Speculation: Next Flyer to Reach 100 Points in a Season.

[LegionOfDoom91]

It's not just the padding though. The goalies in today's game have gotten a lot bigger across the board while maintaining athleticism. A 6'4" 220 lbs. plus athlete like Mason would have been an outcast 15-20 years ago. Now a days it's not really uncommon. There's even a handful of guys in the league bigger than him.

 

[Sawdalite]

It's not just the padding though. The goalies in today's game have gotten a lot bigger across the board while maintaining athleticism. A 6'4" 220 lbs. plus athlete like Mason would have been an outcast 15-20 years ago. Now a days it's not really uncommon. There's even a handful of guys in the league bigger than him.

Agreed... and that's the thing... you have bigger Players between the pipes and they have bigger and better equipment... The perfect storm.


... And then I would imagine there's the technology factor thrown in... Every move of every player is available for the goalies to dissect... and there are also Goalie Coaches... as well as other coaches... working with them and correcting flaws as well as advising them on Players. I'm guessing that there is more of an improvement/adjustment in goal than a drop off in offensive talent.

 

[Appleyard]

The biggest reason of all that scoring is down so much since the end of last decade is that powerplays are now awarded less than ever before in the post-war NHL!

The correlation between PP Opps, PP Goals & Overall Goals has been really high to the point the results are very significant.

In turn the amount of interference & holding in particular that are let go simply helps borderline NHLers, especially Dmen, not get abused continually by forwards with high talent levels.

Take Voracek alone as a great example... how many times a game does he beat a guy then just get grabbed by a loose arm, or ridden into the boards off the puck by guys who if they were unable to do such things without being penalised would simply be incapable of containing him.


I just wish they would go back to calling the game like they did in the ~06-09ish period.

 

[Appleyard]

I mean, if anyone has ever played scrimmages/practices/drills in any sport with 'jungle rules' (i.e. anything goes sans intent to injure) they will know that the looser a game is called the more level the playing field becomes...

the best players still come out on top most often...

but less often than when the rules are strictly adhered too, as skill is less important and it is more down to a mix of physical attributes+determination... and the difference between physical attributes & determination amongst players playing at a similar level is generally far less than the skill gaps.

 

[Sawdalite]

The biggest reason of all that scoring is down so much since the end of last decade is that powerplays are now awarded less than ever before in the post-war NHL!

The correlation between PP Opps, PP Goals & Overall Goals has been really high to the point the results are very significant.

In turn the amount of interference & holding in particular that are let go simply helps borderline NHLers, especially Dmen, not get abused continually by forwards with high talent levels.
Take Voracek alone as a great example... how many times a game does he beat a guy then just get grabbed by a loose arm, or ridden into the boards off the puck by guys who if they were unable to do such things without being penalised would simply be incapable of containing him.


I just wish they would go back to calling the game like they did in the ~06-09ish period.

Ironically, the 'clutching and grabbing' was one of the major targets of the First LockOut... the result of which, along with the Officials no longer swallowing their whistles late in Games, allowed for teams never being out of Games... and all the late comebacks.

Thanks... I wasn't aware that the PPs were down; I assumed it remained status quo... or even increased. yes, less PPs would ultimately led to less scoring and lower stats.

There seems to be a definite line drawn where the 100 Point Scoring all but died.

 

[Cyborg LeClair]

I wont put it past Bettman to go right back to the strict penalty calling of 06. It'll just happen one season and scoring will jump. It will probably coincide with smaller goalie equipment and hopefully the removal of the trapezoid. If those things were done we'd have multiple 100+ scorers in the league. McDavid might even reach some lofty numbers in that environment as well, thus helping cement his "next one" status

 

[Laveuglette]

I'd love to see Giroux hit 100

 

[Super Cake]

Sens fan coming in saying Voracek.

 

[Rebels57]

The days of 100+ scorers are over, unless the NHL takes drastic steps to reverse the downward trend in scoring.

 

[PALE PWNR]

The days of 100+ scorers are over, unless the NHL takes drastic steps to reverse the downward trend in scoring.

Kane was out there playing like it was 2006 most of this year though

 

[Appleyard]

Kane was out there playing like it was 2006 most of this year though

His year was pretty much a 'statistical perfect storm' though.

His On ice sh% & % of On ice team goals directly involved in were both right at the top end of what is statistically possible... with most of his underlying stats being similar or worse than last year.

It is not uncommon in career years for guys to have a very high on ice sh%, or a very high % of On ice team goals directly involved in... but both has really never been done before Kane this season.

