Team of the Decade: 4th line Center

[Fitzy]

Up next we have what could be a competitive bout for the final starting center position this decade.

Below are the NYR player stats for the decade... (Note, the second half of the 09-10 season is not included in these stats, unfortunately)

Player Season Finder | Hockey-Reference.com

Team of the Decade

Forward
Kreider-Stepan-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Hagelin-Brassard-Nash
____-_____-Callahan

Extra Forwards ______-_____

Defense
McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Stralman
Yandle-Klein

7th defenseman -_____

Goalies

Lundqvist
Talbot

Head Coach- John Tortorella

Click to read more...

 

[NYR Viper]

It's Hayes for me

 

[nyr2k2]

Hayes, based on production and tenure.

 

[mike14]

Went with Richards over Hayes. He was overpaid, but played pretty well here and his playoffs were much better than Hayes'

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Brad the Beaver

 

[LokiDog]

Richards

 

[Fitzy]

Broadway Brad was our top line center for two very important seasons. He was never at the top of his game with us, but to me that beats out Hayes's 5 seasons of Middle Six centering.

Hayes is my #1 guy for an extra forward though. He and Boyle. Goes to show we actually had some pretty good depth at center this decade- we were just always short of a superstar at that position.

 

[Edge]

Assuming this is done "all-star" team style, and not with the intent of trying to find a guy to play the role of a fourth line center, I went with Richards.

He under-performed, but if you took out salary and expectations, I still think his off-peak was better than Hayes peak.

 

[BleedBlueNYR]

Richards. He had a few clutch playoff moments namely the game 7 gwg vs Pittsburgh. That’s one I’ll probably never forget. That whole season was awesome, why couldn’t we get the story book ending?

 

[Machinehead]

Going off the board here with Brian Boyle.

 

[OverTheCap]

Kind of conflicted here... if we were fielding an actual team, then Boyle is better suited for 4th line duties. If we're going with who was the 4th best center of the last decade due to offensive production, then Hayes or Richards is more appropriate.

And it's possible that Richards awful stint as 4th line center in 2013 and 2014 is clouding my judgment a bit. Think I'm gonna marinate on this one before casting a vote.

 

[Rempe73]

Assuming this is done "all-star" team style, and not with the intent of trying to find a guy to play the role of a fourth line center, I went with Richards.

He under-performed, but if you took out salary and expectations, I still think his off-peak was better than Hayes peak.

I went with Moore. When I saw 4C, I forgot for a second that we are choosing all-star team style.

 

[Leonardo87]

I went with Richards. Still love and miss that 2012 team.

 

[Machinehead]

I went with Moore. When I saw 4C, I forgot for a second that we are choosing all-star team style.

Are we though?

 

[Edge]

I went with Moore. When I saw 4C, I forgot for a second that we are choosing all-star team style.

Haha, that’s the interesting part about these endeavors - there’s a lot of room for different approaches.

I went back and forth between Richards and Hayes. It was a more difficult decision than I expected.

 

[BKGooner]

Man this is really looking like a team that could lose to the kings in the Final after some key injuries.

 

[Rempe73]

Haha, that’s the interesting part about these endeavors - there’s a lot of room for different approaches.

I went back and forth between Richards and Hayes. It was a more difficult decision than I expected.

Yea same here. I would have voted for one of those if I could change my vote. At first I was like definitely Hayes but then I started to think about it.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Richards was an albatross whose precipitous fall off a cliff was a major part of us not winning a cup. He also scored that 6.6 second goal and his leadership in the clubhouse was a huge part of us making it to the cup finals.

Hayes was a stud prospect who chose us, kept working his ass off, always improved and netted us a great return before going off to pull a Richards on Philly. hayes wins.

Boyle is another guy who Barb'd himself into being better, was always a net positive for us, was a great leader and helped anchor the bottom of the lineup. He was a great guy and a fantastic player here even though he was a black hole offensively. He also didn't rake us over the coals contract wise after his 20 G season. I always really appreciated that.

D Moore was also a fantastic leader and player for us. It was always a shit decision to let him go the first time. He just isn't on the same level as Hayes.

 

[Fitzy]

I think Richards would have been considered an albatross if he had needed to play out the full 9 years of his contract, but, much like Scott Gomez, we were able to get rid of him at the exact right time. What he gave us was pretty OK relative to his cap hit for those three seasons.

 

[Barnaby]

I think it should be Hayes. He impacted the team for a longer period although you could argue Richards had the best season of the two.

With that said, it's my vote so Brian Boyle it is.

 

[Jabroni]

Went with Hayes here, although Richards would be a good candidate from the list as well.

I was assuming this was a "best team" lineup, otherwise if it was a "who is the best player to fit in the 4th line center position", it would be either Boyle or Moore, with the edge going to Boyle for tenure and playoff acumen.

 

[Fitzy]

Went with Hayes here, although Richards would be a good candidate from the list as well.

I was assuming this was a "best team" lineup, otherwise if it was a "who is the best player to fit in the 4th line center position", it would be either Boyle or Moore, with the edge going to Boyle for tenure and playoff acumen.

My thinking is generally "Biggest positive contribution of the decade" for voting. If you think a 5 year 4th line center did more to help the franchise than a 3 years 1/2C, that's the vote. But the team isn't constructed with 'roles' in mind like a regular NHL roster.