Greatest Forwards #29

[Hockey Outsider]

It's almost as if he was competing for that first team all star slot with another pretty good goal scoring left winger...

I watched both guys play, and Kovalchuk was world's better than Shanahan. Shanahan was much more of a complimentary player, whereas Kovalchuk was able to do much more on his own. Funny that you mention how there's more to hockey than scoring goals, but Shanahan was way more one dimensional than Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk could beat you every possible way, he could skate, make plays, carry the puck, and score from anywhere. He was also able to play the power game, and wasn't afraid to drop the gloves.

That statement is absurd. Shanahan was far more responsible defensively than Kovalchuk. I don't think that anybody who watched both players careers could disagree. Shanahan was also a reliable penalty killer (not his entire career, but at times) - a duty Kovalchuk was never entrusted with. Selling Kovalchuk's physicality in a comparison to Shanahan, one of the greatest power forwards in NHL history, is simply baffling.

Was Shanahan a complementary player? He played on arguably the greatest team post-Oilers and led the Red Wings in scoring during two of their three Stanley Cup winning seasons (1997 and 2002). Complimentary players, by definition, don't lead their teams in scoring.

A lot of what Kovalchuk "did on his own" was driven by obscene amounts of powerplay ice time (far more than any other forward in the league received) - evidence linked above.

All that being said - I agree that Kovalchuk was more talented than Shanahan and would out-score in most situations. But the difference in longevity between them isn't small (Shanahan has 16 of the top 25 seasons between the two of them), was much better away from the puck, and has a vastly superior playoff resume. I do see the argument for Kovalchuk, but it's pretty much focused on regular season offensive peak to the exclusion of all else.