Pretty good shot. I would probably have Kenta Nilsson on the list and maybe Håkan Loob. Sven Tumba should perhaps be after Ulf Sterner but guys from that era is quite hard to compare with the modern players.
Old post and replies, but…
I think it’s tricky listing the Swedes over time for several reasons. The NHL track records are rather straightforward and to each her own who you prefer when they’re close. But then it gets easy lowering guys like Loob, Mats Näslund and Nilsson who were NHL stars, but whose stats relative to other stars of the era are a notch below the later NHL ”super-Swedes”. Loob holds the record for most goals by a Swedish NHLer with 50, but
he didn’t even lead his own team in goals that season! Nieuwendyk netted 51! Loob did peak top-10 in goals and points, but not consistently and this can be said for many Swedes since. I give him and Le Petit Viking full credit for leading great teams in scoring, but for offensive players in the 80s, their stats aren’t as impressive relative to the competition as what the following generations were able to produce. One might ask oneself however if their stats in some ways were victims of circumstance, being early Euros in the NHL, Näslund playing for a defensive system and whatnot, but it’s hard for me to rank them without having been there. Nilsson of course has a lot to love. His best season is remarkable, not far off Marcel Dionne for 2nd best offensive season after Gretzky. But I can’t shake the feeling that there was a guy who rarely lived up to his potential, lost one or several steps in the playoffs, and perhaps didn’t even enjoy hockey when it got too serious and competitive. I’ve got love and respect to spare for someone like that, but when comparing him to someone like Daniel Alfredsson who had a similarly brief offensive peak despite not being nearly as gifted, but who was a fierce competitor, had a Smythe worthy playoff run, played well late in his career and tends to get underrated for his contributions on the national team, I think I value the latter more. But I admit there’s an “I was there”-bias involved with Alfie over Kenta, I should go back and watch and also try to learn more about the obstacles that the earlier stars had to clear for the next generations.
Agreed that it’s tougher with the even earlier Swedish stars. Tumba I feel has to be on any top-10 for his legacy and contributions to growing the game of hockey in Sweden. If we’re going down the rabbit hole of how he would have done going up against Howe or Beliveau, it’s tough to see how he would compare favorably, although I do think he could have become a very serviceable NHLer under slightly different circumstances. But hockey was played in two worlds at the time, the way I see it, and in Europe he was a superstar whose impact difficult to overstate. I do think it very likely Sterner was an even better player, though. Another favorite of mine from video is Lill-Strimma Svedberg, a huge “what-if” but a treat to watch.
Tumba and Sterner is hard since they are prior NHL more or less. But Markus Näslund > Nilsson > Loob for me.
Maybe, but I’d certainly place Henrik and maybe also Daniel Sedin ahead of Näslund. I don’t know, Näslund is so disappointing to me. He rarely raised his game in big games, I associate him more with failure (2002 Olympics, disappointing playoffs) than the soaring peak. I remember often hearing the claim that he was an even better talent than Forsberg but that the latter bridge the gap with his competitiveness, and perhaps it’s unfair holding Näslund’s career against a guy whose best player comparison for my money is Crosby, but it’s not only that. For guys I saw play a lot, Näslund lacked an important component of what makes a very talented player great. But I might be proven wrong.
