They do. He had a significant drop off in scoring compared to his regular season stats. Of course him being in his prime throughout the entire decade helped to skew the numbers this way I am not denying that. Nevertheless that doesn't make him underrated.
All-time underrated players
- Thread starter TheDawnOfANewTage
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His numbers also look worse because he has 1 point in his last 12 playoff games as an old player. Where he was scoring at lower then .5 ppg. The rest of his career, outside of a few series his numbers don't look bad at all considering his caliber of player.
I didn't say he was underrated, but he also isn't a playoff choker either.
1) He had 1 point in 13 games as a bit player for the Oilers in his mid-30s. 29 points in 39 games through the bulk of his career.
2) Looking at playoff totals for guys on mediocre teams who consistently were underdog teams running into powerhouses in the playoffs isn't really helpful. Look at Ron Francis' playoff results when getting squished with Hartford vs. what he did with Pittsburgh.
Point is that Unger is a shockingly anonymous player for a guy who was 3rd in the NHL in goal scoring over a decade-long span.
Alex Delvecchio comes to mind. If he's remembered at all, he's probably remembered as someone who played a long time in the NHL, and for much of that time with Gordie Howe. Number 10 was a smart player and a terrific skater who performed very well with and without the puck, at either end of the ice. Delvecchio isn't mentioned with Dave Keon and Henri Richard, but he should be.
vadim sharifijanov
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Gartner has three more 30-goal seasons than Wayne Gretzky or Gordie Howe.
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
I like it. But it needs to be said:
1. Gordie Howe was top-5 in NHL points for 20 consecutive seasons; his 'only' 29 goals in 1955 was a shorter season and still top 5 in goals. In 1960 and 1964 he also had south of 30 goals, but still higher relative to his contemporaries than Gartner's era.
2. Trying to say player x scored more goals in a season/seasons than Gretzky is the ultimate non-starter: it carries no water. There are too many reasons...
3. Gartner is like Bossy but more wheels, less shot, more wrap around.
4. Gartner's claim to fame is speed and durability. Full stop.
...speed and durability to the extent that he was the league's fastest skater in his mid-30s. And that against guys like Fedorov, Bure, Selänne in their youth. His All-Star skills competition lap in 1996 at 36 with skates of that era was faster than McDavid's this year. Most rightfully in the HHoF.
Garry Unger may be underrated, but he didn't play until 36 and in his final years in Edmonton Matti Hagman was a lot better than him.
Garry Unger may be underrated, but he didn't play until 36 and in his final years in Edmonton Matti Hagman was a lot better than him.
VaporTrail
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How about Russ and Geoff Courtnall ? As a Sabres fan those two always seemed to have good games against us...They could skate too.
MXD
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Russ Courtnall was a somewhat soft quick-skating Top-6 winger and rarely has been described as anything better or worse than that. His defensive play was a bit underrated (due to being small and soft), but that's really the extent of his underratedness.
Pat Burns famously nicknamed him Le Chevreuil (The Deer), and it was a pretty apt nickname.
But he was a Top-6 winger for essentially his career, minus his stint with the Kings. 900 games worth of Top-6 winging, that's... very good.
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They were both slightly overrated if anything because of the novelty of being similar skilled brothers. Both good players, Geoff was especially clutch in the playoffs. Neither was underrated imo.
Hockeyville USA
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Obligatory Brian Rafalski comment, I may have made it pages ago, but he deserves additional praise
How about being underrated and despised (and underrated in large part because he is despised)? That's Dale Hunter. As a big fan of the Nordiques - before the Peter Stastny trade - I can tell you that Hunter was a very effective player, with and without the puck. In the playoffs, Dale really rose to the occasion - especially when games went in to overtime.
MadLuke
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Forward maybe, from 06 to 09 you have a big 6foot2 really strong and fast skater, 21 in points, 18 in goals can play wings, center, etc... could see him in the conversation for the best 20 forward of that window.
Add goaltenders and Ds, could be hard to make him fit
Add goaltenders and Ds, could be hard to make him fit
Peter Stasny is a great answer. Had more points in the 1980's than anyone but Gretsky (even beat out Kurri).
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
^ I think that piece of trivia has served to overrate him, for my tastes, actually...
MadLuke
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This imo, the mileage he did because is second place was timed with a decade, versus say Hawerchuk doing the same but from 1982 to 1992 or something. Or adam Oates which I would imagine we can find a 10 years window with him number 2.
Do it in that period:
NHL Stats
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No one ever mention it, replace 82 and 92 by round numbers and people do.
I think it is in part fair when you do that exercise, there a lot of Dionne-Lafleur, Esposito, Sakic, Yzerman, Jagr, Lemieux, crosby, Kane, St-Louis, etc... type of name that will be number 2 and now Stastny surprise some and it became a big trivia specially the only one to beat him was named Gretzky. But he made a lot of mileage with it versus Hawerchuk doing exactly the same thing (or even Dionne has an old player, Marcel Dionne during his last 10 years, only Gretzky had more points).
