Most "Clutch" NHL Players Since 1980 - #3

[DitchMarner]

The question is indeed subjective.

Who's the third most clutch NHL player since 1980?




#1. Wayne Gretzky
#2. Patrick Roy

Click to read more...

 

[Hockey Outsider]

As noted, it really depends on how you define the question.

Highest level of performance overall? Obviously Mario Lemieux.

Biggest improvement from the regular season? Either Claude Lemieux, Daniel Briere, or Justin Williams.

Best in critical situations? Maybe Justin Williams if you focus almost exclusively on game 7's. Joe Sakic if you're focusing on overtime and/or decisive goals.

Best overall body of work in the playoffs? Probably Mark Messier. But a good argument can be made for Mario Lemieux, Denis Potvin, Joe Sakic, and Sidney Crosby. Those should probably be the next five players to go, in some order.

 

[FoxyClean]

Feel like Messier is going to be massively underrated here. The man led the Oilers to a Cup after Gretzky's departure, then was brought to NYC to do what was at the time the most impossible thing in sports - win the Rangers a Stanley Cup - and he did just that.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Voted Briere. Agreed its how you define the question.

How high is this list going? Could Trevor Linden get a nomination?

 

[HarryLime]

As noted, it really depends on how you define the question.

Highest level of performance overall? Obviously Mario Lemieux.

Biggest improvement from the regular season? Either Claude Lemieux, Daniel Briere, or Justin Williams.

Best in critical situations? Maybe Justin Williams if you focus almost exclusively on game 7's. Joe Sakic if you're focusing on overtime and/or decisive goals.

Best overall body of work in the playoffs? Probably Mark Messier. But a good argument can be made for Mario Lemieux, Denis Potvin, Joe Sakic, and Sidney Crosby. Those should probably be the next five players to go, in some order.

Yup I agree with all of that but for the purposes of the thread I'll vote Sakic. 2002 Salt Lake is the tie breaker

 

[Varan]

I’m taking Patrick Kane over anyone in NHL history. When the game is on the line that dude is a straight killer

Best closer in NHL history

 

[Trap Jesus]

These numbers are for every player that's scored 6 or more go-ahead or game-tying goals in the 3rd or OT since 1980. It works out to the top ~100 if I cut it at 6. I sorted it by most per 20 games:

