Peter Forsberg vs Sidney Crosby

[jammer2]

I think he was only listing the stats accumulated during Crosby's time in the NHL.  (To keep it a fair comparison.) 

 

 This makes sense. Iggy did it twice....but the first time, in 01-02 Crosby had not yet turned pro.

[ScottM]

I think he was only listing the stats accumulated during Crosby's time in the NHL.  (To keep it a fair comparison.) 

 

Yes, that is what I did.

 

 

@WordsOfWisdom   Not to be picky, but Jagr has 3 50 goal seasons, the last one coming in 2006. Iginla has done it twice also, not once.

 

And of course, Jagr had that 62-goal season in that. That guy is just incredible.

[JagerMeister]

Given his career trajectory, I'm wondering if history will look back on Crosby as being another Oates/Thornton/Forsberg type, in which case he'll be remembered as being a notch below established goal scorers like Yzerman/Sakic/Lemieux/etc. Nobody remembers playmakers compared to goal scorers. Assists simply aren't viewed as being as valuable as goals. 

 

Ovechkin is going to be the guy everyone remembers. He continues to be everything I thought Crosby was going to be when he first broke into the league. We saw glimpses of it back then, but not anymore. Unfortunately, (in my opinion) Crosby has never really delivered on the goal scoring prowess I thought he had. That one season early on in his career was great, and then the season cut short by the concussion had the makings of being electrifying.

 

He might slip out of THN's TOP 10 players next year.

Sidney Crosby was unambiguously the best player for a certain period of time. And with simple research you can conclude that Sidney Crosby would have won atleast 1 Art Ross, MVP, or Pearson during one of his injured seasons. Which is not an unreasonable claim at all.

[JagerMeister]

Due to my not being able to be on as much as normal lately, I missed this thread originally, but I found it during a search because I was just thinking about it. Their styles of play are different, but there are similarities in that they're MVP-caliber players who have both struggled with injuries. I'm a couple of weeks late, but I thought I'd put my two cents in.

 

Crosby is clearly the better offensive player, but Forsberg is just as clearly the better defensive player. If anything, I'd probably say that Forsberg's defensive advantage is slightly bigger than Crosby's offensive advantage because Forsberg was quite a capable offensive player. Also, as pointed out above, Forsberg was definitely the tougher player. Granted, neither takes/took a beating all that well, but Forsberg is clearly superior at physical play.

 

I agree with the above comment that Forsberg is the better playoff contributor. Crosby's PPG is ever so slightly higher, but the defensive contributions can't be overlooked, nor can the fact that Forsberg led the postseason in scoring twice (once when the Avs didn't even make the Finals) compared to once for Crosby.

 

All of that said, Forsberg was generally the number two center for the Avs since Sakic was the number one guy, whereas Crosby is the #1 guy for the Penguins. Now, of course, Malkin demands plenty of respect himself, meaning that like Forsberg, he can't be overlooked. Still, it's a slight advantage for Crosby.

 

Everything told, I'd give the slightest of advantages to Forsberg. It's close though. Very close. Still, I think everything weighed points to Forsberg.

Forsberg is my choice as well. However, him being the second center to Joe Sakic is simply difficult to overlook. All of this means that he had easier minutes, and the players he faced was not the best the opposing team had to offer.

 

In contrast to Crosby, who's opponents are more difficult. Not to mention the linemates and team Crosby has had pale in comparison to Forsberg's. Now, we cant exactly say for certain how much this assisted Forsberg's accomplishments, as one could also argue that being a second line center means that he has significantly less time to produce results then the first line. Similar to Malkins situation, who actually had his best season with Crosby's absence.

[ScottM]

Sidney Crosby was unambiguously the best player for a certain period of time. And with simple research you can conclude that Sidney Crosby would have won atleast 1 Art Ross, MVP, or Pearson during one of his injured seasons. Which is not an unreasonable claim at all.

 

Maybe so, but I don't think he's really wrong. We do tend to celebrate goal scorers more than setup men rightly or wrongly. Six 50+goal seasons and a 65(!) goal season in today's game is absolutely remarkable. Plus, the fact that Ovi could potentially hit 700 goals means that he will very likely end up the more celebrated player down the road. Plus, Ovi has that extra MVP season.

 

 

Forsberg is my choice as well. However, him being the second center to Joe Sakic is simply difficult to overlook. All of this means that he had easier minutes, and the players he faced was not the best the opposing team had to offer.

 

In contrast to Crosby, who's opponents are more difficult. Not to mention the linemates and team Crosby has had pale in comparison to Forsberg's. Now, we cant exactly say for certain how much this assisted Forsberg's accomplishments, as one could also argue that being a second line center means that he has significantly less time to produce results then the first line. Similar to Malkins situation, who actually had his best season with Crosby's absence.

 

Yeah, I did take that into consideration, and gave Crosby a point there, but all in all, I don't think it's that big of an issue. The Avs knew what they had, and they used Forsberg enough to get an MVP. I think for the most part, it all comes out in the wash.

[JagerMeister]

Maybe so, but I don't think he's really wrong. We do tend to celebrate goal scorers more than setup men rightly or wrongly. Six 50+goal seasons and a 65(!) goal season in today's game is absolutely remarkable. Plus, the fact that Ovi could potentially hit 700 goals means that he will very likely end up the more celebrated player down the road. Plus, Ovi has that extra MVP season.

 

 

 

Yeah, I did take that into consideration, and gave Crosby a point there, but all in all, I don't think it's that big of an issue. The Avs knew what they had, and they used Forsberg enough to get an MVP. I think for the most part, it all comes out in the wash.

I think that's inevitable, by the time both of their careers end, people will look at Ovechkin as the most accomplished player of his time. But that doesn't equate to being the superior player. I think the majority of hockey fans know who was better when both players were healthy. And future hockey fans that immerse themselves in research will likely come to the same conclusion.

 

As for Forsberg vs Crosby, Forsberg's postseason performances is the sole reason for me selecting him by the slightest of margins. Its similar to the Marcel Dionne vs Guy Lafleur debate if Marcel Dionne had much better postseason performances.