Hart Trophy Tournament (1969-00) Round 1: 1976 Bobby Clarke vs 1990 Mark Messier

[blundluntman]

MATCHUP #7 (Round 1): Bobby Clarke (1976) vs Mark Messier (1990)

Bobby Clarke (1975-76):
76 GP 30 G 89 A 119 Points| 2nd in Points, 1st in Assists, 3rd in Defensive Point Shares amongst forwards, 1st AST

Mark Messier (1989-90):
79 GP 45 G 84 Assists 129 Points | 2nd in Points, 2nd in Assists, T-10th in Goals, Pearson/Lindsay Trophy, 1st AST, 14th in Selke

Round 1 Matchups:
69 Esposito vs 99 Jagr Thread
70 Orr vs 72 Orr Thread
71 Orr vs 00 Pronger Thread
73 Clarke vs 82 Gretzky Thread
74 Esposito vs 91 Hull Thread
75 Clarke vs 98 Hasek Thread
76 Clarke vs 90 Messier
77 Lafleur vs 80 Gretzky (Still Active) Thread
78 Lafleur vs 93 Lemieux
79 Trottier vs 94 Fedorov
81 Gretzky vs 87 Gretzky
83 Gretzky vs 86 Gretzky
84 Gretzky vs 85 Gretzky
88 Lemieux vs 89 Gretzky
92 Messier vs 95 Lindros
96 Lemieux vs 97 Hasek

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[JackSlater]

I'd go with Clarke, though it is an excellent season by Messier and his clear peak. I'd say that Messier was better offensively and I like his physicality at the time. Both were near their apex as noted leaders. Clarke was absolutely dominant defensively again, the opposition only scoring 19 goals when he was on the ice at even strength all season (76 against Messier) while acting as probably the league's best penalty killer. Philadelphia absolutely dominated other teams at even strength (outscoring them something like 5 to 1, which is ridiculous) when Clarke was on the ice while the Oilers were nowhere near that dominant when Messier was on. Of course Messier played on a deeper team, his linemates weren't quite as good as Clarke's in 1976, and the NHL was stronger in 1990. The defensive gap is too large though.

 

[blundluntman]

I'd go with Clarke, though it is an excellent season by Messier and his clear peak. I'd say that Messier was better offensively and I like his physicality at the time. Both were near their apex as noted leaders. Clarke was absolutely dominant defensively again, the opposition only scoring 19 goals when he was on the ice at even strength all season (76 against Messier) while acting as probably the league's best penalty killer. Philadelphia absolutely dominated other teams at even strength (outscoring them something like 5 to 1, which is ridiculous) when Clarke was on the ice while the Oilers were nowhere near that dominant when Messier was on. Of course Messier played on a deeper team, his linemates weren't quite as good as Clarke's in 1976, and the NHL was stronger in 1990. The defensive gap is too large though.

Yeah I'm leaning toward Clarke here as well. If Selkes were a thing during his prime, he certainly should've won it this year. He basically equaled Lafleur ppg wise while being a defensive monster just like you said. Messier was no slouch as a 2-way forward either and had the physicality to go along with it, but Clark seems to have made a bigger impact altogether.