Twins of Sedin
September 14th, 2008 by thewordbirdSo, in reviewing the top centre and left-winger on each NHL team and weighing them against the Sedin twins I’ve encountered a couple anomalies and some support FOR the twins.
The Philadelphia top LW/C combo is misleading, as the strength of Upshall and Gagne are greater than the 43 points represented by Hartnell. Injuries and trades come into play. You could bicker the fact that Gagne was the #1 LW on the Flyers and his points should be added to Hartnell’s games started and Prospal’s; it opens a whole can of worms that I did not have time to explore. Of course, games lost are not shown and could be a factor to explore. But that also bodes well FOR the Sedins, as they have played nearly every game in three years. Henrik has.
In a greater example, I personally believe that the league low of the Islanders could be repeated, but not to a degree of the brutal 71 combined points by Bergenheim and Comrie. Detroit’s example of Datsyuk (97) and Zetterberg (92) at 189 points is great. But you could argue that other team’s totals could be higher by examining the starters that are contributing during the season. For example, before Nylander succumbed to injury and Backstrom began his quest for the Calder, Ovechkin’s 112 points would have a stronger centre total than Backstrom’s impressive (rookie) 69 points-if you added Nylander’s…..also you might like to argue that it should be the best winger (right or left) to compliment the centre…..so take this with a grain of salt. Because we all know that Ruslan Fedotenko IS NOT going to be the top left-wing in Pittsburgh.
LW Henrik 76 pts
C Daniel 74 pts
total 150 pts
DUCKS
Kunitz 50
Getzlaf 82
total 132
THRASHERS
Kovalchuk 87
Perrin 45
total 132
BRUINS
Sturm 56
Savard 78
total 134
SABRES
Vanek 64
Roy 81
total 145
FLAMES
Cammalleri 47
Langkow 65
total 112
‘CANES
Whitney 61
Staal 82
total 143
‘HAWKS
Sharp 62
Toews 54
total 116
AVALANCHE
Wolski 48
Stastny 71
total 119
JACKETS
Nash 69
Umberger 50
total 119
STARS
Morrow 74
Riberio 83
total 157
RED WINGS
Datsyuk 97
Zetterberg 92
total 189 - league high
OILERS
Cole 51
Horcoff 50
total 101
PANTHERS
Stillman 65
Weiss 42
total 107
KINGS
O’Sullivan 53
Kopitar 77
TOTAL 130
WILD
Brunette 59
Koivu 42
total 101
HABS
Tanguay 58
Plekanec 69
total 127
PREDATORS
Dumont 72
Arnott 72
total 144
DEVILS
Parise 65
Rolston 59
total 124
ISLANDERS
Bergenheim 22
Comrie 49
total 71
RANGERS
Naslund 55
Gomez 70
total 125
SENATORS
Heatley 82
Spezza 92
total 174
FLYERS
Hartnell 43
Briere 72
total 115
COYOTES
Mueller 54
Jokinen 71
total 125
PENGUINS
Fedotenko 33
Malkin 106
total 139
SHARKS
Michalek 55
Thornton 96
total 151
BLUES
Kariya 65
McDonald 52
total 117
LIGHTNING
Prospal 71
Lecavalier 92
total 163
LEAFS
Blake 52
Antropov 56
total 108
CAPITALS
Ovechkin 112
Backstrom 69
total 181
League average = 131.7 points
CANUCKS, Henrik+Daniel = 150
In conclusion, the Sedins are warranted as being top wingers. If the general manager were to add what most consider a top-flight pair to the first-line, then the team would be that much stronger, no question. I really am aghast at the boo-hooing of Canucks’ fans that cannot see that the ‘grass is not too much greener’ elsewhere. The playoffs cannot be included in this section easily, but I promise that I will address the obvious shortcomings soon.
Rookie camp opened this weekend and the real excitement begins in earnest friends!
Posted in Canucks, Uncategorized, coaches/admin.
2 Responses to “Twins of Sedin”
By Jordy on Sep 14, 2008
The Sedins should be a cornerstone of the Canucks’ Franchise. They produce a high level of points, they are durable, can play with multiple players and were drafted in-house. They are loyal to Vancouver, play with heart and they are cheap.
I cannot believe we would think of getting rid of two sure things. Sure they are not so hot in the playoffs but really haven’t had much experience there to warrant total judgment.
By Steve on Sep 14, 2008
Couple of problems I see with this analysis.
1) It’s using point totals from last year - which is fine… but you’re excluding players who are not on rosters THIS season. If you’re going to use a historical analysis of point totals, then it would only be reasonable to compare them to the comparables at the time… not the comparables going forward.
To wit: You have the Leafs top C and LW listed as Antropov and Blake. Last season the Leafs top C and LW combo was Sundin and Antropov, not Antropov and Blake. Sundin and Antropov combined for 134 points… not the 108 you have listed for the Leafs top duo.
The main reason I bring this up is, Antropov was not playing as a Centre primarily last season, and thus, slotting him as one for this season and just transferring his point totals really doesn’t work. Especially when you consider the whole dynamic of a squad will be shifted.
This would also present problems with your analysis of teams like Columbus (Umberger was on Philly last year), Montreal (Tanguay was playing for Calgary), Calgary (Cammalleri was playing in LA), Edmonton (Cole was playing for a much more offensively skilled Carolina club), New Jersey (Rolston was the main C for Minnesota, I’m not sure how he’ll slot in for the Devils yet), NY Rangers (Naslund was playing on the PP with the Sedin’s on occasion if I recall, that might help their point totals), Lightning (Prospal spent the end of last year with Philly), Phoenix (Jokinen was on the Panthers, and had no real offensive help)
So that’s 22 teams affected by those players moving… out of a 30 team league? If more than half the stats you’re using are altered that way, this comparison is pretty irrelevant… no offense intended.
2) In only considering LW and C, you’re skewing the data away from top duos that happen to be C and RW. For instance, in Buffalo, Jason Pominville was the 2nd leading scorer with 80 points. He and Roy combined for 161 points then. If you factor in Vanek’s 64, that line goes up to 225 points.
Taylor Pyatt only had 37 points for the Canucks (I think he was the typical 3rd man on the Sedin’s line?) so their combination works out to a trio with 187 points. That’s 38 fewer points than the Buffalo line.
Heck, even the Leafs top line for most of last year, Antropov, Sundin, and Blake/Steen/Ponikarovsky (whichever it was, they averaged about 46 points) works out to around 177 points. If the Sedin’s line is only 10 points better than the Leafs top line last year, isn’t there something wrong there?
If you want to do a point projection that’s fine, but you need to consider a myriad of factors including ice time and line mates.
I’d look into this a bit more before agreeing that it’s meaningful.