-AJ-

Maybe this genre is too broad, but I'd say "soundtrack". Hans Zimmer style music for both movies and video games is my favourite.

I also remember that Ryan Spooner was an insanely good straight line skater, but couldn't actually do anything with that speed.

Basically this. If the Sharks or something like that gives you four 1sts, you just take it, given that at least two of those will probably be top 10 picks and maybe even top 5.

I think Bo's already shown he could pot 30 goals and the extra points to get to 70 could be possible if Garland really clicks with this team. EDIT: Well I assumed he's had years on pace for 30 goals, but I guess not yet. His best two goal-scoring years (last year and 2017-18), he was on pace for about 28 goals. Garland has shown a penchant for goal scoring (2019-20) and play-making (2020-21), so he could fill in either role on that 2nd line.

Lil B From The Pack's physique

Any time anyone asks why offer sheets never happen, just remind them of this moment, haha.

Ovie's shot, only because it's one of those things that doesn't die off too much with age. I suspect McDavid will have trouble keeping up when he's 38 (or at least become more human), but I still think Ovie will have a rocket when he's 38. Hands are in the same category as speed.

Worth it IMO. I've always kind of liked Dube's game. Good deal.

Decided to take a different route here and look primarily at prime playoff play. From what I know, only three guys on this list have ever won the Conn Smythe: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Quick, and Brian Leetch. I decided that the top two playoff runs of those two were Leetch in '94 and Quick in '12. In the end, I went with Quick's unbelievable run in the 2012 playoffs. His .946 save percentage going 16-4 in the playoffs with a 1.41 GAA is just hilariously good.

I had a dream last night that Hoglander scored a hat-trick in our season opener this year, though it was against the Senators for some reason. Nice dream though.

That is unbelievable. What an incredible artist. Can even see the reflection of the game in his visor.

Indeed, factoring games played doesn't completely deal with the injury factor, as we all know many players play when they're not 100%, especially oft-injured stars. It's a case I made with Lindros in one of your earlier threads too.

Great post. I love speculating the kinds of numbers guys with shortened careers would have. Orr was on a torrid pace I think with fewer injuries would've probably had around 1800-1900 points, given around 1400-1500 games. Personally, I feel Ovechkin's best years are being underrated and it's being forgotten that offense wasn't really very prevalent during Ovie's best years. When Bure scored 60 goals for the first time, he did it in 1992-93, when an astounding number of players had career years (working on maybe doing an article on that year in the future). In 1992-93, the average goals-per-game per team was 3.63. Bure did it again in 1993-94 when the goals-per-game dropped to 3.24. When Bure scored 58 goals in just 74 games in 1999-00, offense was much more sparse, down at 2.75 goals per game and it was 2.76 when he scored 59 goals in an entire year. I think these were, at the very least, his best goal-scoring years, though he had more support and thus more assists in Vancouver. In 1999-00, when Bure scored 58 goals in 74 games, second place was WAAY down at 44 goals in 78 games (Owen Nolan). Goals per game wise, these were the top three in 1999-00: 1. Bure (0.78, 64 goals in 82 games) 2. Jagr (0.67, 55 goals in 82 games) 3. Kariya (0.57, 47 goals in 82 games) Ovechkin had his best years in the late 2000s and I think some fans forget how close offense was to approaching dead puck levels again at that time. Ovie scored 65 goals in 2007-08 when the average goals per game was 2.78, remarkably close to the same as the late 90s when Bure was hot with the Panthers. Second place was Kovalchuk at 52 goals and the top three in goals-per-game were as follows: 1. Ovechkin (0.79, 65 in 82 games) 2. Kovalchuk (0.66, 54 in 82 games) 3. Iginla (0.61, 50 in 82 games) In the end, the best years of both (if you take my argument for Bure's late 90s play) end up looking remarkably similar even when considering the different eras, as they had very similar levels of offense. Ovie's second highest goal total was 2008-09 with 56 goals, but he was on pace for 58 goals in 2019-20. That said, I think there's a case that Ovie's other best year would be in 2009-10, when (and I know this will be an unpopular opinion on CDC), Hank kind of stole the Hart from him. Ovechkin had 50 goals and 59 assists for 109 points, but did it missing 10 games. He was actually on pace for 57 goals and 67 assists for 124 points in 82 games. Obviously those point totals beat out Henrik's and the 57 goals would've beaten both Stamkos and Crosby, who tied for the lead with 51. Offense was a tiny bit higher in 2009-10 than it was in 2007-08 at 2.84 compared to 2.78, but still a bit lower than current hockey, which hovers closer to 3.00. When you factor in total points, it's very hard to make a case that Bure was on Ovechkin's level I think, as his best year (points-per-game) was 1993-94 with 107 points in 76 games (on pace for 115 points in 82 games (to compare fairly to Ovie's numbers)). In addition to being lower, it was also a notably more offensive era. In 1999-00, he was on pace for 104 points in 82 games, which is strong, but still doesn't really compare to Ovie's 124 points with only a bit of a difference in overall league offense. Maybe I'm making too big of a deal in the difference between eras, but one thing that seals the deal for me for Ovie as the greatest goal scorer of all-time is that he's done it in an era where offense hasn't been that plentiful, with the exception of 2005-06 and perhaps the slight increase in offense over the last couple of years.

I think I'd tend to agree.

What would you consider Bure's best years? His better years in Vancouver or would his two great Florida years be among those best?

Was gonna vote for Kharlamov until I remembered Ovechkin. I think he wins this by quite a sizable margin. Greatest goal scorer in NHL history and I think it's not too easy to make a case against that.

Wow. I did a double take on this one to make sure it was who I thought it was. So young--not that much older than myself.

Would be the best for users, but EA might not like the lack of new revenue every year. I would be 1000% on board for that model though, especially if there was no additional cost to me.

Rangers legend. 18 seasons, all with the Rangers, from 1960 to 1978. Had a few great seasons, but his best was probably 1971-72 when he scored 43 goals and 97 points even though he missed 5 games, playing only 73 games. He was 10th in Hart voting and was on the 1st All-Star team as a right winger.

They'd never do it, but if EA actually took a year off making an NHL game to make a polished game for once, I'd 100% buy it. It frustrates me how they add features, but never fix their old broken ones. The number of silly simple glitches and bugs I find in these games is ridiculous. I wish they gave the programmers more time to work that stuff out.

I usually maintain that Lidstrom is a bit overrated, but he's still one of the best. I'd pick him here over Forsberg. Many of the guys on this list have been among the best in the league at one point or another. Very strong cast.

Legend of the game. First ballot Hall of Famer, I'd say. Up there with Luongo as a great.

Obviously the Canucks will get a lot of attention here, but I'd lean towards Chicago or New Jersey. Canucks have improved more than most teams though, at least in the short term for sure.

If they need to leave Arizona, I'd say Houston, Quebec, or Kansas city would be options. As a Canuck fan, I'd prefer either Quebec for more Canadian representation or a Western team to maintain the east-west balance and help our travel schedule.