Conn Smythe Tournament (1977-00) Round 1: 1996 Sakic vs 1982 Bossy

[blundluntman]

MATCHUP #5 (Round 1): Joe Sakic (1996) vs Mike Bossy (1982)

Joe Sakic (1995-96):
22 GP 18 G 16 A 34 Points

Mike Bossy (1981-82):
19 GP 17 G 10 A 27 Points

Round 1 Matchups:
Stevens 00 vs Leetch 94 Thread
Nieuwendyk 99 vs Roy 86 Thread
Yzerman 98 vs Gainey 79 Thread
Vernon 97 vs Gretzky 88 Thread
Sakic 96 vs Bossy 82
C Lemeiux 95 vs Lemieux 92
Roy 93 vs Smith 83
Lemieux 91 vs Goring 81
Ranford 90 vs Hextall 87
MacInnis 89 vs Robinson 78
Gretzky 85 vs Messier 84
Trottier 80 vs Lafleur 77

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[amnesiac]

Joe.... more goals, more points in a lower scoring era

 

[blundluntman]

I'm a big fan of Sakic's 96 smythe personally. He really broke out as a clutch player that run and scored a lot of key goals to help push Colorado over the edge. His game 5 performance in the Vancouver series really broke the ice open for Colorado when the series was tied 2-2 and could've gone either way. And then did the same thing in game 6 with a huge series winning goal. There was also the game winning triple OT goal in the Chicago series to save them from going down 1-3. The numbers were there, but it was also the timing of those goals/performances. I prefer this smythe over Roy's in 01 slightly tbh.

I can't really say too much about Bossy but his smythe run doesn't seem very far off and I'd assume it's at least around the same tier so I'd love to hear what people who watched him that year think.

 

[Albatros]

Bossy, mostly for being an unstoppable force in the finals.

 

[JackSlater]

Sakic, drove the bus more than Bossy did and comfortably outscored him here.

 

[bobholly39]

Sakic.

I think we all expect Gretzky or Lemieux to win this tournament - but if we did a "without 99/66" tournament, Sakic would be one of the favorites to win. It was simply a fantastic run. 6 game winning goals too, including 2 in OT - super clutch.

It's too bad for Bossy - I think he could have been a dark horse to do well in this tournament depending on matchups, but Sakic's run is simply better.

 

[Hockeyholic]

I'm a big fan of Sakic's 96 smythe personally. He really broke out as a clutch player that run and scored a lot of key goals to help push Colorado over the edge. His game 5 performance in the Vancouver series really broke the ice open for Colorado when the series was tied 2-2 and could've gone either way. And then did the same thing in game 6 with a huge series winning goal. There was also the game winning triple OT goal in the Chicago series to save them from going down 1-3. The numbers were there, but it was also the timing of those goals/performances. I prefer this smythe over Roy's in 01 slightly tbh.

I can't really say too much about Bossy but his smythe run doesn't seem very far off and I'd assume it's at least around the same tier so I'd love to hear what people who watched him that year think.

If that goes the other way, Chicago likely takes the series. In some ways, I think Chicago was their biggest challenge.

I looked back and Sakic's 96 postseason might have been one of the clutchest of all time. Vancouver goals in games 5-6. Hawks goal in game 4. The Detroit goal in game 6. The goal that essentially ended the SCF in 96 (3-2 goal in game 3).

 

[Video Nasty]

Sakic’s could be one of the five greatest playoff runs by a forward in the league’s history.

 

[Crosby2010]

You could make a legitimate argument that Bossy in 1981 is the better match up vs. Sakic in 1996 than his 1982 run. Bossy had two less points than Trottier in 1982. Sakic had 12 more points than his next teammate. And he was consistent, had 36 points overall, scored one more goal than Bossy, had 6 game winners which was the record at the time. I'll say this though, Bossy's 7 goals in 4 games in the finals is amazing. But the winner here is Sakic.

 

[tabness]

As an aside, while Joe Sakic has always been one of the most Earthworm Jim looking mofos I know of, Mike Bossy sorta gives the wormish head vibe too, good matchup on a couple different levels lol

 

[Johnny Tomala]

Sakic