Allow me to point you here. It's a list of the top 50 players in the NHL according to one Mike Brophy. Most of it is your typical "he's still good, but he sure is getting old yuk yuk" type stuff, but here are the summaries that escaped the looney bin.
41. Joe Thornton
You know the deal - great regular season player who disappears in the playoffs. If Thornton manages 200 points this season, it won't mean squat unless he produces in the spring.
If Thornton manages 200 points this season, I'll eat a bathtub full of squat because that's about how much squat it would mean. The NHL record is 215. And no one not named Gretzky or Lemieux has ever really been close (Stevie Y with 155 in 88-89). Also, Joe has 35 pts in 41 playoff games as a Shark. Not setting the playoffs on fire, but considering how stiff the playoff competition is I wouldn't call that unproductive. The reason the Sharks haven't made it to the Cup finals isn't because of Thornton, in fact he's led the Sharks in playoff scoring the last three seasons. Plus, 41st?!? Come on. Bobby Ryan is better than Joe Thornton?!
39. Marc-Andre Fleury
So much for the 'can't win the big one' tag. Fleury played a huge role in Pittsburgh's upset of the Red Wings in the Cup final, particularly in Game 7 on the road.
Nothing too extensive here. I just love pointing out how people say that Fleury wasn't clutch in the 08 playoffs, but now all of a sudden he's a big game goalie. He really stepped it up a notch in last years playoffs compared to the year before. I'm glad you, M.A. (we're down like that), figured out how to be a clutch performer and will never again falter in the post season.
38. Bobby Ryan
Better than Joe Thornton, Mike Richards, Thomas Vanek, Marian Gaborik, Jason Spezza, and Corey Perry.
That is essentially what he wrote.
34. Tim Thomas
Having transformed himself from minor-league journeyman to NHL star, Thomas must still prove he can be counted on at the most crucial time of the season - in the playoffs.
He lead the N-motherhumping-HL in GAA and SV% last season and his numbers WERE BETTER in the playoffs. The Bruins lost game 7 of the conference semis in a 3-2 OT thriller. What more do you want?!
21. Marc Savard
Can't blame this guy for being upset at being snubbed by Team Canada. He has finished ninth in league scoring in three of the past four seasons and deserves more recognition for his efforts. He went from minus-19 two years ago to plus-25 last season.
Man, what a defensive improvement! How'd he go from a liability to a defensive stalwart? Is it because the 07 Bruins had a -80 goal differential and the 09 Bruins were +78? Is it because the same starting goaltender went from 3.13/.905 to 2.10/.933? Better defensemen? Better defencemen? Better coaching? Better koaching? Better than Joe Thornton is Bobby Ryan?
7. Henrik Zetterberg
When Datsyuk faltered in the post-season, Zetterberg stepped up to the plate. That said, playing two more games than he did the year before, Zetterberg registered 19 fewer points. That trend must change.
Maybe, just maybe that had something to do with that Hossa guy. Zetterberg's ice time dropped over 2 minutes/game from 07-08 to 08-09. Most of Hank's power play time was with Cleary and Franzen last year. Since Babcock liked to use Datsyuk with Hossa that meant Zetterberg was kind of the odd man out. Cleary and Franzen are no slouches, but they sure as H aren't Datsyuk or Hossa. So to blame Zetterberg for his linemates short comings is pretty unfair.
Even without Hossa, so far this season Zetterberg is averaging about the same ice time as last year and isn't playing on the PP with Datsyuk like he did two years ago (and yes I understand they are 4 games in). If this keeps up, I'm going to go out on a wild, insane, crazy, illogical, nonsensical, probably-going-to-get-kicked-off-this-blog-and-the-internet limb and say that trend won't change. Zetterberg is good enough to be good on his own, but he isn't #7 without Datsyuk.
2. Alexander Ovechkin
There is no denying Ovie is the most entertaining player in the NHL and a great ambassador for the sport, but what separates The Gr8 One from Sid the Kid is winning. Ovechkin has two Hart Trophies, but Sid's Stanley Cup trumps it. To win, Ovechkin needs to use his teammates better in the crunch and not try to do it all himself.
