Worst swan songs

[Kyle McMahon]

Indeed. Messier was 2nd on his team in goals and points in his final NHL season.

 

[timekeep]

Peter Forsberg's last two seasons.

 

[SomeDude]

Jagr was one of the top 3 forwards in the 2008 playoffs and I think he tied Crosby for PPG.

The Rangers sucked. Jagr certainly didnt.

I didn't mean that he played bad I just meant that he left with no "final goodbye" so to speak. I suppose it wasn't the best example.

 

[JSmith81x]

I was trying to think of a moment in hockey that compares to this, but I'm not sure there is one. Certainly the most shocking of ends to a storied career.

Marty McSorley. Played in the IHL after, but the Brashear game was his last in the NHL.

 

[MS]

he was not useless for 7 straight seasons. This is basically a perception Canuck fans have spread. He was never actually useless. At age 43 he still put up 18 goals and almost 50 points.

Indeed. Messier was 2nd on his team in goals and points in his final NHL season.

And, again, all 50-point seasons are not equal. Messier basically won the Jan Ludvig Award every year as a player who scraped out decent numbers because of his ridiculous icetime, and was actually brutally unproductive for the role he played.

Scoring 50 points in 14-15 minutes of 2nd-line icetime + 2nd unit PP time is great. Scoring 50 points in 19-20 minutes of 1st-line icetime + 1st unit PP time is brutal.

And, of course, it's more than just the offensive numbers. Messier was still an excellent PP player during his time in Vancouver. But he was the worst defensive player I've ever seen and an utter liability 5-on-5. And a cancer in the locker-room.

No player in the history of the sport has tarnished his legacy more in his last few seasons than Mark Messier.

That said, yes, his 2003-04 season was probably his best year since 1996-97.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

he was not useless for 7 straight seasons. This is basically a perception Canuck fans have spread. He was never actually useless. At age 43 he still put up 18 goals and almost 50 points.

I'm a Rangers fan. Saw every game (pretty much)

Messier was a liability on the ice. He was a shell of his former self and was for a long time.

In the 1997 playoffs, Messier showed distinct signs of wearing down. It played a big part in why Checketts and Smith chose Gretzky over Messier for the next 3 seasons.

I love Messier to death but he went from almost 50 goals and being a Hart finalist in 1996 to a one-trick pony set-up man for the rest of his career.

His 2nd tenure with the Rangers was arguably the 2nd biggest PR fiasco in team history, slightly behind the decision to let Moose walk in 1997.

 

[Super Fadio Bro]

Dominik Hasek in 2008

His last two games in the NHL(in the playoffs): He allowed 2 goals under 1 minute to the Nashville Predators. He then watched Chris Osgood play for the rest of the playoffs. The only good thing is he won the cup.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Paul Coffey?

Played 18 games with the Bruins his last season, some guy named Ray also retired after the 2000-01 season and got most of the headlines.

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Coffey. His last few seasons as a journeyman were pathetic, particularly in Boston where he wore #74 and barely registered on the scoresheet. It really seemed like he was only out there to try and clinch some statistical records, and I was quite happy to see Bourque pass him in the important ones.

 

[Malefic74]

Guy Lafleur's "comeback" with the Rangers and Nordiques was not the stuff of legends either.

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

Didn't Marcel Dionne finish his career in the minors?

 

[Devils Dominion]

Igor Larionov with the Devils in 2003-2004, only 1 goal and 11 points in 49 games.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Messier from 1997 onward was completely useless and failed to make the playoffs in 7 straight seasons.

He was a turnover machine.

Being a Devils fan it is in my blood to hate Messier and the Rangers.
But any hockey fan cannot deny that he was one of the greats of the game of all time. His 1994 guarantee that they would win Game-6 vs the Devils will always be remembered and for good reason.

But no one seems to talk about his guarantee on MSG Network that the Rangers would make the playoffs in 2000-2001 when he returned from Vancouver.
For the record they did not qualify for the playoffs in that season.