Player	Playoff Games	Game-Tying or Go-Ahead Goals in 3rd/OT	Playoff Goals	Tying/Go-Ahead Goals in 3rd/OT per 20 Games	Playoff Goals per 20 Games	% of Goals that are Tying/Go-Ahead in 3rd/OT
JAKE GUENTZEL	41	6	24	2.93	11.71	25.00
BOBBY RYAN	51	7	18	2.75	7.06	38.89
MARIAN GABORIK	84	10	32	2.38	7.62	31.25
Cam Neely	93	11	57	2.37	12.26	19.30
Steve Payne	71	8	35	2.25	9.86	22.86
Joe Sakic	172	19	84	2.21	9.77	22.62
BRANDON DUBINSKY	58	6	10	2.07	3.45	60.00
Brett Hull	202	20	103	1.98	10.20	19.42
FILIP FORSBERG	61	6	23	1.97	7.54	26.09
Daniel Briere	124	12	53	1.94	8.55	22.64
TOMAS HERTL	62	6	24	1.94	7.74	25.00
PATRICK KANE	127	12	50	1.89	7.87	24.00
Martin Havlat	75	7	21	1.87	5.60	33.33
NICKLAS BACKSTROM	123	11	36	1.79	5.85	30.56
Mats Naslund	102	9	35	1.76	6.86	25.71
TYLER JOHNSON	68	6	24	1.76	7.06	25.00
Mats Sundin	91	8	38	1.76	8.35	21.05
Jaromir Jagr	208	18	78	1.73	7.50	23.08
COREY PERRY	118	10	36	1.69	6.10	27.78
Joel Ward	83	7	22	1.69	5.30	31.82
Martin St. Louis	107	9	42	1.68	7.85	21.43
ZACH PARISE	97	8	35	1.65	7.22	22.86
JOE PAVELSKI	134	11	48	1.64	7.16	22.92
Bobby Smith	184	15	64	1.63	6.96	23.44
PATRICE BERGERON	136	11	40	1.62	5.88	27.50
JADEN SCHWARTZ	75	6	22	1.60	5.87	27.27
Vincent Damphousse	140	11	41	1.57	5.86	26.83
ALEX OVECHKIN	128	10	65	1.56	10.16	15.38
Jeremy Roenick	154	12	53	1.56	6.88	22.64
Stu Barnes	116	9	30	1.55	5.17	30.00
Russ Courtnall	129	10	39	1.55	6.05	25.64
Joe Murphy	120	9	34	1.50	5.67	26.47
NICK BONINO	94	7	18	1.49	3.83	38.89
Chris Drury	135	10	47	1.48	6.96	21.28
Wendel Clark	95	7	37	1.47	7.79	18.92
Claude Lemieux	234	17	80	1.45	6.84	21.25
JONATHAN TOEWS	128	9	40	1.41	6.25	22.50
Dale Hunter	186	13	42	1.40	4.52	30.95
Luc Robitaille	159	11	58	1.38	7.30	18.97
LOGAN COUTURE	116	8	48	1.38	8.28	16.67
Bernie Federko	87	6	34	1.38	7.82	17.65
Mike Modano	176	12	58	1.36	6.59	20.69
JORDAN STAAL	88	6	27	1.36	6.14	22.22
Stephane Richer	134	9	53	1.34	7.91	16.98
Glenn Anderson	225	15	93	1.33	8.27	16.13
Alex Kovalev	123	8	45	1.30	7.32	17.78
Esa Tikkanen	186	12	72	1.29	7.74	16.67
Peter Stastny	93	6	33	1.29	7.10	18.18
Matt Cooke	110	7	13	1.27	2.36	53.85
Steve Thomas	174	11	54	1.26	6.21	20.37
Jamie Langenbrunner	146	9	34	1.23	4.66	26.47
Teemu Selanne	130	8	44	1.23	6.77	18.18
Petr Sykora	133	8	34	1.20	5.11	23.53
RYAN KESLER	101	6	24	1.19	4.75	25.00
Vyacheslav Kozlov	118	7	42	1.19	7.12	16.67
Kevin Stevens	103	6	46	1.17	8.93	13.04
Ken Linseman	105	6	41	1.14	7.81	14.63
Rod Brind'Amour	159	9	51	1.13	6.42	17.65
Trevor Linden	124	7	34	1.13	5.48	20.59
Brian Propp	160	9	64	1.13	8.00	14.06
Brian Bellows	143	8	51	1.12	7.13	15.69
Dave Andreychuk	162	9	43	1.11	5.31	20.93
Jere Lehtinen	108	6	27	1.11	5.00	22.22
Rick Tocchet	145	8	52	1.10	7.17	15.38
Kirk Muller	127	7	33	1.10	5.20	21.21
Simon Gagne	109	6	37	1.10	6.79	16.22
Doug Gilmour	182	10	60	1.10	6.59	16.67
MILAN LUCIC	114	6	28	1.05	4.91	21.43
Dave Babych	114	6	21	1.05	3.68	28.57
PATRICK MARLEAU	191	10	72	1.05	7.54	13.89
John LeClair	154	8	42	1.04	5.45	19.05
Henrik Zetterberg	137	7	57	1.02	8.32	12.28
Joe Nieuwendyk	158	8	66	1.01	8.35	12.12
Dino Ciccarelli	141	7	73	0.99	10.35	9.59
Sergei Fedorov	183	9	52	0.98	5.68	17.31
Mike Gartner	122	6	43	0.98	7.05	13.95
Joe Mullen	143	7	60	0.98	8.39	11.67
BRENT SEABROOK	123	6	20	0.98	3.25	30.00
Daniel Alfredsson	124	6	51	0.97	8.23	11.76
Wayne Gretzky	208	10	122	0.96	11.73	8.20
Scott Gomez	149	7	29	0.94	3.89	24.14
Dave Poulin	129	6	31	0.93	4.81	19.35
JUSTIN WILLIAMS	155	7	40	0.90	5.16	17.50
Jari Kurri	200	9	106	0.90	10.60	8.49
EVGENI MALKIN	162	7	63	0.86	7.78	11.11
Steve Larmer	140	6	56	0.86	8.00	10.71
Mark Messier	236	10	109	0.85	9.24	9.17
Mark Recchi	189	8	61	0.85	6.46	13.11
Brad Richards	146	6	37	0.82	5.07	16.22
Ron Francis	171	7	46	0.82	5.38	15.22
Bryan Trottier	179	7	66	0.78	7.37	10.61
Pavel Datsyuk	157	6	42	0.76	5.35	14.29
Brendan Shanahan	184	7	60	0.76	6.52	11.67
John Tonelli	162	6	39	0.74	4.81	15.38
SIDNEY CROSBY	164	6	66	0.73	8.05	9.09
Scott Niedermayer	202	7	25	0.69	2.48	28.00
Guy Carbonneau	231	8	38	0.69	3.29	21.05
Al MacInnis	177	6	39	0.68	4.41	15.38
Paul Coffey	194	6	59	0.62	6.08	10.17
Steve Yzerman	196	6	70	0.61	7.14	8.57
Ray Bourque	214	6	41	0.56	3.83	14.63
Kris Draper	222	6	24	0.54	2.16	25.00
Nicklas Lidstrom	263	6	54	0.46	4.11	11.11

