Sidney Crosby – Still the Best in the NHL?
Before Sidney Crosby had his string of concussions, the answer to this question was a very emphatic “yes”. After he regained the Hart Trophy in 2014, the general consensus was again in his favor. However, after this past season the nay sayers seemed to have grown exponentially, since he was not a finalist for the Hart trophy.
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Jonathan Toews won his third Stanley Cup in the last six years with the Chicago Blackhawks. Alexander Ovechkin scored 53 goals in a year when scoring was down and the player closest to him in goals had ten fewer. Ovechkin scores goals in bunches and has a physical game that does not usually reside with a top goal scorer.
This physicality is somehow matched by his continuous ability stay healthy, as he has missed only 25 games during his 10-year career. He also leads all active players by winning the Hart trophy three times. However, the biggest detriment to his legacy has been the fact that he has never won a Stanley Cup. Fair or unfair, until he lifts the Cup, he will be looked at similar to Dan Marino in football – great individual stats, but never won the big game.
Toews makes the toughest case for the best player in the NHL not named Sidney Crosby. He has never won a Hart Trophy (in fact he has surpassed 70 points just once in his career), but has three rings and comes up big in the playoffs.
Some argue that lifting the Stanley Cup is all that matters. Sticking with the NFL analogy above, Toews is similar to Joe Montana – no ridiculous regular season stats, but his team seems to always find a way to win. Personally, I think Toews has to win a Hart trophy to propel himself into the best player in the world argument, as he shares the stellar playoff record with his teammates, most notably Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith.
Sidney Crosby was not terrible last year, in fact he was only a few points away from winning his third Art Ross trophy. He also has two Hart trophies along with winning a Stanley Cup and multiple gold medals over his career.
He leads all active players with a 1.18 points-per-game average in the playoffs. This ranks him 7th on the all-time list and in elite company with Bobby Orr and Mike Bossy who are around the same mark. For perspective, Toews averages .87 points per game over his playoff career, which has been surpassed by the likes of Jason Spezza and Daniel Briere.
Given Crosby’s combination of individual stats and team achievements, the best player in the NHL still resides in Pittsburgh. Additionally, with additions like Phil Kessel by the Pittsburgh Penguins, I wouldn’t bet against Sidney Crosby winning another Hart trophy next season. With that being said, another run at the Stanley Cup would cement his legacy and most definitely keep him at the top of the mountain, especially given that the Stanley Cup from 2009 is falling deeper and deeper into history.
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