Tourney MVP will be...

[Rabid Ranger]

No. And you clearly can't name me the game the Canadians were outplayed in. You can't name me the game Brodeur stole. You can't because they didn't happen.

You can't quantify Brodeur's role merely by the end result of games he participates in. Yes, Canada has won all of it's games and has looked impressive much of the time, yet there have been periods of play where Canada has looked sluggish, and Brodeur has been there to keep the other team off the scoresheet, and thus seizing momentum. I think his stats speak for himself, and deserves to be called Canada's most valuable player.

 

[Loki]

Martin Brodeur.

Got my vote too.

 

[Burnaby_Joe*]

I'm still sticking with the 2002 Olympic MVP.

 

[The Legend]

Maple Leafs fan?

The USA may not win this tournament but Esche has proven he's a better goalie (today not career) than Brodeur and Eddie "the Greatest Goalie on the greatest team in the universe" Belfour.

Is this some sort of sick joke? Never, EVER, compare Robert Esche, a man who has yet to actually prove himself, to one of the 5 greatest goalies of all time, Martin Brodeur.

Secondly, we all know Belfour didn't play against the Flyers. But he did play well the entire season, including playing a key factor in defeating the sens. Esche was good, not great against the devils, and good not great against the Leafs.

I'll go with my favourite guy on TV, Pierre McGuire, who says Esche can't control the puck, and gives up too many rebounds.

 

[Enoch]

They weren't outplayed in games as a whole but they were during periods where Brodeur kept the opposing team off the scoresheet. 2nd and 3rd vs USA and 1st vs Slovakia in both games. You don't have to steal games to be the MVP. You just have to prove you were the best player for the team. Brodeur has been the only player to play well in every game so far. The tourney isn't over either.

Disagree. Brodeur has rarely been tested, and rarely faced quality chances. He has also let a weak goal in. If we are going to give an mvp out, lets give it out to the player that is leading his team to victory....not sitting back, relaxing, and playing good behind a 4 goal lead. Brodeur has made good saves, sure, but he hasn't even really needed to break a sweat in any of the games, until the US scored a goal halfway through the game. Even then, he was sitting on a lead....it just wasn't a multi-goal lead.

I would much rather see Joe Sakic, who has been consistently playing high-end hockey, win the MVP. Heck, if the US wins it, Keith Tkachuck deserves to get a look. Regardless of his reuptation around here as being a loser, he has played like a winner in each game for the US, scoring almost all of their goals, and leading the tourney in PIMS at the same time

 

[monster_bertuzzi]

Brodeur

 

[quat]

Quick, name the game the Canadians have been outplayed in so far? Name it.

This is why people like me get so sick of the Brodeur lovefest.
He hasn't been even close to the MVP.

The Canadians have outplayed their opponents in every game getting far more chances against then they have given up. They have so far dominated the tournyment.

He's made plenty of nice saves. But he hasn't stolen a single game yet. And overwhelmingly people are saying the MVP? That's sickening when I've seen every Canadian game and they've dominated them.

I think you have missed what's been so good about Brodeur in this series. He is incredibley steady, consistant and is always ready. He doesn't let in goals that allow the opposition to get rolling. He definitely has made some big saves, and they have always come at important times during the games... it gives the rest of the team huge confidence knowing that their goalie will always give them the best chance to win and will never let them down. I don't want to say you don't know much about hockey because maybe you do and you just don't like Brodeur... but your comment shows a shocking lack of understanding on one of the most important
aspects of hockey, namely confidence.

 

[pei fan]

There are still some games to play and if Canada wins the tourney there are
several guys that have played well enough so far that if they starred in the
next two games they could win it .Brodeur ,the Tampa Bay players ,and
Sakic,Iginla are the leading candidates so far.If any one of these guys
stands head and shoulders above the others in the next 2 games then they will
win it.What they do from here on in will count the most.

 

[roast]

Brodeur,
Although he has alot of help, a .97 save percentage and .75 GAA is pretty damn good.

 

[roast]

Maple Leafs fan?

The USA may not win this tournament but Esche has proven he's a better goalie (today not career) than Brodeur and Eddie "the Greatest Goalie on the greatest team in the universe" Belfour.

I've got to disagree here, as Esche has really only has about season or two as a starter under his belt, while Brodeur has been consistant for at least 10. If Esche had led the Flyers to the cup, you might be able to get away with the comparison, but I still would take Brodeur over Esche for at least the next 5 years.

 

[Kickabrat]

Brodeur has had to make some outstanding saves in key moments. Example, with Canada up 2-0 he robbed the Slovaks with a brilliant glove save. He misses that one and its 2-1 and the Slovaks are smelling bllod. The way it turned, that save just further deflated them,pumped up his teammates and Canada went on to a fairly easy win.

While there have been several players who have contributed, you can't give MVP to a whole team and without any one offensive leader on the team, Brodeur has surfaced as Canada's MVP so far in the tournament.

 

[Macman]

Naming Brodeur MVP would imply that Canada has been outplayed in the tournament, or even tested, and everyone knows that hasn't been the case. Brodeur has only had to make a couple of tough stops in the entire tournament and he actually let in a weak goal. Hell, I could have played nets against Slovakia and Canada still would have won 5-1 or 5-2.

There's still a ways to go, though, and he could end up being the difference. But as of now, no.

