How good was Scott Niedermayer ?

[The Macho King]

One of the interesting things I think that comes from these discussions is how much the last (few) season(s) of a player's career impacts how we think of them in hindsight, even if it doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. I wonder if you put a Chelios v. Niedermayer poll up in the polls section if Nieds wouldn't win since Chelios kept playing well past his best buy date. I also wonder if part of Pronger's legacy is impacted similarly - playing well up until he hung them up.

I was curious so I became the change I wished to see in the world:

Chelios or Niedermayer

Looks like the results are restoring my faith in humanity somewhat.

 

[Richard]

Never as good as he looked.

Above average for the vast majority of his career.

 

[vikash1987]

I think Pronger’s is more of a realization that he was statistically the best defensive player of the generation despite playing on worse teams for the most part.

1998-2010	ESGA	ES TOI	ESGA/60
Pronger	554	15252	2.18
Lidstrom	704	17339	2.44
Niedermayer	649	15925	2.45

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Interesting. I wish I still had access to this ES GA & ES TOI data. Any chance you can split this exact same table to 1998-2003 and 2004-2009? Or something along those lines, in order to compare Niedermayer (and the other two) between those periods

 

[Theokritos]

Brian Leetch discussion moved to a thread of its own.

 

[vikash1987]

Just some added perspective into Niedermayer's offensive contributions in the playoffs as a Devil:

In 21 playoff rounds between 1993 and 2002 (leaving out ‘03 and ‘04 since those years haven’t been called as much into question), Niedermayer factored into the scoring with a goal or assist in 1/3 of all playoff games in which he was in the lineup (i.e. excluding the games in which he was out with a concussion thanks to Tie Domi); and when he scored, the team won over 70% of their playoff games, as opposed to 50% when he didn't score.

I honestly expected that "over 70%" bump to have been higher, though, as a reference, it's roughly the same for Lidstrom and the Red Wings during those same years (though he scored more frequently in more games, covering 31 rounds between '92 and '04)

Not something to put a whole lot of weight into, but just thought it was interesting.

 

[vikash1987]

Does anyone remember what the assessment was of Niedermayer’s overall performance over the entirety of the 2002 Olympics? I watched replays of all of Canada’s games, a few years later, but don’t remember what folks had to say.

I know he received effusive praise from John Davidson, NBC’s color guy who was partnering with Gary Thorne, during the Gold Medal game against the U.S. One of my favorite quotes from J.D., during the 3rd period of that game, was about Niedermayer:

“From the moment the puck was dropped to start this game, Scott Niedermayer has been everywhere. He’s been like a rover: defense, offense, everywhere!....[Niedermayer] has been [Canada’s] most consistent guy in my mind. He does get trapped once in a while. He’s such a great skater, he can get back. I’ve seen him play a lot of playoff games, I’ve seen him win Stanley Cups. In this one, he is just making it happen, all over the ice!”

 

[Bustedprospect]

Shined in a weak era. Not close to Pronger och Lidstrom and not close to the top early career.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Smooth skater. Great shot. Simply one of the best to lace them up. True warrior too.