Peter Stastny

[Ctrain2k]

I wasn’t old enough to watch Peter Stasnty play, can anyone give me a deeper dive on his career, playstyle, where he matched up in the league in terms of talent. It seems to me his career was kinda a disappointment compared to his talent. As well as coming over late at 24 and the Nordiques seemed like a disfunctional team that couldn’t build around him.

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[Big Phil]

A disappointment? No, I don't think it was. He was a marvelous player and his stats showed it. Had three straight years in 1982, 1983 and 1984 where you said to yourself: "Man, he wasn't a 2nd team all-star any of those years?" However, the ones who got it ahead of him had great years too.

Was great for the entire decade and stepped right in and produced. The Nords scored a lot, thanks to him and Goulet but if there was anything they needed it was defense. I am looking at Mario Marois as probably the best defenseman Stastny had on his team in those Quebec years. Clint Malarchuk was a good and capable goalie but yeah that team needed defense.

They still had a good run in 1982 and 1985. It wouldn't have been a shock at all if Stastny's teams reached the final.

While I would call him pretty mild mannered I also wouldn't call him soft either. An elite passer but still dangerous enough to put the puck in the net. Smooth hands, soft hands too. Loved watching him.

 

[Albatros]

Seventh highest PPG in NHL history and 38th in points despite spending a good part of his peak in Czechoslovakia. Standards must be very high if that's a disappointment.

 

[The Panther]

I believe he was the 2nd top scorer of the period 1980-81 through 1992-93 behind only guess-who.

So, not bad.

 

[alko]

I had the luck to see him on the edge of his career in Slovakia national jersey. At that time i was young guy and didn't see some special in his play. Bud my dad said it perfectly: He doesn't need to fly around the rink, he is old man. But look at him, he is always in the right place.

Btw.: Edit the topic name.

 

[Dingo]

Agree with Phil except he wasnt soft at all. He was a little hotheaded at times, pretty big and solid, too.

One of his bros beat up Craig Ludwig after getting hit and then jumped, too.

They were oretty damned tough, those Stastny ‘sisters’.

I own and watch the 76 CC on DVD. He looks incredible to me in it. Him and Salming the two non-Canadians who really impressed me. I bet he would have at least another 350pts if he could have made it over earlier.

 

[VMBM]

It's interesting to think what would've happened if he hadn't defected. Would he have dominated the Czechoslovak league (stats, awards) in the 1980s? I don't quite think so, but undoubtedly he would have eventually been the top CSSR/Slovak player and an international hockey legend, though not at Makarov's level (maybe 'only' at Martinec's level?).

 

[Albatros]

It's interesting to think what would've happened if he hadn't defected. Would he have dominated the Czechoslovak league (stats, awards) in the 1980s? I don't quite think so, but undoubtedly he would have eventually been the top CSSR/Slovak player and international hockey legend, though not at Makarov's level (maybe 'only' at Martinec's level?).

Maybe he wouldn't have overshadowed Anton quite the same way in Europe? Their styles were quite different and I think playing in Czechoslovakia would have suited the smart and skilled but soft (yes, he destroyed Ludwig, but it wasn't his style) and slow Anton better.

 

[tony d]

I believe he was the 2nd highest scoring player of the 80's, guy had a great career, wasn't the same though after Quebec traded him.

 

[Dingo]

from 80-86 his points and per game numbers match up very well to everyone except Gretzky. He is close to Bossy, ahead of Dionne, Kurri, Savard, Hawerchuk, Trottier, etc.

I was only a kid then, but I always thought he was great. Wouldnt flick his card against a wall. Never thought he got his due, and the league and that generstions attitudes were much more bigoted and fearful of jobs being taken from good ol Canadian boys. I mean, only Mike Bossy (amongst mortals, i mean) was producing more offense? and not by tons, either. and Bossy had a line from Hell, and the best Dman in the game, probably. Not to mention a team that always had the puck.

Stastnys playoff numbers are really good, too, his team just didnt go deep much.

I remember him as the total package - skilled, good scoring, great passing, stickhandling, not shy of contact, good temper on him, good skater, first to go in and stick up for a teammate..... and he missed four quality years... i think he is still a little underrated. I cant see how Makarov gets so much due based on how good he might have been over here. I cant see him being way better than Pete, unless he was way better than Bossy, too. I think Sergei would have done a lot more when he did come over if he was THAT good. Im the first to excuse Sergei for the multitude of hurdles he had as a 30 year old in N America, and he still was very good.... but anyone who is definitively ahead of Bossy, and id add Stastny, is in that echelon that makes it happen big under any circumstances.

