I Hate Blake Coleman
F*** the oilers
All of these guys knew how to play, won a Hart, and were mean ********.
Rank them based on peak performance.
Rank them based on peak performance.
Well Lindros's Hart Trophy could have been given to Jagr and noone would have raised an eyebrow.
Yeah, but I think that could be said about most of the players mentioned.
Messier's first Hart should have, not could have, been given to Bourque. There are some Clarke Harts there that should have been given to Orr, etc.
Yeah, but I think that could be said about most of the players mentioned.
Messier's first Hart should have, not could have, been given to Bourque. There are some Clarke Harts there that could have been given to Orr, etc.
Based on what I saw, regardless of how the voting went, IMO Messier was the MVP that year. He took a team that had it's heart torn out and led them back to the top of the heap.
You mean the Gretzky trade?
That was the year before, summer of '88 not '89 and I would hardly call the Oilers 90 point finish as leading them back to the top of the heap, it was only a 6 point improvement from the year before.
Compared to Bourque who took his team from 88 points to 101 points and first overall.
Bourque got robbed because he was a dman, plain and simple.
Messier won, and I agree with the choice based on what I saw of both players that season. IMO not only was he better (ie Pearson) he was also more important to his team's success. He carried his team to a higher degree and really showed in the playoffs that the the right decision had been made.
That said, if Bourque had won that year, he would have been a great choice, so I really shouldn't sell him short. Just one of those years where you kind of wish there was a tie. But me personally, I would have voted Messier 1st, Bourque 2nd.
Also, I'm not sure how you can say Messier was a bigger difference maker during the season when Bourque was playing 10-15 minutes a game more than Messier.
.
Actually, this is nitpicking, but GF/GA figures indicate Bourque was playing 29.3 minutes per game and Messier 24.5 that season...
Where do you got TOI stats for pre-1999 from?
I'm really having trouble deciding between Clarke and Trottier. It comes down to the stretch of time you give to 'peak'. If it's just one season, well Trottier's Hart season surpasses any of Clarke's. If it's a stretch of three or four, you have to give it to Clarke.
Either way, it goes:
Howe
Lindros
[Clarke/Trottier]
Messier
If it's a stretch of three or four, how on earth is Lindros not 5th?
Even for a single season, he's 5th in my books anyway. Which season of Lindros' was better than Messier's '90, Trottier's '82, or Clarke's '75?
Lindros from '94 to '99 was as dominant as any forward not named Mario or Wayne.
So games observed from the press box while injured are given full credit?