Sergei Fedorov vs Peter Forsberg

Sergei Fedorov vs Peter Forsberg?


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GlitchMarner

Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
Jul 21, 2017
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I think we have a lot of younger posters who don't recall Fedorov in the early 90's. Fedorov was a much better all around player and not that far behind offensively. Other than playing behind the net, what was Forsberg clearly better than Fedorov at?

Puck protection, passing, physical play.

At their respective best, I do prefer Feds, but considering the dude was often putting up 60-70 points while Forsberg was often putting up 80-100+ from '97-'03, it's tough to take Sergei.

Even in '95 and '96, Forsberg was matching or surpassing Fedorov's production.
 
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silkyjohnson50

Registered User
Jan 10, 2007
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^ yep, definitely with the passing/vision, puck protection, and physical play.

Fedorov with the defensive, skating, and shooting advantages.

Both were dominating at their best. Couldn't ask for much more from hockey players and exciting to watch to boot.

Flip a coin at their best, but Forsberg played near that level much more often.
 
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TheGoldenJet

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Apr 2, 2008
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Puck protection, passing, physical play.

At their respective best, I do prefer Feds, but considering the dude was often putting up 60-70 points while Forsberg was often putting up 80-100+ from '97-'03, it's tough to take Sergei.

Even in '95 and '96, Forsberg was matching or surpassing Fedorov's production.

Fedorov outscored Forsberg in ‘95, while in ‘96 he missed a few games but had a very similar PPG despite spending a number of games playing as a defenceman. If he had spent the entire season as a forward, he outscores Forsberg quite easily in ‘96 too. There’s a reason Fedorov finished ahead of Forsberg in Hart voting that season (Fedorov was top 5) and won the Selke. Having watched both at their peak, Fedorov was the better player.
 
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Lazlo Hollyfeld

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Mar 4, 2004
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A few things people seem to be overlooking in the debate is Fedorov is older so their primes don't quite line up. And Fedorov's defensive play is getting massively underrated.

And I'm not just talking about when he was playing as a defenseman.

There's huge gap in two-way play between Fedorov and Forsberg. He had great speed, forwards and backwards, and was so strong on the puck. He could take over games in a way few players could. I'd also argue Forsberg's puck protection is getting a little exaggerated. Floppa was a great player for sure but people make it sound like he was Mario Lemieux.

If you're talking peak, it's Fedorov. For overall careers, it's muddier.
 
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DJN21

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Aug 8, 2011
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Fedorov for me but I can see both sides.

I'd love to have the ability to compare them aside from their stacked teams and see them both on middling teams etc.
 

Filthy Dangles

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Oct 23, 2014
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A few things people seem to be overlooking in the debate is Fedorov is older so their primes don't quite line up. And Fedorov's defensive play is getting massively underrated.

And I'm not just talking about when he was playing as a defenseman.

There's huge gap in two-way play between Fedorov and Forsberg. He had great speed, forwards and backwards, and was so strong on the puck. He could take over games in a way few players could. I'd also argue Forsberg's puck protection is getting a little exaggerated. Floppa was a great player for sure but people make it sound like he was Mario Lemieux.

If you're talking peak, it's Fedorov. For overall careers, it's muddier.

What does peak even mean here. Best single season?
 

authentic

Registered User
Jan 28, 2015
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Puck protection, passing, physical play.

At their respective best, I do prefer Feds, but considering the dude was often putting up 60-70 points while Forsberg was often putting up 80-100+ from '97-'03, it's tough to take Sergei.

Even in '95 and '96, Forsberg was matching or surpassing Fedorov's production.

There's no doubt Forsberg was a better hockey player. Fedorov was arguably better for one regular season, that's it. Forsberg was consistently elite offensively for a decade in the regular season and playoffs, while being far above average defensively and a physical beast.
 
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authentic

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Jan 28, 2015
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I think we have a lot of younger posters who don't recall Fedorov in the early 90's. Fedorov was a much better all around player and not that far behind offensively. Other than playing behind the net, what was Forsberg clearly better than Fedorov at?

He was clearly better at hockey over anything more than a 1 year time frame.
 

TheGoldenJet

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Apr 2, 2008
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He was clearly better at hockey over anything more than a 1 year time frame.

Don’t think Forsberg was ever as good as Fedorov was from 1993-94 to 1995-96. In that 3 year span, Fedorov was:

Top 10 in points per game three times.
Selke Trophy winner twice (Forsberg career: 0 wins).
Top 5 in Hart Trophy voting twice (Forsberg career: 1 time in Top 5).

Peak season and three year prime both go to Fedorov in my opinion.
 

silkyjohnson50

Registered User
Jan 10, 2007
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I'd argue from 01-02 (really 2002 since he only played in the playoffs) until the lockout Forsberg was right there with him.