Giroux for example had an unsustainably high % of On ice team goals directly involved in in 2011-12... but his on ice sh% was perfectly sustainable.,. in fact his on ice sh% went up in 2012-13... but his % of On ice team goals directly involved in dropped to normal, sustainable levels again.
And the Flyers then scored more goals with Giroux on ice in 2013-14 (118 vs 110) than in 2011-12... but his % of On ice team goals directly involved in was 72.8% instead of 84.5%. I.E. normal level... the difference was between 99 & 86 point pace despite him playing my all measures just as well.

Basically no matter how good a player you are over ~12% on ice sh% and over ~75% of On ice team goals directly involved are the sustainable limit...

this year Kane was at 13.13% & 82.8%.


Kane pretty much pushed the margins of 'luck' to the highest levels possible.

 

[Rebels57]

Kane was out there playing like it was 2006 most of this year though

Yeah I know there will be 1, maybe 2 per year..but that's it.

It's a shame.

The leagues entertainment value is dropping each and every season.

 

[Chicken Chaser]

Yeah I know there will be 1, maybe 2 per year..but that's it.

It's a shame.

The leagues entertainment value is dropping each and every season.

Agree with you there.

Does part of it also have to coincide with there being more and more "system" type players as this past generation of talent has been taught from pee-wee on up, and teams doing anything and everything to stop defensive breakdowns and block shots?

There's a giant lack of creativity I find in most games outside of a few key players, coupled with most teams defending and collapsing in front of their net to stifle shooting lanes, its making for a pretty boring product.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Football has always been the ultimate coaching sport. However hockey & baseball have become really over coached in recent times. Everything comes down to situations now in your philosophies, deployments, etc. in hockey you got systems, line matching, ice time management, zone starts, etc. In baseball you got defensive shifts, pitch counts, matchup pitchers out of the bullpen, situational hitting, etc. Now some of these things have existed for a good time now but never to this degree.

The Kings have won a lot of games in the last five years & even got two cups out of it but as a neutral fan watching them over the years is like watching paint dry. They are a poster child of a team that is overcoached. I don't care what the purist on these forums say I enjoyed the Flyers/Pens pond hockey series way more over anything the Kings have produced in the last five years. I don't want pond hockey back like in 80's but seeing it every once in the while wouldn't be a bad thing. I want more offense back though. The era between the 2006 lockout & 2010 was perfectly fine from an entertainment standpoint.

 

[Garbage Goal]

TBH... not foreseeing the future, and the lack of 100 point Seasons going forward... I didn't realize what would be the case displayed in what I researched AFTER THE FACT.

Not going over the 'discussion' and what was said, I do remember that Giroux appeared to be gathering points on an upward arc and seemed to be on a pace that might lead to accomplishing the feat... I seriously thought he had a good shot... I was wrong... so sue me.

... Now I being called to task for following up on a personal opinion about a player from six years earlier?


EDIT: FWIW... the prior Season to the Poll there where four Players who reached 100 points and three others in the 90's... The Season before that was similar... Who would have predicted the steep drop off? #HindSightIsAlways20/20

I mean, 45 or 53 voters (depending on how you see it) predicted it. At least that it wouldn't happen here. As for that tidbit about four players who reached 100 points in the two years prior to the poll, I think it was pointed out a multitude of times even back then that the vast bulk of those 100 point seasons came from the exact same three generational players time-and-time again (Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin).

I'm just saying, it's odd to argue for half the topic with someone and try to compare different eras to prove that you're right, then come back a few years later after you're proven wrong and say "just goes to show how different eras can't be compared" and "who could have guessed?".

Anyways, yeah, entertainment factor of hockey is as bad as it's ever been honestly. DPE was horrible too and is probably worse, but this really isn't that far off. Massive goalies taking up half the net, interference never being called despite it happening all the freaking time in every game, big hits and fighting both becoming a thing of the past mostly (although, I'm a fan of that), scoring way down. Only thing this era has going for it is the level of talent and 3-on-3 OT. The former is bogged down by how hard scoring is made now and how crappy reffing is though.

If you're a fan of a great team, or at least a winning team, you might say you still enjoy it, but this is the place where hardcore fans gather so of course they're going to be fine and dandy when their team is winning. To the average consumer and fans who don't have anything to cheer for this era is boring as all hell.

 

[Striiker]

Football has always been the ultimate coaching sport. However hockey & baseball have become really over coached in recent times. Everything comes down to situations now in your philosophies, deployments, etc. in hockey you got systems, line matching, ice time management, zone starts, etc. In baseball you got defensive shifts, pitch counts, matchup pitchers out of the bullpen, situational hitting, etc. Now some of these things have existed for a good time now but never to this degree.

