored 8 points in the 1997 playoffs though. 1998 was his first elite offensive postseason. But then, I say Scott Stevens deserved the 1995 Smythe, and he only scored 8 points then...

Points wise, Yzerman was a notch below Fedorov (and Shanahan, for that matter), but he was still hugely important in the Wings finally winning the Cup, and it wouldn't have been crazy for him to take home the Smythe for it. The fact that he was one of the most popular players in the league even back then certainly didn't hurt his vote totals, but he wasn't just coasting on his name value.

Yzerman and Shanahan were definitely vital, I just didn't see either with the impact all over the ice as Fedorov.

Anyway, my main point when I started all of this is that Fedorov was not an all time great playoff performer. He was very good, but I think his 20 point playoffs streak causes some to rank him higher in playoff performance than he probably deserves. Having said that, he does deserve to be ranked above Datsyuk in the playoffs, and by a significant margin.

I disagree fully here. IMO, he is in a conversation with Scott Stevens and Joe Sakic as the best postseason performers of the entire era between the lockouts.

 

[Coffey77]

I pick Fedorov.

Fedorov's playoff performance > Datsyuk's. Fedorov recorded at least 20 points in the playoffs in 4 consecutive seasons. Only Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier can say they have done the same.

Fedorov could frustrate the heck out of you in the regular season but come playoff time he was a beast. At times Datsyuk can look like that (in 07-08) but not as dominate as Fedorov was.

 

[nik jr]

Regular seasons are close - Fedorov's 93-94 is the best season between them by a good margin, but he never really repeated it. Datsyuk has probably been a top player in the regular season more often.

But Datsyuk can't hold Fedorov's proverbial jock in the playoffs (where Feds consistently played at his 93-94 regular season level), so I think Fedorov easily takes this one.

imo, this is hyperbole.

fedorov was almost always very good in the playoffs, but was usually not really dominant.

i think he should have won the smythe in '97, though, and would have won in '95 if DRW had won.

A couple of points. First, Fedorov's playoff performances. Yes, he had a string of 20 point postseasons. But I think he actually gets too much credit for those. He was certainly very, very solid for the Wings in the playoffs, but I don't think he was an all time great playoff performer. There's a reason he doesn't have a Conn Smythe. He tended to be very consistent, but rarely game breaking (the one possible exception might be the '95 finals, when Fedorov was pretty much the only Wing who posed any threat whatsoever to the Devils' trap).

Second, Fedorov's defense. The "he could have won the Norris" is just flat out hyberbole. Sergei was a capable defenseman, but he was no where near Norris caliber. And people often forget that he was put back there as *punishment* for pretty much sucking it up as a forward. Sergei was slumping at center, so Bowman moved him to defense in an attempt to get his head into the game.

The problem with Fedorov was that he was only great when motivated, and he was only motivated in the playoffs or when going head to head with the best teams in the league (e.g., Fedorov tended to gave excellent games against the Av's). Other than his Hart year, most of the time he was a decent second line forward.

Having said all of that, I still give the slight edge to Fedorov, based solely on his playoff performances. Even though he wasn't carrying the Wings, he was a major, major part of their success, which is something I think Datsyuk still needs to work on. Regular season wise, I'll take Datsyuk's career over Fedorov's (Hart included), but the gap in the playoff performances is big enough that Sergei wins my overall vote.

mostly agreed

Lidstrom only scored 8 points in the 1997 playoffs though. 1998 was his first elite offensive postseason. But then, I say Scott Stevens deserved the 1995 Smythe, and he only scored 8 points then...

'95: 16p (4+12) in 18 games
'96: 14p (5+9) in 19 games

3rd on his team both times

 

[Blades of Glory]

imo, this is hyperbole.

fedorov was almost always very good in the playoffs, but was usually not really dominant.

i think he should have won the smythe in '97, though, and would have won in '95 if DRW had won.


mostly agreed


'95: 16p (4+12) in 18 games
'96: 14p (5+9) in 19 games

3rd on his team both times

Fedorov had 20 points in 17 Cup Final games. The next closest Red Wing over that time span was Yzerman, with 13 points in 17 games. That says quite a lot.

