Top 20 Montreal Canadiens Forwards since 2000 - #1

[AntonCH]

What's so funny with what he said. Kovalev is A-talent. They're not talking about complete player or A-effort. They're talking about TALENT and Kovalev is one of the most talented player to play the game.

Both Koivu and Kovalev carried this team in the playoffs though.

A-list talent equals:

Crosby
Malkin
Ovechkin
Stamkos
Jagr (in his prime)

In Habs speak:
Lafleur
Belliveau
Richard

 

[overlords]

A-list talent equals:

Crosby
Malkin
Ovechkin
Stamkos
Jagr (in his prime)

In Habs speak:
Lafleur
Belliveau
Richard

Not for everyone it doesn't. many people have completely different definitions of 'a-list' (rare you even hear this in hockey, tbh), 'elite' etc. The one that amuses me most is the whole 1st liner 2nd liner stuff. Always a good time

 

[Andy]

It makes me sad to see Kovalev over Koivu.

 

[GordonGraham]

That is one pathetic list for 15 years

 

[AntonCH]

That is one pathetic list for 15 years

winner winner chicken dinner

 

[Jacques Trap*]

Saku Koivu

 

[Roulin]

Saku

 

[shawdowmaker]

Kovalev

 

[Mrb1p]

1. Koivu
2. Kovalev
3. Pacioretty

You know you had terrible offense when in the span of 20 years your top 5 is Koivu, Kovalev, Pacioretty, Cammalleri and Plekanec.

I don't understand this. All 5 of them are first liners and Koivu/Kovalev were elite and Patches is closing in on the elite group of wingers. (He's top 5 at his position, so he might be elite).

I don't think it's that bad. Just look around the league and you'll see it isn't.

 

[le_sean]

I don't understand this. All 5 of them are first liners and Koivu/Kovalev were elite and Patches is closing in on the elite group of wingers. (He's top 5 at his position, so he might be elite).

I don't think it's that bad. Just look around the league and you'll see it isn't.

I love Koivu, but when was he ever elite? He only reached 70+ points twice in his career.

As for Kovalev, he was elite one season, arguably two.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I love Koivu, but when was he ever elite? He only reached 70+ points twice in his career.

As for Kovalev, he was elite one season, arguably two.

I agree, he was great but not elite per se, he would have definitely been elite if he didn't get injured so much though IMO.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Not for everyone it doesn't. many people have completely different definitions of 'a-list' (rare you even hear this in hockey, tbh), 'elite' etc. The one that amuses me most is the whole 1st liner 2nd liner stuff. Always a good time

I think your standards would be pretty low if you listed Koivu as an A lister.

Sadly, he's probably still to he right choice here though.

 

[Mrb1p]

I love Koivu, but when was he ever elite? He only reached 70+ points twice in his career.

As for Kovalev, he was elite one season, arguably two.

If you want to define an elite player by the production he brings, fine by me. But Kovalev had a lot more going than just his point production, he was the main focus of every team and he carried the play like no other forward in the last 20 years.

 

[S Bah]

Did anyone take a look at the list and feel sad?
Sad that these are our top ten best forwards over the last 10 years?
regardless of what you may think or feel there's no A-list talent there
NONE

As a lifelong Hab fan it disgusts me that the NHL hasn't incorporated a system that somehow finds an equal distribution of Entry Draft prospects. How any team is expected to build a Stanley Cup contender without having the benefit of choosing either 1st or 2nd for 30 yrs., proven with the Habs playoff record in the last 23yrs.
When a team makes the playoffs without these types of picks continually, all it does is make it harder due to their late drafting position.

The NHL and other Sports Leagues should have found a fairer way to distribute these picks after decades of barely any change at all. With the advent of this years Entry Draft representing teams with at least 5 players capable of being a franchise type of player, the NHL has opened the lottery to all teams out of the playoffs. Still for Hab fans this means the same old thing, leftovers. I don't know about other fans feelings about the upcoming draft, but my feeling is that if every team had an even chance in the lottery of claiming #1. There would be far more effort on each team's part to win every game, instead of trading players or in short trying to tank to be in the best position to win the lottery!

