IWantSakicAsMyGM
Registered User
Except Alfie really was in the 4 years leading up to the lockout he was an even PPG and 13th overall in scoring.
Among the top 13 in scoring over that time period only the 1,2,3 scorers were above a PPG and then Thorton at 5th and Alfie at 13th who were both 1.00
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spezza was too young and then too injured but was considered offensively excellent just his skating and effort level weren't elite.
Giroux does suffer from sometimes not having the production but his offensive skillset was better overall and he didn't play with excellent players like Heatley did and was also a much different players after the injury than before it.
To put it another way, Alfredsson was PPG in 3 of 4 seasons, only scoring 71 in 78 games the 4th year. Therefore, he wasn't consistently PPG+ over those 4 seasons, only the last two of them. Yes, he did it three more times after the lockout with Heatley and Spezza getting tons of PP play time, putting up the 3 highest scoring seasons of his career. Did he not benefit from playing on the best line in hockey just as much as Heatley and Spezza did? Those were also Spezza's three career best seasons, as injuries and his skating took their toll.
And why exactly are you looking at the PPG of guys with the 3 highest raw scoring totals? Are you trying to figure out who was healthy enough to play more games? In the 4 years leading up to the lockout, Lemieux put up 207 in 144 games (1.44 PPG), despite missing the previous 4 years fighting cancer. Forsberg put up 250 in 187 (1.34), despite losing a full season due to a reptured spleen and his chronic ankle issues. Jagr was 1.116 PPG. Sakic, Naslund, and Ziggy Palfy were all 1.10 or higher too. Alfredsson being 13th at 0.99 is pretty clearly a step down to a different tier of player, right?
After the lockout, Mario was 40 and only played 26 games. Forsberg was another year older and skating on 1 foot. Everyone else above 1.0 PPG or higher in those 4 years before the lockout, other than Thornton, was into their 30s by 2005-06 and on the downturn of their careers. Bure retired the year before the lockout. Palffy and Allison retired after playing one more year. Only Jagr played and Thornton played a game after 2011.
Crosby, OV and Malkin were the only elite scorers added immediately after the lockout, and over the next 4 years, were comfortably in the top 4 in PPG rate (200 games minimum), along with Thornton. But they were at least competing amongst themselves. Beyond them, it was a "young" 32-35 year Jagr in 5th, Spezza and Alfredsson in 6/7, then Datsyuk, Heatley and Savard. One legged Forsberg put up the same PPG as Heatley, but only played 126 games and doesn't make the cut as a result. Top talent was very clearly lost in the lockout, even if PP rates artificially inflated scoring rates significantly.
After the lockout, the depth guys also started getting better, so the scoring averages didn't completely tank when PP opportunities dropped back down. And by that time, even more of the formerly elite guys had retired or passed their prime, and only Stamkos and Kane were added as elite scorers. OV also started having down seasons, and Malkin and Crosby struggled with injuries. So, over the next few years, the Ross went to whichever of the top guys could stay healthy, with the 2nd tier player who had the best season finishing a distant 2nd. When all the elite guys had down seasons, Benn won.
To me, an elite guy significantly outscoring 2nd tier players is expected, not impressive. And it certainly doesn't suggest that the elite guy who did it is definitely better than the elite guys today who are competing with 10 other elite guys (including McDavid) instead of beating up on 2nd tier talent.