Oh, you missed it? After the "Stanley Cup Finals", which is a lazer light show the National Hockey League puts on every spring they have the Stanley Cup Finals where one lucky contestant has to eat their own poop out of curiousity. Previous winners include the Sedin twins (one of them won it every year since '95), and Lanny McDonald's moustache (which pooped out Lanny McDonald and ate him again.)This past July Crosby won it, clearing up the "Sid's Stanley Cup" phrase.
I'll go ahead and say I think Ovechkin is better than Crosby. I'll even go ahead and say Malkin is the NHLs #2. I'll even wait for you to make fun of me because of it. To use Hart Trophies as a barometer is bad enough, but to just go ahead and say Crosby is better because of "Sid's Stanley Cup" is pathetic. What about "Evgeni's Stanley Cup"? Clearly he's better than Ovechkin, what with the Cup and all. What about any of these guys? Two Cup minimum for that illustrious group.
Also, in the 4 years Sidney and Alexander've been in the league, Washington has had more points than Pittsburgh twice. The totals in the four years goes to Pittsburgh 364-342. Nevermind. You win.
Also, Bobby Ryan is better than Joe Thornton.
If Bobby Ryan has established himself as an elite player after ONE ALMOST FULL SEASON(not even a full season-he played 64 games and had 57 points) PLAYING ON A LINE WITH RYAN GETZLAF, then I should see Steve Mason on this list. I should see Scott Clemmensen on this list, I should probably see Kris Versteeg on this list, and I should certainly see Anze Kopitar on the list.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd really like to hear the reasoning behind having Henrik Sedin number 31 and Daniel Sedin number 13. It must have been because the numbers are the same when switched around, because I can't think of any other reason. To date, Henrik has 468 points in 651 games, and Daniel has 466 points in 646 games. I understand that Daniel scores more goals, and goals are more important than assists, but come on. Their stats are almost identical. And it's not like Henrik can't score, he had 22 goals last season. If you want to use the argument that his points come from assists, then Marc Savard shouldn't be as high as he is, and everyone who knows anything about hockey knows that Savard is an absolute NHL elite. (I'd pick Savard on my team before either Sedin)
Actually, looking at the only stat that matters, +/-, Henrik leads Daniel in career +/- +98 to +80. This obviously shows that he is more of a team player and Henrik should be the one ranked #13, not Daniel.
Alexander Semin: number 33. "This kid has the skill and potential to challenge Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard Trophy and his rise from minus-18 to plus-25 suggests he's becoming more of a team player."
Please hold while I pick myself up after Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off(ROTFLMAO). I don't get it! Brophy even made his point about +/- improvements leading to team play, and this is exactly what Semin did last season! Not to mention his 79 points in 62 games. Also, if he's a legitimate threat to win the Rocket Richard trophy, shouldn't he be higher than number 33? Especially since he was tearing up the league to start off last season, without even playing on a line with Ovechkin or Backstrom. His first 22 points(which he achieved in 14 games)were mainly without the help of Ovie or Backstrom. In fact, of those 22 points, Ovechkin scored/helped on 3 of them and Backstrom on 4. This means Semin was getting all his points with the help of players like Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov, Sergei Fedorov, and Dave Steckel. Game 15 that season, they clearly played on a line together, and Semin had 2 goals, 3 assists, Ovechkin had 1 goal, 2 assists, and Backstrom 1 goal, 3 assists in a 5-1 win. From there it looked like they played on a line together much more often. Anyway, Semin is very underrated and I'm sick of it.
Jay Bouwmeester: Number 20. NUMBER 20! How can you make the guy number 20? Your entire arguments consist of how well the players perform in the playoffs, right? Thornton sucks because he sucks in the playoffs, and Fleury is awesome now since his team won the cup and he's suddenly "awesome in the playoffs." Bouwmeester has never even played in a playoff game! If we're going by your scoring system, how in the world does that make him number 20?
I'm obviously not judging him because he's never made the playoffs, because anybody who would even think to do that is an idiot. I'm simply pointing out that this guy's ranking system has a lot to do with playoff production, unless we're talking about Jay Bouwmeester. Sometimes I claim that he is a bit overrated. But I do admit he is a quality defenseman. Is he better than Lidstrom? Rafalski? Green? Streit? Markov? Weber? Apparently he is.