Crosby vs Iginla: Better Goal Scorer

[slapKing]

Since Crosby got 600 goals not too long ago, a comparison between him and Iginla could be interesting.

Crosby:
- 600 goals in 1295 games
- 2 Rocket Richards
- 1x 50 goal season, 3x 40 goal seasons, 12x 30 goal seasons
- goal finishes of 1st, 1st, 7th, 7th

Iginla:
- 625 goals in 1554 games
- 2 Rocket Richards
- 2x 50 goal season, 4x 40 goal seasons, 12x 30 goal seasons
- goal finishes of 1st, 1st, 3rd, 3rd

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[Breakers]

It’s funny that Iginla assisted on crosby’s most famous goal.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Iginla has better pure shooting skills but Crosby is the better overall goal scorer. I think the numbers make that pretty clear.

 

[pi314]

It’s too bad we only got to see them play together when Iggy was past his prime.

Would’ve been a show every night.

 

[ESH]

I think both at their very best, Iginla was the better goal scorer. Iginla’s shot made him dangerous from anywhere in the zone.

 

[SirKillalot]

How many years were Calgary really good though?

 

[jigglysquishy]

How many years were Calgary really good though?

None?

They only finished top 5 in the Western conference regular season once during his prime. They had the miracle run in 2004 (which is more a Kiprusoff thing), but outside that they were never contenders.

 

[Barsky]

Iginla has better pure shooting skills but Crosby is the better overall goal scorer. I think the numbers make that pretty clear.

Perhaps, but gotta factor in the fact Iggy never really had a good centre to play with at any point in his entire career. My apologies to Craig Conroy

 

[Regal]

I think they’re pretty similar in terms of goal scoring ability. Crosby had the better goal scoring career because he has much better longevity as a top player. Best 7-8 years are arguably a slight edge to Iginla. Both led the league twice, and Iginla has two other 3rd place finishes and Crosby has two 7th place finishes. Those are their only top 10 finishes, though Crosby would have finished high in 10-11.

 

[Barsky]

How many years were Calgary really good though?

Basically One fluke (post)season since 1990

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Voted Crosby but i can see the case for iggy

 

[Incognito]

Crosby is a 700+ goal scorer without injuries. He gets underrated in this department because he doesn’t have an elite shot and he’s thought of as a pass-first player, but he’s quietly been one of the better goal scorers in the league over the past 20 years.

 

[nowhereman]

I think this is advantage Crosby. He has 25 less goals in 259 less games. And those injuries robbed us of what could have been one of the better goalscoring seasons of the modern era in in 10-11.

 

[Video Nasty]

I think this is advantage Crosby. He has 25 less goals in 259 less games. And those injuries robbed us of what could have been one of the better goalscoring seasons of the modern era in in 10-11.

Yeah, but Iginla played almost all of his career during both Dead Puck Eras, so according to Crosby fanboy math, Iginla actually has 200 more goals than he does in reality.

Just kidding, I agree. This is Crosby.

 

[Crow]

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla

 

[FDBluth]

Crosby better goalscoring touch, Iginla better goalscoring tools.

Crosby wins though.

 

[SirKillalot]

None?

They only finished top 5 in the Western conference regular season once during his prime. They had the miracle run in 2004 (which is more a Kiprusoff thing), but outside that they were never contenders.

Exactly, so I'd say as a pure goalscorer its Iginla. Just never were in a particularly good team in his prime.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Both players have "thin" goal-scoring resumes. Each has two Rocket Richard trophies, but only two other years in the top ten. Most players who have led the league multiple times have many more years near the top.

Looking a bit deeper - Iginla placed in the top twenty in goals 13 times(*). 1st, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 11th, 14th, 16th, 16th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 19th.

Crosby placed in the top twenty in goals 11 times. 1st, 1st, 7th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 20th.

The argument for Iginla is he was more consistently near the top (ie more years in the top three, top five, and top twenty), and he had a weaker supporting cast. The argument for Crosby is he's a fair bit more productive per game. The scoring environment is essentially a wash here. I would rank Crosby ahead in the playoffs (Iginla scored a bit more per game but Crosby maintained that average on significantly more and deeper playoff runs).

(*) All numbers are pulled from my database. I think I've accounted for ties correctly, but let me know if anything looks off.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Iginla

 

[gritdash60]

Voted Iggy, Crosby probably could've been if Ryan Whitney betted against him after the 50 one, he just thinks team first and "left goals on the table" so to speak because he cares about winning not about goals.

 

[daver]

During their careers:

Crosby - #2 in goals (OV), #3 in GPG among Top 20 (OV, Stamkos)

Iggy - #1 in goals, #T8 in GPG among Top 20

 

[Ignatius]

Check Crosby's stats from the 2017 Cup run, especially in the Washington series. Sid's shooting percentage was through the roof and was absolute money in terms of being counted on for scoring goals that run.

Iggy was great especially before the 2005 lockout but Sid wins this no doubt.

 

[Regal]

During their careers:

Crosby - #2 in goals (OV), #3 in GPG among Top 20 (OV, Stamkos)

Iggy - #1 in goals, #T8 in GPG among Top 20

Career numbers for goals doesn’t really feel like a good measure. Slow starts and slow finishes that aren’t reflective of the player.

Iginla’s top 10 seasons (01-02 to 11-12) he was 1st in goals and 3rd in GPG among the top 20 (behind Ovechkin and Kovalchuk)

Crosby’s top 10 seasons (09-10 to 18-19) he was 4th in goals and 3rd in GPG among the top 20 (behind Ovechkin and Stamkos).

They’re very similar level goalscorers, who also have similar goals finishes, with an edge to Iginla. The difference is mainly that Crosby’s been an elite player for longer. Does that make him a better goal scorer? I don’t think so. But I guess he should be ahead in terms of “greatness” due to it

 

[Hippasus]

It seems to me that Iginla played more of his prime through lean dead-puck seasons than Crosby. As such, I would think goal-scoring finishes thin-out more near the top. Then, when one takes into account Iginla's lesser supporting cast, particularly offensively, I believe the answer has to be Iginla.