 

[nik jr]

Fedorov had 20 points in 17 Cup Final games. The next closest Red Wing over that time span was Yzerman, with 13 points in 17 games. That says quite a lot.

i am aware of that. fedorov was my favorite player. but i don't think many fans will talk about fedorov's '96 playoffs as dominant in 20 years.

i have noticed that i think of dominance differently than many others. i think of dominance as controlling the game, and also scoring well. messier's game 6 vs NJD in '94 is often mentioned as a great and dominant performance, b/c he had a hat trick after guaranteeing the win. but i don't think he was dominant. franzen scored 5g yesterday, but i did not think he was dominant. zetterberg may have been better.

i don't think any DRW players were regularly dominant. bowman relied very much on depth. colorado, by contrast, relied much more on roy, forsberg and sakic.

 

[Infinite Vision*]

i am aware of that. fedorov was my favorite player. but i don't think many fans will talk about fedorov's '96 playoffs as dominant in 20 years.

i have noticed that i think of dominance differently than many others. i think of dominance as controlling the game, and also scoring well. messier's game 6 vs NJD in '94 is often mentioned as a great and dominant performance, b/c he had a hat trick after guaranteeing the win. but i don't think he was dominant. franzen scored 5g yesterday, but i did not think he was dominant. zetterberg may have been better.

i don't think any DRW players were regularly dominant. bowman relied very much on depth. colorado, by contrast, relied much more on roy, forsberg and sakic.

That's the way I see it as well, and also agree with the rest.

 

[Alternatively]

better off with federov

 

[RabbinsDuck]

Fedorov is actually on par with Datsyuk in one area - you are constantly left wondering why these guys do not have more points each season - they are so talented that you would not have been surprised to see these guys with at least 3 points every game. They are both dominant players, with Fedorov putting it all together when it counts more so than Datsyuk, but with Datsyuk an obvious harder worker who just might overtake him in a few years out of sheer great work ethic.

 

[tony d]

Going with Sergei fedorov.

 

[andreydali19]

The second thread on this in half a month. Unless the other was on the main board, I'd say wait another 2-3 three years for a reasonable comparison. Though Feds did reach his prime at an earlier age.

 

[19 for president]

If Datsyuk had Feds natural physical gifts or if Feds had Datsyuk's work ethic this wouldn't be a discussion, but that is not the case so there is one. I'd give it to Feds right now because of that amazing playoff run in the 90s and early 00s. 20+ points in the playoffs is a remarkable feat, even more so in the trap era. Feds was simply one of the most gifted players to ever play the game. He could skate like the wind, had a hard and accurate shot, and was a great two way player. Put all that together and he was simply unstoppable when he wanted to be, but as stated that was usually only during the playoffs/ key matchups. Zetterberg is similar in that he too plays a much more low key game until the playoffs start or the Wings get hit with injuries. The difference is that Zetterberg has chronic health issues/ lacks the Fed's skills so he isn't looked upon so negatively for his mediocre reg season stats. For Dats to rival Feds he needs to put him a couple of huge seasons of playoff numbers and garner a Conn Smythe. Until that happens he will always be the second best Russian Wing.

 

[Gobo]

Federov had a higher peak, and as a monster in the playoffs. Datysuk is consistently amazing but his best < Fed's best.

I consider Fedorov a Hall of Famer, Datsyuk not (at least not with his current resume').

Really? I think Dats is an HHOF'er, wondering why he isn't to you.

 

[dre]

fedorov is just a fascinating player to look back on. After a dominating season with the Art Ross and Hart, then disappointing playoff losses for 3 straight seasons we see his evolution.

We gain perspective into what sergie found to be most important. you can go balls to the wall for 82 games and be MVP or you can be on the championship winning team. (or you can be good enough to do both, lemieux, gretzky) And in the end what is most important?

The red wings relied on scoring depth, defense and teamwork. You don't need to carry you team through the regular season to succeed so we don't see great offensive seasons from Yzerman, Shanny or Feds.

I'm pretty much repeating a lot of ideas already voiced here, but I figured I would try to summarize a bit.