I would have loved to see Koivu get a talented winger like Selanne to play with in Montreal
I would have loved him having a power forward on his wing, that should have happened. Embarrasing that Koivu was usually the guy on his line fighting the big D-men for the puck.
Enough so that people don't have to wonder what Koivu would be like with a legit 1st liner on his wing.
How? Recchi was a 1st liner on the Habs for half a season before Koivu even broke the NHL squad, and even then they didn't play with each other (lower in the depth chart than both Turgeon and Damphousse, obviously). Then Saku has two years battling a wide variety of leg injuries, and then they finally get to spend some "real" time together the year Damphousse is moved and Koivu named captain, but... Recchi gets traded to the Flyers at the deadline. I'm pretty sure that's how it played out (in a nutshell).
I really don't understand where we even got a good look at this one possible example.
How? Recchi was a 1st liner on the Habs for half a season before Koivu even broke the NHL squad, and even then they didn't play with each other (lower in the depth chart than both Turgeon and Damphousse, obviously). Then Saku has two years battling a wide variety of leg injuries, and then they finally get to spend some "real" time together the year Damphousse is moved and Koivu named captain, but... Recchi gets traded to the Flyers at the deadline. I'm pretty sure that's how it played out (in a nutshell).
I really don't understand where we even got a good look at this one possible example.
97-98, Corson-Koivu-Recchi line . . . Koivu may have battled injuries, but he still played 69 games.
Rucinsky and Savage were Damphousse's linemates.
And in 96-97, Recchi played a healthy chunk next to Koivu, too.
97-98, Corson-Koivu-Recchi line . . . Koivu may have battled injuries, but he still played 69 games.
Rucinsky and Savage were Damphousse's linemates.
And in 96-97, Recchi played a healthy chunk next to Koivu, too.
I'm not prepared to give you Corson as a "first liner" (even in '97/98), just sayin'.
Going back to '96/97, I remember Koivu and Recchi starting out on the powerplay together, and I know Savage figured into a lot of their ES scoring lines together. I wouldn't argue against a claim that those three played most of that season together (well... of Koivu's 50 games), because I remember pretty much the same. So you get Savage and Corson as the other winger on those top lines during those years (I wanna say V. Bure replaced Recchi on their PP line at some point, though). If I mention the insertion of Moen onto our top line(s) occasionally, I think the example sufficiently illustrates the point I'm trying to make.
Recchi is possibly the best example out there. Problem is, he's the best example by far, and a secondary player (so far below a "star", imo) who benefits from longevity and compiling as much as anything w.r.t. comparisons with their pears. And due to the nature of the era, the Habs were constantly throwing relatively unskilled size out there on a line with them. Hence my suggesting that we never really got a chance to see what Koivu could have been capable of with the Habs on a good line.
I'm not prepared to give you Corson as a "first liner" (even in '97/98), just sayin'.
Er, well, that's fine, but it's a fact that Corson played with Koivu and Recchi as the top line. That's how Corson had a strong season and made Team Canada in '98.
I'm not even sure why this is a discussion, to be honest.
Er, well, that's fine, but it's a fact that Corson played with Koivu and Recchi as the top line. That's how Corson had a strong season and made Team Canada in '98.
I'm not even sure why this is a discussion, to be honest.
I guess because you half compared Recchi to Selanne when replying to Granlund's post, and I stretched that into imagining if Koivu actually played with more than one winger at least as good as Recchi (who I consider to be a couple of steps below Selanne, so not really "demonstrative" Koivu playing with what I might consider "real" top talent). Obviously I think Corson is even farther (than Recchi...much, much farther) from qualifying as a "top player".
