Crosby's career goalscoring legacy
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Staniowski
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Crosby's a great goal-scorer. We usually don't think of him as one of the best ever (and, in some ways, he isn't), but he really is an all-time great. He can score in a variety of ways, but he's especially good at "thinking on the spot". And he scores a lot of goals that way. He plays the game on a higher plane than just about everybody else, and this gives him time to think, to adjust, to adapt, and he has always done this very effectively.
Even though I don't really think of Crosby as a goal-scorer per se, and similarly I don't think of him as a playmaker, he's actually great at both. How many players, ever, are as good at both combined? Hardly anybody.
I think with Crosby, he's so good at almost everything, and his instincts and hockey sense and active thinking are so elite, that we don't always notice how great he is at individual skills, whereas it's easier to recognize the particular skills of other players who have more limited all-around talent.
You can always count on Crosby to show up and be a real threat to score goals.
Even though I don't really think of Crosby as a goal-scorer per se, and similarly I don't think of him as a playmaker, he's actually great at both. How many players, ever, are as good at both combined? Hardly anybody.
I think with Crosby, he's so good at almost everything, and his instincts and hockey sense and active thinking are so elite, that we don't always notice how great he is at individual skills, whereas it's easier to recognize the particular skills of other players who have more limited all-around talent.
You can always count on Crosby to show up and be a real threat to score goals.
ImporterExporter
"You're a boring old man"
Assuming he's healthy and plays a few more years he'll likely get into the upper 600's or even reach 700, but that # really does need to come with an * as does his counting stats (and awards) in general. He missed so much of his absolute prime that it really skews his greatness, at least to some degree. His VsX (across the board) is absolutely suppressed due to significant time missed.
His backhand, his peers have supported this kind of statement, is among the best ever, certainly amongst modern era players.
People forget in this age of instant gratification, how utterly dominant he was in 2010-11 when he was pacing for 64 goals halfway through the year (32 in 41). Now, we can debate where he would have ended up with another 41 games, but there is little doubt he would have at least pushed 60 (in a lower scoring era than we see today mind you), and even if he had not reached that number, would have still ran away with a 3rd Rocket, Ross, MVP, etc.
His backhand, his peers have supported this kind of statement, is among the best ever, certainly amongst modern era players.
People forget in this age of instant gratification, how utterly dominant he was in 2010-11 when he was pacing for 64 goals halfway through the year (32 in 41). Now, we can debate where he would have ended up with another 41 games, but there is little doubt he would have at least pushed 60 (in a lower scoring era than we see today mind you), and even if he had not reached that number, would have still ran away with a 3rd Rocket, Ross, MVP, etc.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
I don't want to overstate it because he can't really score from distance like traditionally great scorers, but he did lead the league in goals on a dare, effectively haha
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If Ovechkin didn't exist, Crosby would be regarded much higher as a goal scorer.
Ovechkin has 44% more goals in the same number of seasons with 100% career overlap. Maybe that's just bad luck for Crosby - that he entered the NHL at the same time as the obvious best and greatest goal scorer ever.
Ovechkin has 44% more goals in the same number of seasons with 100% career overlap. Maybe that's just bad luck for Crosby - that he entered the NHL at the same time as the obvious best and greatest goal scorer ever.
DitchMarner
TheGlitchintheSwitch
He's definitely better than guys like Ciccarelli, Gartner and Andreychuk, but I don't know if he's better than Robitaille and Yzerman.
Goal scoring was basically Robitaille's thing. He was top ten nine times (much more often than Crosby), although he was never top three while Crosby had led the League twice. Yzerman placed second in goals twice, third once and sixth three times (six top sixes compared to two for Crosby).
Crosby is probably about on par with Iginla. He's not in the cluster of the absolute best and greatest at goal scoring (Lemieux, Gretzky, Howe, the Hulls, Bossy, Ovechkin, M. Richard, Esposito).
Aside from those players, I think Matthews is in a higher tier as well and that will be clearer as his career advances. I'd say Stamkos is a better and greater goal scorer than Crosby. Bure was better at the skill, but maybe Crosby beats him in terms of greatness.
Just focusing on the last 40 or so years, can argue about where he belongs among players like Selanne, Jagr, the aforementioned Robitaille and Yzerman, Kovalchuk, Pastrnak, Iginla, Draisaitl and probably McDavid by the time he's done.
Goal scoring was basically Robitaille's thing. He was top ten nine times (much more often than Crosby), although he was never top three while Crosby had led the League twice. Yzerman placed second in goals twice, third once and sixth three times (six top sixes compared to two for Crosby).
Crosby is probably about on par with Iginla. He's not in the cluster of the absolute best and greatest at goal scoring (Lemieux, Gretzky, Howe, the Hulls, Bossy, Ovechkin, M. Richard, Esposito).
Aside from those players, I think Matthews is in a higher tier as well and that will be clearer as his career advances. I'd say Stamkos is a better and greater goal scorer than Crosby. Bure was better at the skill, but maybe Crosby beats him in terms of greatness.
Just focusing on the last 40 or so years, can argue about where he belongs among players like Selanne, Jagr, the aforementioned Robitaille and Yzerman, Kovalchuk, Pastrnak, Iginla, Draisaitl and probably McDavid by the time he's done.
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