How good was Jason Allison?

[jetsfan91]

Looking back at the late 90's early 2000's players. I always liked Jason Allison. I was pretty young at the time but the guy put up some great numbers in the DPA including a 95 point season. I remember his skating was pretty awful but he was always around a PPG player yet no one really talks about him.

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[Pominville Knows]

I also used to like him, but that was before games was readily available over here. I always have liked notorious playmakers since i always have been one playing floorball and roller hockey. I liked the Pens but usually pretended to be Francis, not Lemieux.

 

[TheProspector]

Great passer. And a real power play artist. Not so great 5v5 because of his limited skating. He was also tough, and stood up for his teammates.

Probably too one-dimensional, poor defensively, and limited in his skating to be considered amongst the best players of his time, but he did do a couple of things really well.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i thought he was more naturally skilled than doug weight, but also significantly worse at every aspect of the game that wasn't pure playmaking or protecting the puck. a limited player, but a very useful one in the right era.

i always thought he and john leclair would make a great line. both large frames that were impossible to knock off the puck, but neither guy was especially willing to impose that size on the opposition in the usual ways. but one guy plays around with the puck, the other gets to the net; that's a perfect DPE line.

 

[Ishdul]

People talk about his skating problems but he had serious injury issues that were a bigger factor in him going so fast. Missed most of 02/03, all of 03/04 and then took the lockout year off. Missed a significant chunk of 99/2000 as well. I realize that it was an inflated scoring year compared to the recent ones, and particularly generous to a PP specialist like Allison, but it's pretty amazing that he had 60 points in 66 games after playing 26 games in the previous 3 years, including 0 in the last 2. Additionally, he was a bad skater but I find people focus on the shootout stuff a little much for that point.

Seems crazy that he's only 41.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

The Deadmarsh-Allison-Palffy line was tremendous for the brief time they were together in LA. It seemed like an absolutely perfect mix of styles and talent.

I don't even know if they played 80 games together as a line though due to injuries.

 

[Terry Yake]

allison's 05-06 season is pretty interesting

60 pts in 66 games in the "new NHL" is pretty good for a guy as slow as he was and considering he had practically missed almost three seasons

didn't he attempt a comeback with the leafs not too long ago?

 

[Steve]

Great hands, great vision, very tough and willing to stick up for his teammates... couldn't skate though and this killed his career.

Didn't he have a serious knee injury at some point?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

fwiw allison is still one of my favourite WJC players ever. canada didn't lose a single game with him on the roster.

 

[hototogisu]

allison's 05-06 season is pretty interesting

60 pts in 66 games in the "new NHL" is pretty good for a guy as slow as he was and considering he had practically missed almost three seasons

didn't he attempt a comeback with the leafs not too long ago?

I always thought it was strange he became the prototypical example of a guy left in the dust by the "new NHL" because he actually produced pretty well that year. 2nd in points per game among Leaf forwards to only Sundin (not that it was a strong group of forwards the Leafs had, but still).

I have to think part of the decision to leave the new NHL behind was his. I feel like he could still have contributed to a team if he really wanted to keep playing. An interview with Burke at the time of his comeback bid seems to back up the idea that there was more to Allison retiring than just the speed of the game:

"He had some personal issues and some major physical issues at that time. He has solved all of those."

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=490631

 

[Mayor Bee]

[deleted]

 

[Big Phil]

Allison was that type of player that had sweet and soft hands and everything else was rough. Not sure why, that was just what it was. He had a great year in 1998, sort of his burst onto the scene. Then had a 95 point year in 2001. Boston missed the playoffs and he was asked to play for Team Canada at the Worlds but declined. Hmmm. That was bad on his part. Maybe there were some injuries, I don't know, but he was honestly a "bubble" guy on Team Canada for the Olympics in 2002. I don't know if he makes the team even if he played on the Worlds because you have to try and figure out who he takes off of the team in that case, and I don't know who that would be. But he was certainly close to making that team.

 

[weaponomega]

I remember him in Boston. I think from 98-02 he was a top 10 center in the league. He was a big strong center that would occassionaly drop the gloves. He was an outstanding playmaker with great vision, and an underrated goal scorer.

