Crosby had more offensive support but not by a huge amount, scoring was also significantly lower during Crosbys rookie season compared to today. I think its fair to say Crosby was on a different level in his rookie season.
If only that were true. At a base level, it’s 1.3% higher today. There’s nothing significant about it, either way.
On the other hand, power play opportunities are down 87% today compared to the all-time high experienced in 2005-2006.
The league average was 480 PPO per team and the Penguins had 495.
The current Blackhawks have 153 through 50 games which is exactly the league average through 50 games. They on track to finish with about 250.
We don’t see 50+ goals from Ovechkin or 100+ points from Crosby and Ovechkin without that level of juicing.
It’s fine to hand Crosby full credit for playing a full stellar rookie season compared to Bedard and McDavid, and something I won’t disagree with when ranking them.
But ultimately, this is just another myth designed to fill in some of the gaps in Crosby’s career to protect him from the superstars that have come since and in the future.
Oh, and living in Mario Lemieux’s basement and being able to pick his hockey mind at will is a massive advantage not afforded to anyone else.
With health, both Bedard and McDavid would be closer than surface level results.