What a boon it would be to the Habs to be able to draft #1 or even in the Top Ten, but that's not what our team gets for trying to be #1 every year, Thank's to Trevor Timmins our team's prospects are keeping the Habs in the running for the SC every year, but having Connor McDavid on our top line in 2016 would be pure gold to a Hab fanbase that has gone without, except for PK Subban' emergence as the premier puck moving defenceman.

How does this sound for the opening day lineup for the 2015-2016 season:

starting for the Habs ;

Carey Price in goal.
PK Subban(CAPT.) & Nathan Beaulieu on defence
Alex Galchenyuk(LW) - Connor McDavid(C) - Nikita Scherbak(RW) 1st line.

Now that has a ring of Championship to it, or at least the promise of special things too come.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

As a lifelong Hab fan it disgusts me that the NHL hasn't incorporated a system that somehow finds an equal distribution of Entry Draft prospects. How any team is expected to build a Stanley Cup contender without having the benefit of choosing either 1st or 2nd for 30 yrs., proven with the Habs playoff record in the last 23yrs.
When a team makes the playoffs without these types of picks continually, all it does is make it harder due to their late drafting position.

The NHL and other Sports Leagues should have found a fairer way to distribute these picks after decades of barely any change at all. With the advent of this years Entry Draft representing teams with at least 5 players capable of being a franchise type of player, the NHL has opened the lottery to all teams out of the playoffs. Still for Hab fans this means the same old thing, leftovers. I don't know about other fans feelings about the upcoming draft, but my feeling is that if every team had an even chance in the lottery of claiming #1. There would be far more effort on each team's part to win every game, instead of trading players or in short trying to tank to be in the best position to win the lottery!

What a boon it would be to the Habs to be able to draft #1 or even in the Top Ten, but that's not what our team gets for trying to be #1 every year, Thank's to Trevor Timmins our team's prospects are keeping the Habs in the running for the SC every year, but having Connor McDavid on our top line in 2016 would be pure gold to a Hab fanbase that has gone without, except for PK Subban' emergence as the premier puck moving defenceman.

How does this sound for the opening day lineup for the 2015-2016 season:

starting for the Habs ;

Carey Price in goal.
PK Subban(CAPT.) & Nathan Beaulieu on defence
Alex Galchenyuk(LW) - Connor McDavid(C) - Nikita Scherbak(RW) 1st line.

Now that has a ring of Championship to it, or at least the promise of special things too come.

Smart teams adapt and don't go for "number one" every year when they don't have the roster for it. If you don't have the horses and you know you aren't going to win anytime soon, there's nothing wrong with dealing vets for picks and prospects. That's the way to do it.

Winning a cup is a marathon, not a sprint. And sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward. Look no further than the Leafs for what happens when you don't.

 

[le_sean]

If you want to define an elite player by the production he brings, fine by me. But Kovalev had a lot more going than just his point production, he was the main focus of every team and he carried the play like no other forward in the last 20 years.

Yeah but he only did that two of the four seasons he was here, plus playoffs. He was pretty lackadaisical the other two seasons.

 

[Kafka]

Kovalev in front of Koivu and Plekanec?

Still impressed by how "fans" can be so poor about evaluating the contribution of a player to a game. Kovalev was flashy, but to me, he was a unidimentional player like Dagenais and Ryder were for Montreal (Kovalev was good to slow the game by playing with the puck and then losing it; Ryder to score garbage goals, and Dagenais to slap the puck).

Contribution of players like Plekanec and Koivu has just been WAY more impressive...

Just saying.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah but he only did that two of the four seasons he was here, plus playoffs. He was pretty lackadaisical the other two seasons.

65 points is a first line point production. And PPG is elite production, he was PPG two times and had first line production one time. His only real problem was his down year where nothing was going for him.