zettie85

It is pretty much my point. It doesn't matter when you play. If you are an outstanding rookie you should be acknowledged for it. Your age shouldn't matter. If Rask was the outright starter and maintained those numbers then he should have won it. There is a 17 game difference in games played between him and Howard. A lot can happen in 17 games.

It is pretty unfair to say Crosby would have sucked back then. You may not be trying to knock Crosby like most ppl do but you are knocking his skill. He has a little more freedom now to move around without being bullied but great players adapt and to say he wouldn't be great back then is just ignorant. Gretzky should have been owned by the guys in the 80's but he had guys who would protect him and he had other skilled guys that would open up space for him. Bottom line Crosbys skills are rarely acknowledged of LGW. To the OP. Datsyuk is the best player in hockey right now. I may be biased but his skill is unmatched. He stared slow this year but he's got it back and he amazes me with every touch of the puck. Igor never did that for me.

I totally agree. With Pierres reasoning though, although 6 years difference instead of just 2, Crosby should have won the Calder because he was younger and they had pretty much the same season. Ovechkin had a year of pro hockey in Russia under his belt before coming to the NHL, Crosby played junior. Ovechkin was better and so he did win it. My whole point is that age shouldn't matter. Out of all positions, goalie is definitely the hardest even for a 26 year old rookie. If he wants to compare Jimmy to Crosby he should be comparing Duchene to Crosby as well. Their rookie numbers aren't even close. Howards numbers are better then Masons from last year and are similar to Nabokovs when he won.

Great post. For the record, Crosby never won the Calder. He lost it to an older(by two years) Ovechkin.

Stressful but definitely more meaningful.

More than Messier.

Good call. Completely forget that this guys even on the team.

Very nice to see for sure.

I think he has played well enough to stay in the line up. I see Abs getting in more over Eaves because as much as I like Eaves, he's fragile and may not make the whole first round. We will see I guess. I would like to see Abs in the line up but I don't know if I wanna scratch Draper to do it.

Draper has been great this year for his age and ability. Helm and Eaves really re-energized him. He does kill penalties but probably not key penalties. His forecheck is still great and he does a good job filling in a roster spot and making this team better.

Less options as well. If they tell you to go you go. There was also no other teams to play for but the 6. If you were getting moved and staying in the NHL you were only going to one of the other 5 in the league.

Here is a short list of 5/6 guys that I found on HFBoards. Haven't looked them up to see if they actually did though. Leroy "Goldy" Goldsworthy Bronco "Bones" Horvath Harry "Apple Cheeks" Lumley Norman "Bud" Poile Gaye "Box Car" Stewart Lumley did I for sure.

No but it's more about the era. He is still a member of the old guard. Same with Iginla.

Shawn Marcum pitched a no hitter through 6.1 and then lost it on blooper to right of Vladdy. Disappointing. He was owning the Rangers line-up.

Vic Lynn is the only one. Aaron Downey played for 4 as well.

Definitely. That was a great era for hockey.

Alexei Yashin was a captain once. Are you sure he has no say in it? I thought for some reason that he did.

I honestly think i can say you are 1 of few. Maybe I'm wrong but I think it would only hurt our team. They did give up a lot though.

It shouldn't be called the Messier award. Yzerman award.

No, he's not a loser for life but he is one right now. He needs to get his s*** together and play like he was supposed too. It's not exactly a weak locker room when the only person who actually likes you is the coach. I'm sure it wasn't that bad but still you don't need that s*** when you are trying to play hockey.

Kane and Toews. It's just like the Wings, if Datsyuk, Lidstrom and Z play like s*** we lose. It's basically how it is. They won't say it but it's true.

It's the complete opposite of United then. I picked them as my team in 2001 after watching "There's Only One Jimmy Grimble". I'll never change it now just for you to look at. Feed the Goat and he will score. It's interchangeable with the Mule.

If you are the future of the franchise and then you are traded away for 3rd liners because your ego has ripped apart a dressing room and you can't even lead by example on the ice yet still get credit as an allstar by the media because of random blips of decent play, you might be overrated.

This ..and this.

That is my point though. Nobody should be looking at it as just 2 games. Regardless if they are back to back or if they happen at opposite ends of the season. You can't tell the story by 1 individual game. Howard let in a bad goal in overtime but throughout the season it was not one of his characteristics. Ozzie has always let in bad goals even when he has played well. Him comparing the 2 games, what does that prove? That Ozzie should start now. People are more forgiving this year because Howard got us to the playoffs and has played well. Ozzie has let in a bad goal in close to every game he started this year. I realize you guys are looking at 2 individual games but why?