Cyclone Taylor
A run-down of Cyclone Taylor's career to help us place him among this group. He played in several major professional leagues over a career that spanned about 15 years.
Taylor was considered a star right from the get-go, and was one of the first openly professional players. He first signed with Houghton-Portage Lakes of the IPHL in 1906 after garnering interest from several clubs. The US-based IPHL was the first openly professional hockey league in North America. Many early Hall of Famers played in this league, including Hod Stuart, Didier Pitre, Joe Hall, Bruce Stuart, and Newsy Lalonde, so this was by no means some backwoods circuit. These teams probably could have competed for the Stanley Cup no problem. Taylor was tried as a forward initially, but was too fast for his linemates to keep up and was moved to point (defense). He scored 29 goals in 29 games spread over one and a half seasons. This places him behind the Hall of Fame forwards in the league, but not significantly so. His team won the league both years.
He returned to Canada for 1908 after the IPHL folded. Similarly, he was tried at C but moved back after one game because his wingers couldn't keep up. The Trail of the Stanley Cup describes his play as sensational in this season, and it seems reasonably probable that he'd have been the Norris winner had such an award existed at the time.
The next four years are surprisingly lacking in specific examples of praise. Taylor played another year with Ottawa, then two with the infamous Renfrew Millionaires. Ottawa won the league in 1909 and the Stanley Cup passed to them. Marty Walsh was unstoppable with 38 goals for Ottawa that year and was possibly (probably?) their MVP. Renfrew did make Taylor the highest paid athlete in Canada when they paid him over $5000 for his services in 1910. The lines are a little blurred here. Taylor is generally described as a star player, but not necessarily more than the other prominent HOFers he played with and against. But he could certainly sell tickets with his flamboyant skills, and was paid accordingly. I can't really go any further than saying he equates to "Norris contender" in modern terms. Renfrew didn't win the league in either 1910 or 1911, despite their huge payroll. 1912 saw him play just one game after he decided to pull the plug after Ottawa and the Wanderers couldn't settle a dispute over who held his rights after Renfrew folded. This was the end of his career as a defenseman.
It was off the PCHA in 1913 where he played rover and later center. His first season was fairly non-descript. He did tie for the league lead in assists though.
1914-1919 are where Taylor really makes his hay as an elite scorer.
1914: Comfortably finished 1st in points and assists, also tying for the league lead in goals. The PCHA doesn't appear overly strong this year in terms of "star power" though.
1915: Taylor again won the PCHA scoring title, and had double the assist total of the second place finisher in that category. Tied for 2nd in goals scored. The league was stronger this year, with Nighbor and Mickey Mackay joining. Both played for Vancouver with Taylor, and the three of them ran roughshod over Ottawa in the Stanley Cup challenge series.
1916: Another 1st place finish on the points and assists leaderboards. 2nd place in goals. Nighbor went back east and Vancouver wasn't as strong this year, finishing 9-9. The NHA appears stronger this year, though Montreal only defeated Portland by the slimmest of margins in the SC Challenge.
1917: Taylor missed half the year injured. His scoring pace this season is in line with the previous and following years. This injury likely cost Vancouver a good shot at another Stanley Cup. They finished just behind Seattle in the standings, after going 5-5 without Cyclone (they were 9-4 with him). Seattle went on to win the Stanley Cup.
1918: Taylor once again ran away with the scoring title, though this time on the strength of his goal total, which led the league by a large margin. Some PCHA players were gone to war in this season, but the leaderboard is still a pretty strong one. Taylor and Mickey Mackay were superb in the SC series, which saw Vancouver narrowly defeated by Toronto 3-2 in games. Taylor scored 9 goals in the five games, though it was stated that some Eastern observers thought Mackay to be the greater player at this point (Taylor was nearing 34 years old at this point).
1919: Cyclone's last great year. First place in goals, assists, and points. The PCHA had a two-game playoff to determine the SC representative, and his play in the second game specifically was praised. Vancouver was defeated however, unable to overcome the loss of Mackay, whose jaw was broken late in the season.
Taylor was injured in the 1920 season and never really rebounded. He was used mostly as a substitute after returning, and played one more season, but likewise was just a sub at this point.
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I think Taylor is in the conversation for a top 5 vote in this round, but I'd stop short of calling it a certainty.
-I believe his peak value as a scorer to be comparable to Esposito. We have questions about the Orr effect on Phil, and we have questions about where Taylor would have placed in a consolidated league. Cyclone probably contends for 5 Art Ross Trophies, perhaps winning a couple. Esposito was clearly a better goal scorer though. Taylor's days as a defenseman probably trump Esposito's Blackhawks/Rangers years, though I do think we're selling Phil's Chicago career a little short.
-The parallel between Taylor and Makarov is easy to draw. Both were impressive scorers in a league that didn't have all the top talent (more extreme in Makarov's case), but both demonstrated that ability in games/series against the best from the other league. There seems to be no doubt at all that both would have been among the very best players in a fully consolidated league.
-Sakic's longevity as an elite player can't overcome Taylor's peak value in my books. Sakic has a couple Art Ross runner-ups, and I feel Taylor at the very least would have matched this in a consolidated league. Taylor was simply regarded as a greater star in his time than Sakic was in his.
-I find Bossy and Trottier are tougher to place, since their case rests heavily on great playoffs during the dynasty years. Lengthy playoffs just plain didn't exist in Taylor's day. I think Cyclone's versatility (excelled at two positions) is enough to push him over Bossy, who he also beats out in a longevity argument. But Trottier was a well-rounded player himself. This is an example where "gut feel" might come into play for me. If you believe that Taylor's "star power" was more sizzle than substance, you might lean Trottier here. If you take the contemporary accounts at closer to face value, I think Taylor gets the nod.
-Your opinion of Clarke versus Taylor is probably going to be closely aligned with your opinion of Clarke versus Esposito. Vastly different styles here. Clarke was seemingly as great defensively as Taylor was offensively during their respective primes (as a forward in Taylor's case). Clarke's off-peak years also seem fairly even with Taylor's 1908-1911 defenseman seasons. Do Taylor's very early years make the difference here? He was a star from the moment he set foot on the ice, while Clarke took a few years to reach elite status.