 

[lextune]

Wayne Gretzky traded to St Louis then onto NY.
Should have retired 2 or 3 years earlier!

Huh? Gretzky led the league in assists two of his years in NY, lol.

He was also top three in the league in points in his second to last year....

....it's not like he was looking like a chump out there or something.

 

[lextune]

Guy Lafleur's "comeback" with the Rangers and Nordiques was not the stuff of legends either.

^This was brutal.

....and I LOVED IT, lol. After all those years of him killing us Bruins fans it was great to see.

Remember Neely sending Lafleur flying with a beautiful clean hit in Guy's "last game at the Garden"?......Awesome.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Huh? Gretzky led the league in assists two of his years in NY, lol.

He was also top three in the league in points in his second to last year....

....it's not like he was looking like a chump out there or something.

He played well... but then... there was THIS:

 

[jkrx]

Tom Barrasso played way too long and didn't really have good last seasons.

 

[tommygunn]

^This was brutal.

....and I LOVED IT, lol. After all those years of him killing us Bruins fans it was great to see.

107 points in 165 games isn't exactly 'brutal'..

 

[bruinsfan46]

42 posts and no mention of Claude Lemieux's stellar San Jose Sharks career?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Coffey. His last few seasons as a journeyman were pathetic, particularly in Boston where he wore #74 and barely registered on the scoresheet. It really seemed like he was only out there to try and clinch some statistical records, and I was quite happy to see Bourque pass him in the important ones.

Coffey's stint in Boston may have been the worst I've seen. He was embarrassing.

How about Howe? Gordie only had 41 points in his last season. So he was 51, no excuses. It was a high scoring era.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Marty McSorley. Played in the IHL after, but the Brashear game was his last in the NHL.

Not really the same. Zidane was the best player of that particular World Cup, arguably the best player of his generation period, and red-carded in the late stages of the final game of the world's biggest sporting event. The hockey equivalent would basically have been like a Sakic or an Yzerman getting kicked out of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in OT for spearing an opponent in the gonads. And knowing before the game that it was indeed their final hockey game ever regardless of outcome.

And, again, all 50-point seasons are not equal. Messier basically won the Jan Ludvig Award every year as a player who scraped out decent numbers because of his ridiculous icetime, and was actually brutally unproductive for the role he played.

Scoring 50 points in 14-15 minutes of 2nd-line icetime + 2nd unit PP time is great. Scoring 50 points in 19-20 minutes of 1st-line icetime + 1st unit PP time is brutal.

And, of course, it's more than just the offensive numbers. Messier was still an excellent PP player during his time in Vancouver. But he was the worst defensive player I've ever seen and an utter liability 5-on-5. And a cancer in the locker-room.

No player in the history of the sport has tarnished his legacy more in his last few seasons than Mark Messier.

That said, yes, his 2003-04 season was probably his best year since 1996-97.

I knew you'd be the first to respond.

The question that begs to be asked then, is why was Messier given so much icetime? Presumably was still the best option for those minutes on his teams. I can buy that Keenan was playing favorites early in the Vancouver stint, but Messier also played under Tom Renney (twice), Marc Crawford, Ron Low, Bryan Trottier, and Glen Sather in his final seven seasons. Were they ALL intimidated into over-playing him? For the record, Messier was no longer used as a first line player for most of his second NY stint. In Vancouver he consistently received first line minutes on both the PP and the PK, which probably skews his ice time amounts upwards somewhat.

I watched a reasonable number of games during Messier's Vancouver-era stint, and I just don't remember him being as putrid as Canuck fans make him out to be.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I hate to say it.....Bobby Orr but what a warrior!

Wayne Gretzky traded to St Louis then onto NY.
Should have retired 2 or 3 years earlier!