I feel like if Pete hadnt defected, there would have been two lights out non-NHLrs to watch every Canada Cup.

 

[Albatros]

I think Sergei would have done a lot more when he did come over if he was THAT good.

I'd say he just mailed it in very early, he had 16 points in his first seven games and after that mostly showed up for games that interested him, like 2+5 in the Battle of Alberta against the eventual cup winners from Edmonton.

 

[JianYang]

Let's take it from a player who played in his division.

Ferraro said before Mario really took off, Stastny was the best center in the game not named Gretzky.

He was a really dangerous blend of strength and skill. He was pretty unstoppable, especially against guys that were Ferraro's size, who couldn't even stop him by trying to take penalties.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Tha actual player that looks the most like Stastny is John Tavares. Stasny was a complete player, dedicated, skilled, fast, not shy of playing physical. Because he wasn't in a good team he is somehow forgotten now. He was best second center after Gretzky until the great Mario came. I watched him a lot as a player from the Nordiques who cause such damage to my beloved Habs.

 

[The Panther]

Remember, too, that Stastny was already 24 when his first NHL season started. I suppose he could have racked up a couple more 100+ point seasons if he'd been in the NHL, say, from 1979 to 1981.

 

[VMBM]

I feel like if Pete hadnt defected, there would have been two lights out non-NHLrs to watch every Canada Cup.

Stastny and Makarov?

Firstly, I'm not so sure that Stastny would have outperformed Vladimir Krutov internationally in the 1980s. You can talk about how Krutov flopped in the NHL all you want, but in the international play he was simply terrific, and was sometimes even deemed better than Makarov (especially in 1986-88). Before he defected, Stastny certainly gave some good international performances, but was he ever even the best player on his own team, let alone better than the best Soviets? In the Czechoslovak league scoring, Stastny was 4th at best, so there wasn't a sign - at least not yet - that he would dominate the domestic scoring. To be fair, he was still young (23/24) when he defected, and he did win the Golden Stick (for the best Czechoslovak player of the season) in 1980, but he was also helped by the fact that Vladimir Martinec was badly injured in the game vs USA in Lake Placid (Hockey in Czechoslovakia and Europe from 1968 to 1990 (some awards and stats)) and that many of the older Czechoslovak stars were on their way out.

 

[FerrisRox]

Tha actual player that looks the most like Stastny is John Tavares. Stasny was a complete player, dedicated, skilled, fast, not shy of playing physical. Because he wasn't in a good team he is somehow forgotten now. He was best second center after Gretzky until the great Mario came. I watched him a lot as a player from the Nordiques who cause such damage to my beloved Habs.

No disrespect to John Tavares but Tavares has never been on the level of Peter Stastny.

Taveres is essentially a point-a-game centre with mediocre skating. Stastny was elite in almost every way, was much more creative than Tavares and significantly tougher and tougher to play against. Stastny was, for a decade, one of the very best players in the game year and year out. Tavares has never reached that level.

 

[a79krgm]

One thing I was always impressed with is that Stasny was served as a captain for Quebec in several seasons during the mid to late 80's. He was a competitor and leader in the days where team captaincy carried a lot of weight and respect.

 

[Gr8northscout]

I had the pleasure of watching Peter play for the Nordiques every time they played Montreal from 84-88 as I was going to school in Montreal then. Stastny was a really tough player. Euros were relatively new then and he took a beating. Of course everyone took a beating but I really think Euros didn't always get the benefit of the referee's calls. He was a very skilled playmaker. He was to Goulet as Trottier was to Bossy is the best description I could think of from that era.
Someone compared him to Tavares (that's a great complement to Tavares really). He was as good as Trottier, Hawechuk and Yzerman. His career was shorter because he defected at 24 and spent the last 4 years playing in a trap system for Lamorello. Had he been able to play from 19 on in the NHL, there's reason to believe that he would have equaled Yzerman's numbers.

 

[VMBM]

He was as good as Trottier

Quite a statement, probably not agreed by many.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Consider too that P. Stastny played his prime years in the Adams division which was almost always the toughest division to score in, and the weakest defensive team in the Adams was usually his own. At its most disparate there were 2 fewer goals per game scored in games between Adams rivals than in games between Smythe rivals. He played 32 games per year against some HOF-ish defences while teams outside the Adams only played 12. If you adjust for the unbalanced schedule I think you'd see Stastny's numbers shoot up into (or close to) the Gretzky/Lemieux neighbourhood.