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[FoxyClean]

These numbers are for every player that's scored 6 or more go-ahead or game-tying goals in the 3rd or OT since 1980. It works out to the top ~100 if I cut it at 6. I sorted it by most per 20 games:

Player	Playoff Games	Game-Tying or Go-Ahead Goals in 3rd/OT	Playoff Goals	Tying/Go-Ahead Goals in 3rd/OT per 20 Games	Playoff Goals per 20 Games	% of Goals that are Tying/Go-Ahead in 3rd/OT
JAKE GUENTZEL	41	6	24	2.93	11.71	25.00
BOBBY RYAN	51	7	18	2.75	7.06	38.89
MARIAN GABORIK	84	10	32	2.38	7.62	31.25
Cam Neely	93	11	57	2.37	12.26	19.30
Steve Payne	71	8	35	2.25	9.86	22.86
Joe Sakic	172	19	84	2.21	9.77	22.62
BRANDON DUBINSKY	58	6	10	2.07	3.45	60.00
Brett Hull	202	20	103	1.98	10.20	19.42
FILIP FORSBERG	61	6	23	1.97	7.54	26.09
Daniel Briere	124	12	53	1.94	8.55	22.64
TOMAS HERTL	62	6	24	1.94	7.74	25.00
PATRICK KANE	127	12	50	1.89	7.87	24.00
Martin Havlat	75	7	21	1.87	5.60	33.33
NICKLAS BACKSTROM	123	11	36	1.79	5.85	30.56
Mats Naslund	102	9	35	1.76	6.86	25.71
TYLER JOHNSON	68	6	24	1.76	7.06	25.00
Mats Sundin	91	8	38	1.76	8.35	21.05
Jaromir Jagr	208	18	78	1.73	7.50	23.08
COREY PERRY	118	10	36	1.69	6.10	27.78
Joel Ward	83	7	22	1.69	5.30	31.82
Martin St. Louis	107	9	42	1.68	7.85	21.43
ZACH PARISE	97	8	35	1.65	7.22	22.86
JOE PAVELSKI	134	11	48	1.64	7.16	22.92
Bobby Smith	184	15	64	1.63	6.96	23.44
PATRICE BERGERON	136	11	40	1.62	5.88	27.50
JADEN SCHWARTZ	75	6	22	1.60	5.87	27.27
Vincent Damphousse	140	11	41	1.57	5.86	26.83
ALEX OVECHKIN	128	10	65	1.56	10.16	15.38
Jeremy Roenick	154	12	53	1.56	6.88	22.64
Stu Barnes	116	9	30	1.55	5.17	30.00
Russ Courtnall	129	10	39	1.55	6.05	25.64
Joe Murphy	120	9	34	1.50	5.67	26.47
NICK BONINO	94	7	18	1.49	3.83	38.89
Chris Drury	135	10	47	1.48	6.96	21.28
Wendel Clark	95	7	37	1.47	7.79	18.92
Claude Lemieux	234	17	80	1.45	6.84	21.25
JONATHAN TOEWS	128	9	40	1.41	6.25	22.50
Dale Hunter	186	13	42	1.40	4.52	30.95
Luc Robitaille	159	11	58	1.38	7.30	18.97
LOGAN COUTURE	116	8	48	1.38	8.28	16.67
Bernie Federko	87	6	34	1.38	7.82	17.65
Mike Modano	176	12	58	1.36	6.59	20.69
JORDAN STAAL	88	6	27	1.36	6.14	22.22
Stephane Richer	134	9	53	1.34	7.91	16.98
Glenn Anderson	225	15	93	1.33	8.27	16.13
Alex Kovalev	123	8	45	1.30	7.32	17.78
Esa Tikkanen	186	12	72	1.29	7.74	16.67
Peter Stastny	93	6	33	1.29	7.10	18.18
Matt Cooke	110	7	13	1.27	2.36	53.85
Steve Thomas	174	11	54	1.26	6.21	20.37
Jamie Langenbrunner	146	9	34	1.23	4.66	26.47
Teemu Selanne	130	8	44	1.23	6.77	18.18