Best retirements I can think of...
Barry Sanders
Jim Brown
Ken Dryden

Gretzky was the leading Canadian skater in Hart voting in one of his 2 years in NY. That means, no Euros coming over, Gretzky likely wins yet another Hart... in New York. Not bad.

His very last season as a Ranger was bad (he was basically a PP specialist), but he was still a star the other years.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Igor Larionov with the Devils in 2003-2004, only 1 goal and 11 points in 49 games.

And a total liability as his legs were utterly gone.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Coffey's stint in Boston may have been the worst I've seen. He was embarrassing.

How about Howe? Gordie only had 41 points in his last season. So he was 51, no excuses. It was a high scoring era.

LOL, How about his final Swan Song with the Detroit Vipers?

You'd expect at least a Gordie Howe Hatrick out of him in that one!

 

[Big Phil]

Okay I am stunned that we've gone this long without mentioning who many consider the best goalie of all-time. Roy did not go out on a high. He had a fine 2002 season, but blew the joint in the playoffs with his "Statue of Liberty" cough up in Game 6 vs. Detroit and then a shellacking of 7-0 in Game 7. The next year he lets a weak Minnesota team comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and allows one of the weakest Game 7 overtime goals from the slow skating Brunette. Just not the way he wanted it to end I am sure.

Someone mentioned Lindros already. I never thought I'd witness a season where the guy would score a measley 5 goals, but I did.

Not sure if he's done now, but Modano has hung around too long and hasn't really been relevant in the NHL since the lockout

Someone mentioned Gary Roberts. I agree. The guy leaves a team (Pittsburgh) that went to the final and by all accounts looked to get back there. Then he goes to the worst team in the NHL (Tampa) and they eventually waive him. The Pens end up winning the Cup by the way.

I hate to say it, but it's getting more and more likely that Kariya is going to leave an even worse taste in our mouths the more he plays

Mike Vernon is another case. He had some forgettable years at the end of a career that most of us consider to be at least on the border of the HHOF

Bill Ranford too. He wasn't a star for a while anymore, but still, that 2-3 year stretch he had in the NHL at one time was peerless compared to anyone else at the time. Hard to see him end his career as an afterthought

 

[jkrx]

Okay I am stunned that we've gone this long without mentioning who many consider the best goalie of all-time. Roy did not go out on a high. He had a fine 2002 season, but blew the joint in the playoffs with his "Statue of Liberty" cough up in Game 6 vs. Detroit and then a shellacking of 7-0 in Game 7. The next year he lets a weak Minnesota team comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and allows one of the weakest Game 7 overtime goals from the slow skating Brunette. Just not the way he wanted it to end I am sure.

Someone mentioned Lindros already. I never thought I'd witness a season where the guy would score a measley 5 goals, but I did.

Not sure if he's done now, but Modano has hung around too long and hasn't really been relevant in the NHL since the lockout

Someone mentioned Gary Roberts. I agree. The guy leaves a team (Pittsburgh) that went to the final and by all accounts looked to get back there. Then he goes to the worst team in the NHL (Tampa) and they eventually waive him. The Pens end up winning the Cup by the way.

I hate to say it, but it's getting more and more likely that Kariya is going to leave an even worse taste in our mouths the more he plays

Mike Vernon is another case. He had some forgettable years at the end of a career that most of us consider to be at least on the border of the HHOF

Bill Ranford too. He wasn't a star for a while anymore, but still, that 2-3 year stretch he had in the NHL at one time was peerless compared to anyone else at the time. Hard to see him end his career as an afterthought

I was thinking of Roy too but I thought it would be biased of me to bring it up.

Lindros is obvious.

Modano is still a leader and has developed a good two-way game. Maybe he goes Detroit and do a Larry Murphy?

Gary Roberts....

Vernon to me is a different case as he knew his career as a starter was over and signed with the flames to be a mentor/backup. He wasn't bad in Flames either.

Ranford will forever be remembered as the goalie who failed in Detroit.