BarnabyJones PI
I'd kindly settle for a tall glass of milk.
Awesome post!
First off, I'm still confused why John Ferguson traded him away for Brent Ashton. Ashton seemingly played well with Detroit in the playoffs in '87 and '88, he's two years younger than MacLean, and the Jets weren't really getting any where in the playoffs as they were constructed (though they finally won a game vs the Oilers in the playoffs). I get that. Still, I hated the trade.
I seem to recall reading in John Ferguson's book, that he thought that Paul MacLean's hands should in the Smithsonian. I also swear the same thing was said about Ray Sheppard by another GM (maybe Bowman).
As far as MacLean in 1984-85, it was his most consistent year, and that team's scoring was very balanced beyond the 1st line. I think MacLean had a tendency in his career to tail off around January/February, after relatively hot starts, but not that season.
It didn't hurt that Brian Mullen also had his best year as well (and the entire team), and they both consistently played on Hawerchuk's line. IMO, the best line up the Jets had in those days, was the Hawerchuk-MacLean-Mullen line. He would also play on Laurie Boschman's line too here and there, and Steen as well.
Boschman
Boschman had a nice run of his own that probably doesn't get much notice. MacLean could be moved up and down the line-up that year, and still be in a pretty good spot to put up numbers wherever he landed.
Take into account too, that for all of the flaws of the Jets defenseman during that decade, they had a number of pretty good number of puck-movers on the back end, still having Dave Babych that year (to go with Carlyle, Ellett, and Robert Picard).
I feel the same way.
For me, it's a combination of there still being helmetless guys, guys who can be traced back to the WHA or the NHL of the '70s, all of those great players who were born in the '60s, the influx of foreign players (at first), that the scoring was still high, the speed and skill was being showcased, there were still some of the older buildings, there were still throwback announcers who had been around for decades, and I like most of the drafts up until 1991 (at the latest 1993). Also, not having access to every game being televised, and listening to the radio from time-to-time, was greater than I realized (depending on who was the play-by-play announcer of course).
As an aside, I was excited that the Jets got Paul Ysebaert in '93, and that they could have a line of Ysebaert, Emerson, and Darrin Shannon, backing up Selanne/Zhamnov/Tkachuk, with Steen now on the 3rd line. People I knew were more excited about acquiring Emerson, but I was pulling for Yserbaert moreso.
Detroit acquiring him for very little (via New Jersey), and him putting up back-to-back 30 goal seasons, Detroit signing Ray Sheppard the next year, then the Kevin Miller for Ciccarelli deal. Carson also pacing for back-to-back 30 goal seasons of his own before being shipped off. I love those line-ups (not to mention that I'm VERY big on Mark Howe and Brad McCrimmon). To go with Primeau, Kozlov, even guys like Drake and Kennedy, and all of those other guys coming up or having to wait (Lapointe/Sillinger/Pushor/etc).
I thought it was going to be Pittsburgh vs Detroit, with Detroit winning it because of their depth. I was rooting for Jets, Buffalo (Hawerchuk), Islanders (Al Arbour), and Detroit that year.
First off, I'm still confused why John Ferguson traded him away for Brent Ashton. Ashton seemingly played well with Detroit in the playoffs in '87 and '88, he's two years younger than MacLean, and the Jets weren't really getting any where in the playoffs as they were constructed (though they finally won a game vs the Oilers in the playoffs). I get that. Still, I hated the trade.
I seem to recall reading in John Ferguson's book, that he thought that Paul MacLean's hands should in the Smithsonian. I also swear the same thing was said about Ray Sheppard by another GM (maybe Bowman).
As far as MacLean in 1984-85, it was his most consistent year, and that team's scoring was very balanced beyond the 1st line. I think MacLean had a tendency in his career to tail off around January/February, after relatively hot starts, but not that season.
It didn't hurt that Brian Mullen also had his best year as well (and the entire team), and they both consistently played on Hawerchuk's line. IMO, the best line up the Jets had in those days, was the Hawerchuk-MacLean-Mullen line. He would also play on Laurie Boschman's line too here and there, and Steen as well.
Boschman
Boschman had a nice run of his own that probably doesn't get much notice. MacLean could be moved up and down the line-up that year, and still be in a pretty good spot to put up numbers wherever he landed.
Take into account too, that for all of the flaws of the Jets defenseman during that decade, they had a number of pretty good number of puck-movers on the back end, still having Dave Babych that year (to go with Carlyle, Ellett, and Robert Picard).
I feel the same way.
For me, it's a combination of there still being helmetless guys, guys who can be traced back to the WHA or the NHL of the '70s, all of those great players who were born in the '60s, the influx of foreign players (at first), that the scoring was still high, the speed and skill was being showcased, there were still some of the older buildings, there were still throwback announcers who had been around for decades, and I like most of the drafts up until 1991 (at the latest 1993). Also, not having access to every game being televised, and listening to the radio from time-to-time, was greater than I realized (depending on who was the play-by-play announcer of course).
As an aside, I was excited that the Jets got Paul Ysebaert in '93, and that they could have a line of Ysebaert, Emerson, and Darrin Shannon, backing up Selanne/Zhamnov/Tkachuk, with Steen now on the 3rd line. People I knew were more excited about acquiring Emerson, but I was pulling for Yserbaert moreso.
Detroit acquiring him for very little (via New Jersey), and him putting up back-to-back 30 goal seasons, Detroit signing Ray Sheppard the next year, then the Kevin Miller for Ciccarelli deal. Carson also pacing for back-to-back 30 goal seasons of his own before being shipped off. I love those line-ups (not to mention that I'm VERY big on Mark Howe and Brad McCrimmon). To go with Primeau, Kozlov, even guys like Drake and Kennedy, and all of those other guys coming up or having to wait (Lapointe/Sillinger/Pushor/etc).
I thought it was going to be Pittsburgh vs Detroit, with Detroit winning it because of their depth. I was rooting for Jets, Buffalo (Hawerchuk), Islanders (Al Arbour), and Detroit that year.
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