Who owned the "Best player in the World" title since the Wayne/Mario era

[authentic]

2 regular seasons now. Simple math man. Simple Math

Crosby had 15 more goals in 7 less games and was on pace for only 3 less points. McDavid was not clearly better he was just clearly healthier.

 

[daver]

Crosby had 15 more goals in 7 less games and was on pace for only 3 less points. McDavid was not clearly better he was just clearly healthier.

There should be an obvious balance between what a player accomplished on a per game basis and raw point totals. Whatever doubts there were about Crosby finishing 10 points behind in the regular season were removed after the playoffs were factored in. McDavid was not better than Crosby just from an offensive production standpoint and there was a clear gap in all around play.

 

[Future GOAT]

It has been McDavid for the past 2 seasons.

Indeed. Lets see if he can make it a 3rd.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Doesn't Crosby play with two PPG+ players on the PP?

EDM not only had the lowest number of PPOs in the League but had the worst PP as well.

Since McDavid has the puck more than anyone else on his team with the man advantage, shouldn't he get some blame for having the worst PP?

 

[GlitchMarner]

Crosby had 15 more goals in 7 less games and was on pace for only 3 less points. McDavid was not clearly better he was just clearly healthier.

Ovechkin completely destroyed Crosby in goal scoring in '08 and '09, but don't some maintain that goals and assists are entirely equal?

 

[billcook]

My crack at post-expansion list

67-75 Orr
75-80 Lafleur
80-88 Gretzky
88-94 Lemieux
94-97 Lindros
97-01 Jagr
01-04 Forsberg
05-07 Thornton
07-10 Ovechkin
10-14 Crosby
14-16 Kane
16-18 McDavid

 

[GlitchMarner]

There should be an obvious balance between what a player accomplished on a per game basis and raw point totals. Whatever doubts there were about Crosby finishing 10 points behind in the regular season were removed after the playoffs were factored in. McDavid was not better than Crosby just from an offensive production standpoint and there was a clear gap in all around play.

What exactly makes you so confident that Crosby is definitively better all-around than McDavid?

Crosby is not Bergeron or Kopitar. The highest he has finished in Selke voting is seventh and he finished 10th in Selke voting in 2017. McDavid finished 16th in Selke voting the same season. The difference seems trivial. Crosby was +17. McDavid was +27.

Who won the the Pearson that season?

 

[GlitchMarner]

Since McDavid has the puck more than anyone else on his team with the man advantage, shouldn't he get some blame for having the worst PP?

Maybe... but give him a Malkin and a Kessel to work with and throw in Letang and he easily scores more PP points.

 

[Laineux]

Maybe... but give him a Malkin and a Kessel to work with and throw in Letang and he easily scores more PP points.

Not to mention he had over twice as much powerplay points as the next best guy on the team. Clearly no one else was contributing anything.

 

[daver]

Who won the the Pearson that season?

The player that had a marginally better PPG in the regular season that didn't miss games. Who had the higher point total and PPG all in (RS and POs) and who was the player at the top of the league since 2006? McDavid needed to outperform Crosby to join him at the top. He did that this past season.

 

[Born and Raised]

Crosby is still the best player in the world

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Not to mention he had over twice as much powerplay points as the next best guy on the team. Clearly no one else was contributing anything.

Or it means that he's holding the puck most of the time.

 

[daver]

Maybe... but give him a Malkin and a Kessel to work with and throw in Letang and he easily scores more PP points.

Crosby has a track record of producing regardless of linemates, at ES, on the PP, in a more defensive role, etc.... It's ridiculous to try to imply he would not produce on any team in any situation. McDavid was great last year but he needs to own some of his team's lacklustre PP and the fact that he was not the best player this year when his team was battling for a playoff spot.

Crosby's scores at a 1.75 PPG to help his team win the Cup,what was McDavid scoring at a 1.75 PPG for?

