Do NHL fans overrate the importance of 'depth'?

[benr]

It’s a bit silly just in the sense that “depth” is effectively synonymous with “being a good team”. Having more good players is better than having fewer good players.

 

[AvroArrow]

This isn't the NBA. Hockey is a true team sport, stars do the heavy lifting but you need the depth to win.

 

[JianYang]

Depth is crucial.

Gretzky never won again after leaving the powerhouse in Edmonton. Mario didn't win until Pittsburgh loaded up in the early 90s.

Even the greatest to ever do this game need the depth to get them over the hump.

 

[Avsfan1921]

I will say this:

Colorado has had top 5, arguably top 3, players at all positions outside of goaltending for quite a few years now. Two of those are in the top 6 all time playoff ppg and one is currently second all-time playoff ppg.

They got it done once, with a deep team. They’ve been disappointing every year outside of that.

When a coach needs to run top end talent into the ground just to compete, it takes a toll on their play. Yes, depth is very, very important.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

It's a common refrain when the stars we love and admire fall out of the playoffs early.

'Oh, well, he/they simply didn't have the support around him to succeed. If only the bottom 6 or 4-through-6 defensemen had been better, they surely would have had the time/space necessary to overcome.'

At what point is it BS rationalization to let star players off the hook for simply failing to perform or being outperformed by the best players on the other team?

I like how your entire logic and argument is “I disagree.” You not valuing depth is.. not shocking.

 

[Summer Rose]

Playoff hockey is a different beast than regular season hockey. Other teams, because they're also playoff teams, will generally do a better job of shutting down your star players. That's when your depth players either step up to the plate to provide some crucial secondary scoring, or they suck and you likely get eliminated as a result. I can think of three players in particular that stick out to me as being depth guys who stepped up in the playoffs: Dale Weise, Justin Williams, and Patrick Maroon. There are plenty of more examples, but those are the first three that come to mind.

In other words, being a team reliant on your stars to carry the workload will get you into the playoffs more often than not (I mean, half the league makes it), if you're lacking in depth, you're not very likely to get very far in the playoffs.