Petr Sykora	133	8	34	1.20	5.11	23.53
RYAN KESLER	101	6	24	1.19	4.75	25.00
Vyacheslav Kozlov	118	7	42	1.19	7.12	16.67
Kevin Stevens	103	6	46	1.17	8.93	13.04
Ken Linseman	105	6	41	1.14	7.81	14.63
Rod Brind'Amour	159	9	51	1.13	6.42	17.65
Trevor Linden	124	7	34	1.13	5.48	20.59
Brian Propp	160	9	64	1.13	8.00	14.06
Brian Bellows	143	8	51	1.12	7.13	15.69
Dave Andreychuk	162	9	43	1.11	5.31	20.93
Jere Lehtinen	108	6	27	1.11	5.00	22.22
Rick Tocchet	145	8	52	1.10	7.17	15.38
Kirk Muller	127	7	33	1.10	5.20	21.21
Simon Gagne	109	6	37	1.10	6.79	16.22
Doug Gilmour	182	10	60	1.10	6.59	16.67
MILAN LUCIC	114	6	28	1.05	4.91	21.43
Dave Babych	114	6	21	1.05	3.68	28.57
PATRICK MARLEAU	191	10	72	1.05	7.54	13.89
John LeClair	154	8	42	1.04	5.45	19.05
Henrik Zetterberg	137	7	57	1.02	8.32	12.28
Joe Nieuwendyk	158	8	66	1.01	8.35	12.12
Dino Ciccarelli	141	7	73	0.99	10.35	9.59
Sergei Fedorov	183	9	52	0.98	5.68	17.31
Mike Gartner	122	6	43	0.98	7.05	13.95
Joe Mullen	143	7	60	0.98	8.39	11.67
BRENT SEABROOK	123	6	20	0.98	3.25	30.00
Daniel Alfredsson	124	6	51	0.97	8.23	11.76
Wayne Gretzky	208	10	122	0.96	11.73	8.20
Scott Gomez	149	7	29	0.94	3.89	24.14
Dave Poulin	129	6	31	0.93	4.81	19.35
JUSTIN WILLIAMS	155	7	40	0.90	5.16	17.50
Jari Kurri	200	9	106	0.90	10.60	8.49
EVGENI MALKIN	162	7	63	0.86	7.78	11.11
Steve Larmer	140	6	56	0.86	8.00	10.71
Mark Messier	236	10	109	0.85	9.24	9.17
Mark Recchi	189	8	61	0.85	6.46	13.11
Brad Richards	146	6	37	0.82	5.07	16.22
Ron Francis	171	7	46	0.82	5.38	15.22
Bryan Trottier	179	7	66	0.78	7.37	10.61
Pavel Datsyuk	157	6	42	0.76	5.35	14.29
Brendan Shanahan	184	7	60	0.76	6.52	11.67
John Tonelli	162	6	39	0.74	4.81	15.38
SIDNEY CROSBY	164	6	66	0.73	8.05	9.09
Scott Niedermayer	202	7	25	0.69	2.48	28.00
Guy Carbonneau	231	8	38	0.69	3.29	21.05
Al MacInnis	177	6	39	0.68	4.41	15.38
Paul Coffey	194	6	59	0.62	6.08	10.17
Steve Yzerman	196	6	70	0.61	7.14	8.57
Ray Bourque	214	6	41	0.56	3.83	14.63
Kris Draper	222	6	24	0.54	2.16	25.00
Nicklas Lidstrom	263	6	54	0.46	4.11	11.11

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Well then clearly Brandon Dubinsky the is clutchest player of all time, by a wide margin.

 

[amnesiac]

Feel like Messier is going to be massively underrated here. The man led the Oilers to a Cup after Gretzky's departure, then was brought to NYC to do what was at the time the most impossible thing in sports - win the Rangers a Stanley Cup - and he did just that.

Hes up there, but not top 5, imo.

Gimme Mario and Sakic before him at least.