He had really good chemistry with Sergei Samsonov when he played in Boston.

 

[Brodeur]

Great hands, great vision, very tough and willing to stick up for his teammates... couldn't skate though and this killed his career.

Didn't he have a serious knee injury at some point?

Knee to knee hit a la Andy Sutton: http://a.espncdn.com/nhl/news/2002/1029/1452974.html

I can't find it, but I distinctly recall a photo of Allison on the ice clutching his knee. In my keeper league, I spent all summer putting together a trade for Allison and that was the beginning of the end.

He suffered a neck injury which kept him out over a year as well: http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/25/sports/sp-kingduckrep25

Not sure if it's an urban legend, but I seem to recall a story that the Islanders gave the same offer to Ottawa and Boston for Yashin/Allison. Boston said they'd do the deal with Dave Scatchard instead of Bill Muckalt. But Ottawa accepted the offer.

 

[VanIslander]

Y.Perreault and J.Allison were the greatest turtles I've seen in the NHL. ... Check that, the greatest turtle forwards. The Dead Puck Era had some awesome turtle defensemen as well.

 

[agentblack]

The Deadmarsh-Allison-Palffy line was tremendous for the brief time they were together in LA. It seemed like an absolutely perfect mix of styles and talent.

I don't even know if they played 80 games together as a line though due to injuries.

One wonders the damage they could have done. I think they the potential to be one of the
greatest lines in modern era.

Those kind of "EA sports" combos are fun to watch on a line when they do happen ;
a sniper, playmaker , grinder.
Wish it were that simple to actually put one together

 

[Gilles Meloche]

Always reminded me of Mike Bullard from the 80s. Both were PP specialists and both were horrendous skaters...

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

He was also tough, and stood up for his teammates.

very tough and willing to stick up for his teammates...

Allison was that type of player that had sweet and soft hands and everything else was rough.

am i wrong? i don't remember him being an especially tough player. he was big, strong, and certainly not unphysical, but it sounds more like you guys are describing a ryan geztlaf-type.

that's kind of why i mentioned john leclair upthread: big strong guy, impossible to move off the puck and used his size extremely well, but didn't have that bully mentality.

but am i misremembering?

 

[Big Phil]

am i wrong? i don't remember him being an especially tough player. he was big, strong, and certainly not unphysical, but it sounds more like you guys are describing a ryan geztlaf-type.

that's kind of why i mentioned john leclair upthread: big strong guy, impossible to move off the puck and used his size extremely well, but didn't have that bully mentality.

but am i misremembering?

No, you aren't. When I said he had sweet, soft hands and everything else was rough I was thinking more in a negative way. Like his skating was rough for example. I don't remember a hard shot either, accurate, but not hard. Not good defensively either, not as physical as he could have been either. You might be right with a Leclair-type of style. But definitely more of a playmaker and I would say without injuries he'd have had a career perhaps not unlike Leclair - value wise - but even better.

 

[XWinger]

Looking back at the late 90's early 2000's players. I always liked Jason Allison. I was pretty young at the time but the guy put up some great numbers in the DPA including a 95 point season. I remember his skating was pretty awful but he was always around a PPG player yet no one really talks about him.

Wow , harsh words for a player as talented as Allison. Even with all of his injuries the guy put up .88 pts per game! I wonder if many of the comments are from armchair pro-line hockey players. The man had skills. Brett Hull was once asked if there was one player he wished he could have played on the same line with guess who's name he mentioned. Allison was hacked across the wrists in Boston by a bum trying to make a name for himself and cut his season short. The price you pay for being gritty and not afraid to take the hard hits. He wasn't a bad scrapper either, especially when someone from the opposing team took a cheap shot on one his team mates. Then of course the Bruins (GAS Line), who had a penchant for trading their captains (Bourque and Thornton, Allison to name a few) traded him to LA where after recovering from injury he was on fire again (LAPD Line). Then as fate would have it he was hit knee on knee by another forth level clown and he was never the same. Even in Toronto he was the feed man for the big scorers that year (check the assists with his wingers, especially O'neill). The man was a play making machine who could pass like nobody's business. OK, he wasn't a speedster but who cares.