 

[Laineux]

Or it means that he's holding the puck most of the time.

You can definitely put some blame on McDavid for the Oilers powerplay (if he was a shot threat it would change much), but the chances of Edmonton powerplay being the worst in the league repeating along with them getting the least powerplay opportunities repeating are extremely slim.

 

[tarheelhockey]

My crack at post-expansion list

67-75 Orr
75-80 Lafleur
80-88 Gretzky
88-94 Lemieux
94-97 Lindros
97-01 Jagr
01-04 Forsberg
05-07 Thornton
07-10 Ovechkin
10-14 Crosby
14-16 Kane
16-18 McDavid

I'd say Hasek fits in there better than Lindros and Jagr.

 

[billcook]

I'd say Hasek fits in there better than Lindros and Jagr.

Goalies are weird, I don't like ranking them directly against skaters. No doubt he was phenomenal hockey player at his peak.

I get your point about Hasek fitting better in 1993-94/2000-01 period too.

 

[McFlash97]

Crosby had 15 more goals in 7 less games and was on pace for only 3 less points. McDavid was not clearly better he was just clearly healthier.

McDavid was better last year. Stay on that lonely island bro .. stay on that lonely island.

 

[Laineux]

McDavid FWIW has higher +/- the last two years than Crosby over any two given seasons in his career.

Not the best stat out there, but considering Crosby has always played for the better team I don't see much of an argument that Crosby brings some massive two-way element that McDavid cannot match.

 

[daver]

McDavid FWIW has higher +/- the last two years than Crosby over any two given seasons in his career.

Not the best stat out there, but considering Crosby has always played for the better team I don't see much of an argument that Crosby brings some massive two-way element that McDavid cannot match.

Crosby brings a massive playoff element.

 

[daver]

Not to mention he had over twice as much powerplay points as the next best guy on the team. Clearly no one else was contributing anything.

So should we devalue McDavid's 16/17 season because it was inflated by PP points and great PP teammates then?

 

[frag2]

So should we devalue McDavid's 16/17 season because it was inflated by PP points and great PP teammates then?

So should we devalue your opinion because you constantly move goal posts?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Crosby has a track record of producing regardless of linemates, at ES, on the PP, in a more defensive role, etc.... It's ridiculous to try to imply he would not produce on any team in any situation. McDavid was great last year but he needs to own some of his team's lacklustre PP and the fact that he was not the best player this year when his team was battling for a playoff spot.

Crosby's scores at a 1.75 PPG to help his team win the Cup,what was McDavid scoring at a 1.75 PPG for?

When was Crosby ever put into a non-scoring role?

 

[CartographerNo611]

Anyone noticed this BS?
​

I only use the best stats to make the best statements.

 

[daver]

When was Crosby ever put into a non-scoring role?

Malkin's line and/or Kessel's line has been given more offensive starts than Crosby's line for years now.

 

[Troubadour]

Maybe he does now, in light of having revived his reputation in his sunset years, but he didn’t feel like that at the time. He scored a lot of points and everything else about him was a distinct negative.

What a fabulation.

Jagr was a rock star in the late nineties, routinely picking up more ASG votes than Lemieux. He was getting voted into the EC starting lineup each and every ASG since his second season. If his rep was so bad and negative, how come the hockey fans wanted him at the ASG although he was far from elite then?

The truth is, in the nineties, Jagr was popular beyond comprehension. It was only during the 2000-2001 season and especially during the WSH period when his rep took a hit and his hockey stock plummeted.

Of course he had haters and detractors. That always happens with the best. But to say everything about him (but points) was a distinct negative is fabulation.

EDIT: Just checked. Yep. Jagr got fan-voted into the ASG starting lineup eleven times in a row from 1992 till 2003. You should bow down and apologize to the magic mullet and his legacy for regurgitating fantasies invented by his detractors and then passing them to the young, innocent and unsuspecting fans who gobble every word from the old