 

[High flyin' Habs*]

Sakic gets my vote, Brodeur wasn't amazing.

 

[Bill McNeal]

Where do people get the idea that a goalie can only be the MVP if his team is being outplayed and he saves their collective asses? It's called the "Hasek-syndrome..."

My opinion on the MVP thus far: Joe Sakic. Shows up every game and plays well on both sides of the ice. Brodeur is my second choice. Just because he hasn't stolen games doesn't mean he isn't one of their best players, and he's showed it.

 

[benji]

I'd say Sakic as well, right now.

 

[ZDogg]

I agree with the original post. Sakic or Kiprusoff depending who wins it all. Unless the USA or Czechs can pull off something special to advance into Tuesdays final.

 

[Spaceace]

Heck, if the US wins it, Keith Tkachuck deserves to get a look. Regardless of his reuptation around here as being a loser, he has played like a winner in each game for the US, scoring almost all of their goals, and leading the tourney in PIMS at the same time

"Loser?" The people who call him a loser are just jealous that he isn't on their fav NHL team. Tkachuk IS a great power-forward,a rarity in today's NHL. There's only a few:Tkachuk,Guerin,Bertuzzi,Thorton,maybe Iginla. And no,Chris Simon ISN'T a power-forward.

 

[Macman]

Where do people get the idea that a goalie can only be the MVP if his team is being outplayed and he saves their collective asses? It's called the "Hasek-syndrome..."

I didn't say outplayed. I said outplayed or even tested, neither of which has happened so far. At the very least a goalie has to be tested occasionally and I'm sorry, but so far that hasn't happened.

 

[Dantonius]

Naming Brodeur MVP would imply that Canada has been outplayed in the tournament, or even tested, and everyone knows that hasn't been the case. Brodeur has only had to make a couple of tough stops in the entire tournament and he actually let in a weak goal. Hell, I could have played nets against Slovakia and Canada still would have won 5-1 or 5-2.

There's still a ways to go, though, and he could end up being the difference. But as of now, no.

You would have stopped Gaborik's chances?

 

[Dantonius]

Jesus, according to select Brodeur bashers, the man has never been tested throughout his career.

 

[HellsBells]

"Loser?" The people who call him a loser are just jealous that he isn't on their fav NHL team. Tkachuk IS a great power-forward,a rarity in today's NHL. There's only a few:Tkachuk,Guerin,Bertuzzi,Thorton,maybe Iginla. And no,Chris Simon ISN'T a power-forward.

I would never want Tkachuk on my favorite team, especially with the amount of coin he's being paid. Tkachuk takes so many stupid penalties and is so selfish sometimes that I wonder what the hell is wrong with him.

If you think people that bad mouth Tkachuk are all jealous, you need to take a look in the mirror, without the Blues homer glasses on. He can be great but he can also be a bonehead a lot of the time.

 

[Bill McNeal]

I didn't say outplayed. I said outplayed or even tested, neither of which has happened so far. At the very least a goalie has to be tested occasionally and I'm sorry, but so far that hasn't happened.

Wasn't referring to you specifically, sorry if it sounded that way.

As for not being tested, I'll have to disagree on that. My impression of Canada and Brodeur so far is that while Canada dominates long stretches of the games they play, there's always points where the other team puts on enormous pressure. And Brodeur is always there to prevent them from gaining momentum. Granted, it's hard to measure a goalie's value based on what he may have prevented, but I think it's fair to say Brodeur has crushed a lot of team's spirits so far this tourney.

Is he the MVP? Like I said, I prefer Sakic, but if Canada wins this tournament I'd be hard-pressed to find anybody on the team who was as important to it as Sakic and Brodeur. Perhaps Lecavalier, as he has played solidly as well.

 

[haakon84]

Brodeur will never get the credit he is deserved. No matter what team he plays on its always the best or greatest team. I bet if Luongo or Theodore were in net and put up less then spectacular numbers but made the games closer they'd get consideration for MVP. It's just the fact that Brodeur is solid in net, plays consistently well and doesn't make the spectacular saves therefore he does not get the recognition.

"I know that if I'm spectacular, it means I did something wrong," he said. "I had to stop too many rebounds, or I wasn't good in the way I was playing the game."

Also he helps out his defense immensely which in turn helps out the offense. To say he has just sat there and looked pretty the whole series means you know little about hockey. The confidence he installs in this team is felt by everyone. Team Canada and their opponent.

"It's a big edge," Canada center Mario Lemieux. "The confidence the team has in front of him is a big advantage."

That save against Frolov was a huge turning point. The weak goal he let in meant nothing it was 3-0 with 7 minutes left at the time. And if you watched all the games you'd realise this

 

[Spaceace]

I would never want Tkachuk on my favorite team, especially with the amount of coin he's being paid. Tkachuk takes so many stupid penalties and is so selfish sometimes that I wonder what the hell is wrong with him.

If you think people that bad mouth Tkachuk are all jealous, you need to take a look in the mirror, without the Blues homer glasses on. He can be great but he can also be a bonehead a lot of the time.

At the same time, I wouldn't want Bertuzzi on my fav team,either. Tkachuk DOES take boneheaded penalties at times,but he doesn't try to sucker-punch players that wind up in the hospital w/ a neck brace.

 

[Macman]

You would have stopped Gaborik's chances?

Hey, I didn't say I'd get a shutout...