He misses the entire 2001-2002 regular season after finishing 4th in P/G the previous season, returns and leads the playoffs in scoring despite only playing 3 rounds.

The next season, 02-03, he's 1st in P/G, wins the Art Ross, Hart, and finished 4th in Selke.

The next season he only played half the season due to injury but he was again 1st in P/G while being the best player in the world.

Fedorov had the edge defensively, but Forsberg had the edge offensively.

Fedorov P/G finishes: 4th, 7th, 9th
Forsberg P/G finishes: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 8th, 9th.
 
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authentic

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Jan 28, 2015
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Don’t think Forsberg was ever as good as Fedorov was from 1993-94 to 1995-96. In that 3 year span, Fedorov was:

Top 10 in points per game three times.
Selke Trophy winner twice (Forsberg career: 0 wins).
Top 5 in Hart Trophy voting twice (Forsberg career: 1 time in Top 5).

Peak season and three year prime both go to Fedorov in my opinion.

Look at how badly Forsberg outscored everyone from 2002-05 in points per game. Coming off of a playoff run where he led the league in points without playing in the final round after missing the entire season. He has a 4th place Selke vote in there too. It's fine you choose Fedorov for those 3 years, they were close enough that I feel there isn't really a wrong answer here.
 

TheGoldenJet

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Apr 2, 2008
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Look at how badly Forsberg outscored everyone from 2002-05 in points per game. Coming off of a playoff run where he led the league in points without playing in the final round after missing the entire season. He has a 4th place Selke vote in there too. It's fine you choose Fedorov for those 3 years, they were close enough that I feel there isn't really a wrong answer here.

I would answer that with the competition argument. Fedorov was up against prime Mario Lemieux, still Art Ross Gretzky, prime Lindros, and Pittsburgh Jagr. Each of them is better than Markus Naslund or Washington Jagr that Forsberg duelled with during the years you chose. That being said, I agree that both guys were spectacular at their best and there isn’t really a wrong answer here.
 
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yeaher

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May 3, 2019
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I would answer that with the competition argument. Fedorov was up against prime Mario Lemieux, still Art Ross Gretzky, prime Lindros, and Pittsburgh Jagr. Each of them is better than Markus Naslund or Washington Jagr that Forsberg duelled with during the years you chose. That being said, I agree that both guys were spectacular at their best and there isn’t really a wrong answer here.

Prime Lindros was never a better player than Jagr 91-2007, I think that is one thing everyone needs to take out of this thread full of fallacies. Forsberg > Fedorov, though.
 

newfy

Registered User
Jul 28, 2010
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Peak Feds, Prime Forsberg has a couple more seasons of higher end play so him, Fedorov better defensively but less consistent after his ~4 year prime, Forsberg a bandaid but when healthy you usually knew what you were gonna get.

Not going wrong with either
 

Regal

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Mar 12, 2010
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Prime Lindros was never a better player than Jagr 91-2007, I think that is one thing everyone needs to take out of this thread full of fallacies. Forsberg > Fedorov, though.

He was clearly better from '92-94, won the Pearson over him in '95 and was similarly good in '96 and '97
 

bambamcam4ever

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Feb 16, 2012
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Fedorov managed to be a ppg only once after the DPE started.

This is far and away Forsberg.
 

JaegerDice

The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
Dec 26, 2014
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Forsberg.

It's probably objectively close, but for me personally, it's not close.
 

KevinRedkey

12/18/23 and beyond!
Jan 22, 2010
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Goal scoring: Fedorov
Point scoring: Forsberg
Skating: Fedorov
Passing: Forsberg
Playoffs: Forsberg
Defense: Fedorov
Single season peak: Fedorov
Prime: Forsberg

How many guys were both Selke and Rocket caliber players like Fedorov? Not to mention he was one of the fastest skaters in the league. He could burn you on both ends of the ice. Forsberg's main thing was he made other players around him better, while being elite when healthy. This is really a case of two entirely different players. You kinda just pick whichever style you prefer. Do you want a mix of Jonathan Toews with the skating of Michael Grabner, or do you want a bigger and meaner Claude Giroux?

PS:
They arent perfect comparisons but you get the idea.
 
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AB13

Registered User
Apr 29, 2019
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Forsberg is better at basically everything besides defence and shooting, it is not close. Forsberg wins by a mile
 

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
69,649
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New Bern, NC
Fedorov please. That Fedorov was a lead pair defenseman at the same time as an all star center is remarkable. I saw the end years of his career in Washington. He played defense for them. His center game wasn't was clearly wearing down but that guy was still a legit NHL top 4 defenseman. How hard that is and how rare that is is hard to even discuss properly.
 
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