blundluntman
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Conn Smythe Tournament (Post 2000's) Round 1: 2008 Zetterberg vs 2009 Malkin
- Thread starter blundluntman
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norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
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I think these are the two best forward seasons here. I’m honestly pretty torn. Malkin’s offense was incredibly, especially given linemates, but Zetterberg’s two-way game was undeniable.
Nadal On Clay
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Gotta feel bad for Zetterberg in this poll. He would have had a great chance against any other forward
This is Malkin, though.
This is Malkin, though.
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SuperScript29
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- Nov 17, 2017
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I know Malkin will win this and I have no issues with that, but threw in a homer vote for Z, especially since that was one of the best playoff performances out there and the way he shut down Crosby in the final was epic.
End of Line
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These are the two best forward CS performances and having them go head to head is a shame. What Zetterberg did in 08 was incredible. And what Malkin did the next year was incredible as well. But, homer vote to Geno
Realgud
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It doesn't get any better than leading the playoffs in scoring and +/- while having to shut the opposition's best players down. A rare feat of complete and total two-way domination.
BraveCanadian
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tabness
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I don't put much stock into big scoring stats in the new NHL playoffs (teams load up on star studded units more than ever before and most importantly game is just too soft even in the playoffs), but Malkin did this while playing with some pretty low end wingers (of course he played with Crosby a ton in the regular season and even a got a good chunk of points together in the playoffs on the powerplay but still a far cry from the stacked lines/units we have today).
Also, Malkin has just historically been underrated. If he wasn't flaky at times and dealing with nagging injuries at others, he'd for sure be top 100 lol
Zetterberg is just a hockey player's hockey player, especially at his best, which he was around the 2007-2008 season and playoffs.
He was the Barkov of that time, in the sense that he got all the Gretzky love, "best player in the world" "best Swedish player ever" and so on (don't worry I ain't comparing Z to a zoomer gen player otherwise).
Homer voted Zetterberg, so close though, and if I wasn't a Wings fan maybe I'd go Malkin by the slimmest of margins
Also, Malkin has just historically been underrated. If he wasn't flaky at times and dealing with nagging injuries at others, he'd for sure be top 100 lol
Zetterberg is just a hockey player's hockey player, especially at his best, which he was around the 2007-2008 season and playoffs.
He was the Barkov of that time, in the sense that he got all the Gretzky love, "best player in the world" "best Swedish player ever" and so on (don't worry I ain't comparing Z to a zoomer gen player otherwise).
Homer voted Zetterberg, so close though, and if I wasn't a Wings fan maybe I'd go Malkin by the slimmest of margins
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JackSlater
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- Apr 27, 2010
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Zetterberg was great but it has to be Malkin for me, too unstoppable at times though playoffs and a lot of the time as a one man army. The best forward performance in this poll against probably the second best forward performance.
I think the offense and support make this one for Malkin but Zetterberg is really close.
JaegerDice
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Zetterberg was a machine, but he was on one of the best, deepest teams of the cap era.
Malkin, meanwhile, helped Crosby carry a VERY top heavy Penguins team to a cup.
So as far as value to their team, Malkin wins this, even if their raw impact was relatively close.
Wish this hadnt been a 1st round matchup.
Malkin, meanwhile, helped Crosby carry a VERY top heavy Penguins team to a cup.
So as far as value to their team, Malkin wins this, even if their raw impact was relatively close.
Wish this hadnt been a 1st round matchup.
Tasty Biscuits
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Basically what everyone else has said. This is a silly 1st round matchup. Incredibly tight. Give the nod to Malkin.
Never really thought of it but it's true that there aren't many forward standout smythe runs this century. Most of the best runs are from goalies or defensemen.
Which is weird - because if you go back 20 years prior, so from ~1980 to 1999, the majority of the best smythe runs are all by forwards.
I did vote Malkin, I think he is probably #1 in this tournament. Zetterberg great too, but I prefer Malkin in 2009.
- Feb 10, 2010
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Was it top heavy and "carried?" Scoring-wise I think you can make that case but if you look at the full picture, in terms of team depth, Jordan Staal was the 3C. He was pretty good. Letang, Cooke, Dupuis, Kunitz, Gonchar, Orpik, Fleury - that team actually had no problem winning without Crosby (.619 points % without Crosby in extended time) when he was injured and we have a very large sample size to draw from. Same goes for Malkin.
- Feb 10, 2010
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Yeah he sucks. No way a player like that could ever make a decent NHL career.
TheGoldenJet
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It’s funny too because some of the best forward runs didn’t win Smythes. Crosby in 2009 was better than either of his actual Smythes. Kucherov in 2020 and 2021 was better than probably any other forward win in this period other than these two.
Nathaniel Skywalker
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Tasty Biscuits
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Well yeah, he didn't have a 1-2 of Zetterberg and Lidstrom draped all over him in 2017.
nowhereman
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No team in NHL history has relied on its top 2 players more than the 2009 Penguins did with Sid/Geno. Zetterberg was amazing but he wouldn't have been anywhere near the player he was if he had the limited support that Geno had (playing on a line with Ruslan Fedetenko and Maxime Talbot). There needs to be some context with this pick.
norrisnick
The best...
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