Most "perimeter" good player you can name

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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Harold Ballard once made a quote about Inge Hammarstrom a winger for the Leafs in the mid 1970s. He said that he could go into the corner with a half dozen eggs and not break one of them. Funny quote, even if I didn't like Ballard, I have to admit he could be funny.

So it got me thinking, Hammarstrom literally was the most consistent 40 point guy in NHL history. Every season up until his last he had between 38-43 points. Even his last one he had 34. But he wasn't a great player, or even a very good player.

Who is a player, maybe even a HHOFer, who played the most "perimeter" game out there? Who may have played scared, never got involved physically, etc.
 

Creativero

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Jul 17, 2015
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Oates really stood out to me as a guy who could handle the puck on the perimeter and no one could take it away from him. You knew he wasn’t going to shoot or drive the net and he could still almost find someone to pass it to.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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Kristian Huselius? Damn soft and elusive for a big guy as far as I can remember.

I think Huselius was more straightforward than Nylander. Nylander was just endless looping. He didn't even cycle the puck, he just looped it, and only on his own stick (of course). Nylander's best in the NHL goal wise was 26 goals and that's when he played the whole season on the 1st line with Jagr post DPE obstruction rules.
 

Rogue Winger

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Mar 10, 2018
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Might be wrong but don't remember Selänne being all that involved in the traffic play.

Well, Selanne was not a physical player, but he occasionally did lay some solid hits or took dirty liberties with his stick. Especially against players he hated (like Chris Chelios or pre-Ducks Chris Pronger).





Selanne imo does not fit into this thread as there were softer star players mentioned above.

IIRC, add Craig Janney.
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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Seems you never saw a game of Henrik Sedin.

i guess it depends what you mean by perimeter player. the sedins’ whole game, esp after 2011, was cycling the puck on the perimeter, intentionally drawing body contact to take a defender out of the play and cause a brief opening for the guy about to get the puck. they were wizards at that. so yes, literally they played on the perimeter, ie on the boards or in the corners, almost all of the time. but no they didn’t intentionally avoid contact. in fact, the exact opposite.

as for the traditional definition of perimeter player, phil housley.



watch #6 in this video and wonder out loud why he’s behind the net or skating in the opposite direction of the play instead of covering his man.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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Might be wrong but don't remember Selänne being all that involved in the traffic play.

Selänne, at least early on in Winnipeg, was a relatively simplistic player who would often just skate in a straight line towards the net. That's not being a perimeter player. He didn't crash the net like Bure but he didn't cycle the puck either.
 

sr edler

gold is not reality
Mar 20, 2010
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Seems you never saw a game of Henrik Sedin.

I'm a Swede so I saw Henrik Sedin play extensively in the SEL before he even came to the NHL. I probably saw him play before you even knew who he was. I'm also aware of the main definition of a player playing on the perimeter. Probably not the only definition, but the most important one.

If you want me to take you seriously, don't use a condescending tone like that.
 

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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Paul Kariya. Especially, post concussions.

My Best-Carey

There is a big difference with him post-1998 concussion. In 1999 he had 101 points, that is good for 3rd in the NHL, and yet he had the quietest 101 point season I can ever remember. It was all about Selanne that year, even though he only had 107, not much more. But you didn't think Kariya was the "old" Kariya anymore. If I could describe a season where a player had a high batting average but low RBIs it would be Kariya in 1999.
 

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