The Kings have won a lot of games in the last five years & even got two cups out of it but as a neutral fan watching them over the years is like watching paint dry. They are a poster child of a team that is overcoached. I don't care what the purist on these forums say I enjoyed the Flyers/Pens pond hockey series way more over anything the Kings have produced in the last five years. I don't want pond hockey back like in 80's but seeing it every once in the while wouldn't be a bad thing. I want more offense back though. The era between the 2006 lockout & 2010 was perfectly fine from an entertainment standpoint.

It's always funny (in a "oh god shoot me in the head" type of way) when they say that wasn't "real hockey". Their reasoning is because it was all offense and no defense, meanwhile a 1-0 game is "real hockey", despite the fact that it's all defense and no offense. Hypocritical as always.

 

[Ruck Over]

I wouldn't say the entertainment level is down, but the league is over coached. It began with the Devils and the trap, the Red Wings and LW Lock, morphed into how the Kings attempt to play. The group think is bothersome, it limits the rock, paper, scissor aspects that existed yesteryear.

1. Ditch the instigator penalty, but invoke the AHL anti-fighting rules.

2. Make full body slides to block shots an unsportsman-like minor. Hockey is played on your skates, dives on break-aways still allowed.

 

[Curufinwe]

I like both those ideas a lot.

 

[Hardnell]

if Jagr would've stuck around for another season or two, G would've had 100 pts
especially with Hartnell on the wing

 

[Random Forest]

It's always funny (in a "oh god shoot me in the head" type of way) when they say that wasn't "real hockey". Their reasoning is because it was all offense and no defense, meanwhile a 1-0 game is "real hockey", despite the fact that it's all defense and no offense. Hypocritical as always.

Amen. It's the obnoxious strain of elitism that is rampant in all sports, but particularly in hockey. These main boards mouthbreathing types prefer a defensive snoozer only because the ignorant "casual" fan enjoys a pond hockey game. These are the same uppity snobs who preach about culture and chastise players like Subban who have even the most minimal personality. Pretty much anything to add color to the game is bad because it brings in new fans to the game...

 

[Rebels57]

Love the shot-blocking idea. Its an epidemic that has spread across all 30 teams and has greatly reduced quality shots from the point.

 

[joez86]

Love the shot-blocking idea. Its an epidemic that has spread across all 30 teams and has greatly reduced quality shots from the point.

I agree that shot blocking is a problem, but the solution, IMO, is to make it hurt more to do it.

There isn't enough pain in the game. More pain will slow players down, and open up lanes. You gotta get rid of the crazy equipment to do that, though.

 

[Garbage Goal]

I don't really think shot-blocking is a problem. As it is, a disproportionate amount of ES goals are scored from screens/deflections off of point shots. Shot blocking actually creates goals accidentally on occasion that way. That's one of the problems, there's so little ice available, teams are so over-coached, interference is so rampant, and goalies are so freaking huge that the only real safe play for offense is to take shots from the point and hope the goalie doesn't see it or that it ping-pongs in. At ES that is. Shot blocking's not a cause of that.

Actually call interference instead of essentially making it legal (as it is) and make goalie equipment reasonable. That's probably all the league needs to do honestly. Emphasizes skill in goaltending more than size and technique, opens up space at ES to make fast plays without having some guy holding you up at the boards or giving you a bear hug, and ups scoring inevitably.

 

[duffy9748]

I wouldn't say the entertainment level is down, but the league is over coached. It began with the Devils and the trap, the Red Wings and LW Lock, morphed into how the Kings attempt to play. The group think is bothersome, it limits the rock, paper, scissor aspects that existed yesteryear.

1. Ditch the instigator penalty, but invoke the AHL anti-fighting rules.

2. Make full body slides to block shots an unsportsman-like minor. Hockey is played on your skates, dives on break-aways still allowed.

While I agree shot blocking has become a major strategic of coaches, I don't think there is much you can do about it. What happens if there is a 2 on 1? A defenseman can't lay out to block a pass/shot? It just almost seems too "un-hockey like" to not be able to lay out in front of a slap shot.

 

[Rebels57]

While I agree shot blocking has become a major strategic of coaches, I don't think there is much you can do about it. What happens if there is a 2 on 1? A defenseman can't lay out to block a pass/shot? It just almost seems too "un-hockey like" to not be able to lay out in front of a slap shot.

Yup. Stay on your feet. Scoring goes up.