Sundin vs Goulet

[Canadiens1958]

Michal Goulet

I picked Goulet. But tomorrow I may pick Sundin. Nice poll, but fairly different players I find. Goulet was as high as 3rd in scoring and as high as 2nd in goals. Sundin never hit those heights but he was consistently very, very good for a longer time and that's telling considering Goulet played hockey at a star-like level for about 8 years.

If you were drafting a player you might like Sundin but he also had some knocks on him. He didn't shoot enough, he never led a team anywhere etc. Goulet was a bona fide sniper and made no apologies about it. Like I said, they are close, Sundin being the better playmaker too.

Michel Goulet, very talented left winger but had a sameness to his game that made it easier for the defense.

Mats Sundin, especially early in his career, would have moments where he would simply lose focus, not track who on the other team was on the ice, the time situation, stick side, etc.Also he was a RHS but did not use the advantage very well.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Comparisons.

But how much better were Clark and Vaive than Dick Duff?

Clark was much better but could not stay healthy.

Vaive along with Jere Gillis, Jimmy Mann and Sean Mckenna trace their junior roots back to the Sherbrooke Castors of the Q. All had much shorter NHL careers than their talent level projected.

Not as unfortunate as some but nonetheless.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

to be fair, sundin was willing to pay the price, but only when playing for team sweden.

This is what Sundin's legacy will always be to me. I honestly don't think the guy gave a crap about Stanley Cups. Olympics and World Championships were what Mats was all about.

As for the poll, tough call. Sundin definitely had more of a "franchise player" type quility to him than Goulet, but Goulet was quite the sniper. Longevity is a big edge to Sundin of course. I think if a GM was starting a new team, they'd draft Sundin ahead of Goulet 90% of the time, but they'd have to be content with Sundin becoming a passenger by late April.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

What I don't get in this comparison is why Sundin is getting knocked for not having won a Cup.

It's not like he's being compared to Bryan Trottier, and his 6 Cups.

Neither Goulet or Sundin ever played on a Stanley Cup Finalist.


Another plus for Mats is that Sundin was routinely a top 15 face-off guy.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

What I don't get in this comparison is why Sundin is getting knocked for not having won a Cup.

It's not like he's being compared to Bryan Trottier, and his 6 Cups.

Neither Goulet or Sundin ever played on a Stanley Cup Finalist.


Another plus for Mats is that Sundin was routinely a top 15 face-off guy.

I don't think it's the fact that he never won a Cup, it's the fact that he usually left you wanting more in the springtime.

Question for those who saw Goulet live: What did he bring to the table in the playoffs? Going by stats alone, he looks to have been somewhat hit and miss, but as we all know stats don't tell the whole story. I haven't seen a great many old Nordiques playoff games, so I don't have a whole lot to go on.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I don't think it's the fact that he never won a Cup, it's the fact that he usually left you wanting more in the springtime.

Question for those who saw Goulet live: What did he bring to the table in the playoffs? Going by stats alone, he looks to have been somewhat hit and miss, but as we all know stats don't tell the whole story. I haven't seen a great many old Nordiques playoff games, so I don't have a whole lot to go on.

Flyers played the Leafs three times during Sundin's tenure (2 wins, 1 loss) and faced Goulet and the Nordiques in the 85 Wales Conf Finals.

When you played the Leafs, Sundin was basically the only offensive threat to be worried about, other than Kaberle/McCabe on the PP.

When we faced the Nordiques, I worried about the Stanstny's first ... and Dale Hunter next.

Goulet generally had better talent surrounding him, while Sundin had the better goaltending.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Michel Goulet

I don't think it's the fact that he never won a Cup, it's the fact that he usually left you wanting more in the springtime.

Question for those who saw Goulet live: What did he bring to the table in the playoffs? Going by stats alone, he looks to have been somewhat hit and miss, but as we all know stats don't tell the whole story. I haven't seen a great many old Nordiques playoff games, so I don't have a whole lot to go on.

Michael Goulet brought speed with reasonable size and physicality to the left wing. Excellent sniper. Played very well with Dale Hunter in Quebec.

Good team defense could reduce his effectiveness as he was predictable in his angles and lanes to the net. Hampered by weak coaching in Quebec - Michel Bergeron. If the other team got caught up in Bergeron's emotional style then the Nordiques had a chance if Bergeron had to actually coach - match lines, change the offensive flow or patterns the other team had a net advantage. Coaching defense was not a strong point.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I don't think it's the fact that he never won a Cup, it's the fact that he usually left you wanting more in the springtime.

Question for those who saw Goulet live: What did he bring to the table in the playoffs? Going by stats alone, he looks to have been somewhat hit and miss, but as we all know stats don't tell the whole story. I haven't seen a great many old Nordiques playoff games, so I don't have a whole lot to go on.

Almost every player is hit or miss in the playoffs unless they play on a dynasty type team.

What I remember about Goulet was that he could fly and he could shoot. He seemed to have a great burst especially when he didn't have the puck, so he seemed to hit the open spot from nowhere. Had a 6 year stretch where 48 goals was his low, and one season with 121 points & a +62.

Got to see him play a lot because he was in the same division with Boston and Hartford (when I had season tickets). I'm kind of surprised by how underrated he is on this board. I loved Sundin. He really carried the Leafs for years. But I took Goulet in this poll.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Thanks for your responses gentlemen.

 

[Big Phil]

What I don't get in this comparison is why Sundin is getting knocked for not having won a Cup.

It's not like he's being compared to Bryan Trottier, and his 6 Cups.

Neither Goulet or Sundin ever played on a Stanley Cup Finalist.


Another plus for Mats is that Sundin was routinely a top 15 face-off guy.

Goulet was a member of the Hawks in 1992 and they made the finals even though Goulet only played 9 games in the playoffs.

As a Leaf fan I reassure you that like another poster mentioned that Sundin was someone who left you wanting more. He had the size and talent to dominate a series. And sometimes you saw brief glimpses of that. But the truth is the most promising run the Leafs had under Sundin's tenure was 2002. Sundin was hurt. Roberts and even Alyn McAuley stepped up and led the team.

I love Sundin and always hate the people that knock how he left the Leafs. His downfall was not having a winger his whole career. And while he did score some clutch goals during his Leafs career the question we always ask ourselves was: "Could he have done better?" The mere fact that this question exists is telling