Who Was The Best Player In The World Between 2006 And 2013?

[bobholly39]

10/11 was a "very poor season", really? Top 10 in assists and pts with 2nd AST is "very poor"? Please, if Crosby had that season you'd be pumping him for "consistency, among the best" and whatever else. I 100% guarantee you wouldn't call it a "very poor" season.

2012 was definitely worst than 2011 for Ovechkin, but yes 2011 was very disappointing too.

He went from 1.51 ppg to 1.08 ppg year to year. He went from 0.69 gpg to 0.41 gpg year to year. He was almost 20 points lead leader for Art Ross - in a very weak field to begin with.

Crosby never experienced such a big drop year over year - he's definitely been way more consistent in his prime.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

I’ll give you the cup and CS, but in the RS Ovechkin had higher PPG. And obviously way more goals. Not sure about better defensively, neither was more than below average at best.

Malkin was above average defensively at his peak. He was used on the PK by Therrien frequently, and for the Russian NT the coaches used him to shadow the opponent’s top lines to close out games, Ovechkin was not used in such roles. Malkin led the league in takeaways in 2009 and threw 80 hits as a bonus.

 

[FrankSidebottom]

2012 was definitely worst than 2011 for Ovechkin, but yes 2011 was very disappointing too.

He went from 1.51 ppg to 1.08 ppg year to year. He went from 0.69 gpg to 0.41 gpg year to year. He was almost 20 points lead leader for Art Ross - in a very weak field to begin with.

Crosby never experienced such a big drop year over year - he's definitely been way more consistent in his prime.

In 2011 he had some health issues, his wrist was broken if I remember correctly. He had same assists as in 2008-2010, but his shooting percentage dropped drastically.
If not for that his dominance might be longer for at least one more year. Imagine 20 something additional goals for him in 2011 as well.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

This poll is basically the eternal Crosby vs Ovechkin debate, which I won’t dive into.

I will say this however. If you asked anybody in 2013 who the two best players were since 2006, the answer is Crosby or Ovechkin far ahead of anyone else.

Anyone bringing up Datsyuk or Malkin is just revising history.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Ppg leaders over this time frame

1. Crosby 1.41
T-2 Ovechkin Malkin 1.22
4. Thornton 1.13

Crosby clearly the best, and by quite a margin.

 

[tabness]

This poll is basically the eternal Crosby vs Ovechkin debate, which I won’t dive into.

I will say this however. If you asked anybody in 2013 who the two best players were since 2006, the answer is Crosby or Ovechkin far ahead of anyone else.

Anyone bringing up Datsyuk or Malkin is just revising history.

lol at the exact time Datsyuk literally crushing player polls and having guys like Doughty and Chara saying he was the best player (by far too)

not everything is about PPG lol

 

[Golden_Jet]

NHL Stats

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Ppg leaders over this time frame

1. Crosby 1.41
T-2 Ovechkin Malkin 1.22
4. Thornton 1.13

Crosby clearly the best, and by quite a margin.

Sure , if not being able to play for 140 games less than the other guys , is important to you.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

lol at the exact time Datsyuk literally crushing player polls and having guys like Doughty and Chara saying he was the best player (by far too)

not everything is about PPG lol

Those same players who voted for the Ted Lindsay award elected Crosby as best player in the NHL twice and Ovechkin 3 times during that time frame.

This is the official player vote, anything else is subjective or cherry picked or construed differently.

Most skilled player = Datsyuk
Best/greatest player = Crosby or Ovechkin

 

[BraveCanadian]

Ovechkin and then Crosby imo.

 

[Wings4Life]

Each of the Big Three were the best in any given year: Ovechkin, Malkin, and Crosby.

 

[GoldenKnight]

Any reason why OP decided to cut off 2013-14 from this time frame? Would that favor Crosby and Malkin too much over Ovechkin?

It makes more sense to include that season too, as this was part of the peak of the big 3 of that era.

 

[nowhereman]

Sure , if not being able to play for 140 games less than the other guys , is important to you.

Being the best doesn't depend on your ability to avoid blindsides and high ankle sprains.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Any reason why OP decided to cut off 2013-14 from this time frame? Would that favor Crosby and Malkin too much over Ovechkin?

It makes more sense to include that season too, as this was part of the peak of the big 3 of that era.

It was done on purpose for sure

 

[ricky0034]

I always roll my eyes so hard in threads like this when people pretend staying healthy to the extent that Ovechkin does isn't also a skill

his resilience is literally one of his best attributes

 

[Golden_Jet]

Being the best doesn't depend on your ability to avoid blindsides and high ankle sprains.

 

[Voight]

Ppg leaders over this time frame

1. Crosby 1.41
T-2 Ovechkin Malkin 1.22
4. Thornton 1.13

Crosby clearly the best, and by quite a margin.

His PPG is skewed considering he missed 1/4 two of the seasons, 1/2 of one and 3/4 of another during the time frame.

 

[Video Nasty]

The real answer is that it was multiple players.

Gretzky, Lemieux, and to a lesser extent Jagr, skewed people’s perceptions of elite talents dominating for a continuous stretch.