 

[K Fleur]

Wow , harsh words for a player as talented as Allison. Even with all of his injuries the guy put up .88 pts per game! I wonder if many of the comments are from armchair pro-line hockey players. The man had skills. Brett Hull was once asked if there was one player he wished he could have played on the same line with guess who's name he mentioned. Allison was hacked across the wrists in Boston by a bum trying to make a name for himself and cut his season short. The price you pay for being gritty and not afraid to take the hard hits. He wasn't a bad scrapper either, especially when someone from the opposing team took a cheap shot on one his team mates. Then of course the Bruins (GAS Line), who had a penchant for trading their captains (Bourque and Thornton, Allison to name a few) traded him to LA where after recovering from injury he was on fire again (LAPD Line). Then as fate would have it he was hit knee on knee by another forth level clown and he was never the same. Even in Toronto he was the feed man for the big scorers that year (check the assists with his wingers, especially O'neill). The man was a play making machine who could pass like nobody's business. OK, he wasn't a speedster but who cares.

How’s life treating you these days Jason?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

While not a graceful skater or fleet of foot, Allison was a bull on skates, just nearly impossible to knock off his feet, unless I guess you take out his knees like that piece of shit Andy Sutton did.




Jason Allison Goal - Kings 3 Stars 3 - 11.16.01

He could've been a top 10 center during his era, but unfortunately injuries plagued his career and limited him to only 552 games. He was pretty close to a point per game player after he made his splash in the NHL in '98.

Allison only got to appear in 25 playoff games and he was a point per game producer in the post season as well. In addition to his amazing playmaking abilities, he also excelled at protecting the puck and shielding the puck away from opponents, often making plays while checkers and defensemen were draped all over his back.

Although he was still a productive player in 2005-06, he still wasn't the same player he once was and I think the injuries slowed him down even further and he couldn't withstand the rigors of playing any longer.

It's a shame that quite a few players from that era had their careers cut short. Allison and his linemates, Ziggy Palffy and Adam Deadmarsh both retired due to injuries (although Ziggy retired from the NHL after 05-06, he continued to play in his home country).

Bure, Kariya, Lindros, Forsberg, Allison, etc., all of these guys should've had longer careers. But I digress.

 

[rfournier103]

I took my dad and my brothers to a Bruins Saturday matinee against the Rangers as a Christmas present one year.

I saw two things that I’ll never forget:

1. I saw Wayne Gretzky play in person for the only time in my life. He made a no-look behind the back pass that was absolutely jaw-dropping. Registered an assist, too.

2. Jason Allison scored a hat trick in a 5-1 Bruins rout of the Rangers.

So, Jason Allison is a-o-k in my book. Thanks for the memories, buddy!!!

 

[McGarnagle]

Allison and Thornton as a 1-2 punch down the middle could've been an absolutely elite center core for the Bruins of the 2000s. Instead they screwed it all up.

Allison was an RFA and held out until he got traded, but it was a major managerial miscalculation on Boston's part that caused the dispute in the first place. O'Connell was offering him about $4.5 million and claiming that they couldn't go any higher on their budget. And that's about what market value for him was given the comparable centers' contracts around the league then. The problem was that the Bruins had just given Marty Lapointe $5.2 million that summer (the apocryphal story was that Mike Illitch called Jeremy Jacobs a cheapskate at a Board of Governors meeting and Jacobs was determined to steal one of Detroit's free agents at any cost in revenge). Allison, seeing all this and knowing that he obviously deserved more than Lapointe's contract, held out until they either caved or traded him. And off to LA he went. In fairness, the Bruins got a really good return in Murray (who was probably Thornton's best ever winger aside from the Cheechoo aberration year) plus a decent center in Stumpel.

Makes you wonder how different things would've been if they didn't sign Lapointe and kept Allison and Thornton down the middle.

 

[rfournier103]

(the apocryphal story was that Mike Illitch called Jeremy Jacobs a cheapskate at a Board of Governors meeting...)

That is a bald-faced lie, sir! NOBODY would EVER say that about Jeremy Jacobs!!! All kidding aside, I would have paid a lot of money to have been there when that was said.

The Bruins did get a good return, though. I’ll give them that.