Quote:
Originally Posted by Track Collector
I usually don't put too much stock in statistics like these. It is a pet-peeve of mine because it often involves a significant element of an apples to oranges comparison. Significantly older players are disadvantaged with this specific factoid because of more recent rules changes that favor the offense, a league that has more teams which dilutes the average talent level, etc.
As an avid Caps fan, I have the same problem with Braden Holtby, who is now the 2nd fastest goalie to reach 200 WINS. Now that EVERY game has a winner, achieving higher win totals is a lot easier vs. the older days when perhaps as many as 10% of games resulted in ties. Maybe making a comparison of Regulation Wins would be more meaningful, but even then the strategy in the 3rd period of a tied game today is going to be different.
Please do not take this as a criticism of you HoofedInTheChest because you posted this. I just wanted to point out that many of these factoids are off the mark when they "imply" that one player is better than another with regard to a particular aspect.
|
I get what you’re saying, and i take no offence.
For starters, i take no stalk in power-play goals/points, any pigeon can produce on the PP. Goals/points produced while 5v5 is another story altogether.
You really need to look at the era that these guys played in. Games played through the 70’s and 80’s produced 7.6 goals per game on average. In 1994 we entered the “Dead Puck Era”, where scoring decreased just below 6 goals per game, and by 1998 the average dropped even further to 5.19 goals per game.
This was caused by the dilution of talent that came with expansion in the 90’s, as well as the “Neutral Zone Trap” which some teams employed. The size of the goaltending equipment started to increase in the late 90’s, and continued to increase before the NHL stepped in and started to regulate the equipment.
After the lockout in 2005, the NHL implemented rule changes that increased the speed of the game as well as an attempt to increase scoring. It did just that as the league enjoyed over 6 goals a game, which were the highest totals seen in over a decade. To put things in perspective, there were zero players with 100 points in 2004, while in 2006 there were 7 players with over 100 points.
We are now in a “New Dead Puck Era”, goals have decreased to the level that they were in the mid 90’s, and power-play opportunities are at their lowest totals in history.
No longer are there weak skating lines that you can exploit, and teams have gone back to clogging up the neutral zone which makes zone exits and zone entries a lot more difficult.
This season the NHL are finally starting to enforce rules that enable forwards the ability to make plays without having their forearms broken in two, which should increase scoring. I’m starting to see them become a bit more lax than they were at the start of the season, and the jury is still out until we play an entire season, but we should see more production this season.
You would have to make adjustments to the numbers on that list that i posted, based on the era that they played in, i understand that, but it was simply a quick indication of where this kid is at in his development, and what he has done in his first 99 games..... it’s impressive.
The fact that Matthews is producing at an alarming rate in the “New Dead Puck Era”, says a lot about his ability while playing 5v5. His possession ratings as well as his defensive play is just as impressive. Who would have thought that a Mexican/American would be this productive, i certainly didn’t.