Those Nordiques never winning the cup often use the Isles-Oilers excuse, they lost to one of them a single time in that era.
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Mohar Ikram
Registered User
There are so many great legends in this sport that accomplished lots of things. Personally, for me, if we're putting a case for underrated player, the player must be
1) Not a HOF. You are well recognized if you are one.
2) You're not the first in the fan mind if we're saying club hero or legend.
3) Insane stats and feats
4) Winner
For those criteria, IMO - this is few all-time underrated player IMO
1) Pete Mahovlich
- 2OA in the very first draft
- Little M
- 773 points in 884 games
- 4 cups with Canadiens
2) Bobby Smith
- 1OA in 1978 draft
- 1036 points in 1077 games
- Carry North Stars to two final
- Another 2 final for Canadiens, Won one of them, Score the GWG
3) Steve Duchesne
- Undrafted D-men
- Perennial 50-70 points D-men
- 752 points in 1113 games
- Won SC with Red Wings in his last season
4) Brian Rafalski
- Another undrafted D-men
- Starts his career in Europe (he is an American) and grab the NHL spot later
- Perennial 40-50 points D-men
- 515 points in 833 games
- Hard-nosed d-men for both Devils and Red Wings. Won 3 cups.
- Best D-men in 2010 Olympic.
5) Ray Whitney
- The Wizard
- 23OA in 1991 draft
- 1064 points in 1330 games
- 20-30 goal scorer
- Won cup with Canes in 06
6) Mike Krushelnyski
- Crusher
- 120OA in 1979 draft
- 569 points in 897 games
- Linseman coveted replacement besides Tikkanen
- 3 Cups with Oilers
7) Pierre Larouche
- 8OA in 1974 draft
- 822 points in 812 games (Over PPG!)
- 45+ goal scorers with 3 different teams (Pitt, Canadiens and NYR)
- Won 2 cups with Canadiens
- Weirdest career ever (won the cups when he has a subpar season, absolutely nowhere when he was cooking).
There are lots more but this are few I can think of.
1) Not a HOF. You are well recognized if you are one.
2) You're not the first in the fan mind if we're saying club hero or legend.
3) Insane stats and feats
4) Winner
For those criteria, IMO - this is few all-time underrated player IMO
1) Pete Mahovlich
- 2OA in the very first draft
- Little M
- 773 points in 884 games
- 4 cups with Canadiens
2) Bobby Smith
- 1OA in 1978 draft
- 1036 points in 1077 games
- Carry North Stars to two final
- Another 2 final for Canadiens, Won one of them, Score the GWG
3) Steve Duchesne
- Undrafted D-men
- Perennial 50-70 points D-men
- 752 points in 1113 games
- Won SC with Red Wings in his last season
4) Brian Rafalski
- Another undrafted D-men
- Starts his career in Europe (he is an American) and grab the NHL spot later
- Perennial 40-50 points D-men
- 515 points in 833 games
- Hard-nosed d-men for both Devils and Red Wings. Won 3 cups.
- Best D-men in 2010 Olympic.
5) Ray Whitney
- The Wizard
- 23OA in 1991 draft
- 1064 points in 1330 games
- 20-30 goal scorer
- Won cup with Canes in 06
6) Mike Krushelnyski
- Crusher
- 120OA in 1979 draft
- 569 points in 897 games
- Linseman coveted replacement besides Tikkanen
- 3 Cups with Oilers
7) Pierre Larouche
- 8OA in 1974 draft
- 822 points in 812 games (Over PPG!)
- 45+ goal scorers with 3 different teams (Pitt, Canadiens and NYR)
- Won 2 cups with Canadiens
- Weirdest career ever (won the cups when he has a subpar season, absolutely nowhere when he was cooking).
There are lots more but this are few I can think of.
buffalowing88
Registered User
He started to get some credit on the back-end of his career but yeah, otherwise he's forgotten too often.
I love thinking of underrated defensemen from the past in general.
Two I can think of:
-Allan Stanley, who played for over 20 years and is in the HOF but doesn't get much coverage, even here.
-Doug Bodger is a guy who the great players seem to recognize as being supremely talented. I've heard multiple former players describe him as being a force on the PP and stronger than his peers on podcasts.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
Any thought about what we'd think about Reed Larson if he was in a better situation? Like, not the Islanders - partly because of his unstructured defensive game - not the top of the heap...but like a Minnesota or some team that was just *gestures circularly* around it in the late 70's/early 80's...? Maybe would have been a nice complement as a shooter to the puck mover Hartsburg...? No obligation to respond, but I got the sense that you were watching hockey around this time based on the name selections...
vadim sharifijanov
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the obvious rejoinder is he also has fewer 90 pt seasons than joe mullen
that said, i have a lot of time for mullen. i’d absolutely advocate for him being very underrated.
