The Panther
Registered User
My childhood memories of Randy Carlyle are all of him with Winnipeg, around 1985 to 1990, accumulating 'minuses' vs. the Oilers. So, even just as a kid, I didn't have a very positive impression of his play, though this was clearly unfair. (To my kid eyes, with his withered look and receding hairline, he also appeared to be about 60 years old, which made him yet less cool.)
And I feel like the only time he's ever mentioned on this forum is almost as the butt of jokes revolving around the 1981 Norris Trophy, which he won but seemingly in suspect fashion. He did have five 50+ point seasons, and he even received some stray Norris votes in 1982 and 1985.
I know he was with Pittsburgh in 1981 (and they made the playoffs regularly with Carlyle in the late-70s / early-80s), but I had no idea until today that Carlyle had started with the Maple Leafs. (In classic Ballard-era transaction brilliance, the Leafs traded him for "Dave Burrows", who appears to have been a fourth-line scrub who was basically done when Toronto acquired him).
I also have no memory of Carlyle after spring 1990, so I was surprised to see he not only played in 1990-91.... he also played through 1991-92 and even into 1992-93! (Thus, he was briefly a Jets' teammate of Selanne... which seems strange.)
All told, he had a very successful and long career. A second-round pick with over 1000 games, 11 playoff appearances, a Norris trophy.
My question is: Was he quite good, or not so much?
And I feel like the only time he's ever mentioned on this forum is almost as the butt of jokes revolving around the 1981 Norris Trophy, which he won but seemingly in suspect fashion. He did have five 50+ point seasons, and he even received some stray Norris votes in 1982 and 1985.
I know he was with Pittsburgh in 1981 (and they made the playoffs regularly with Carlyle in the late-70s / early-80s), but I had no idea until today that Carlyle had started with the Maple Leafs. (In classic Ballard-era transaction brilliance, the Leafs traded him for "Dave Burrows", who appears to have been a fourth-line scrub who was basically done when Toronto acquired him).
I also have no memory of Carlyle after spring 1990, so I was surprised to see he not only played in 1990-91.... he also played through 1991-92 and even into 1992-93! (Thus, he was briefly a Jets' teammate of Selanne... which seems strange.)
All told, he had a very successful and long career. A second-round pick with over 1000 games, 11 playoff appearances, a Norris trophy.
My question is: Was he quite good, or not so much?