Kovalev in his one magical year (84 points, no one's come close), Theodore in his tiny prime and Halak for the stretch drive and two playoff rounds was the highest caliber of play we've had since 2000.
Oh and there was that stretch of 35 games where Huet had 7 shutouts I think?
Koivu may have been the heart and soul of the franchise but his on-ice performance never lived up to that.
I'm still bitter at Markov for getting injured so much don't mind me.
How can the answer be something other than Markov... I like Koivu but he was never tops in the league, while Markov was a top 3 D-man in the NHL at the time he got injured, people just forgot about him. Was our only truly elite player.
Greatest single season performances? Theodore and Kovalev no question. Theodore's Hart and Vezina takes the prize, but Kovalev's 84 point performance in 07-08 was pretty impressive. Halak's run in the playoffs is also worthy of note, but that's not an entire season.
Greatest overall? Toss up between Markov and Koivu. When either was on the ice they left it on the ice. Not dramatic or dominating, but superb game after game, season after season.
How can the answer be something other than Markov... I like Koivu but he was never tops in the league, while Markov was a top 3 D-man in the NHL at the time he got injured, people just forgot about him. Was our only truly elite player.
This... At the time who was better ? Chara, Lidstrom .... Markov.
The number #1 ranked Bruins? I assume your talking about the year we had 13 shots in both game 5 and 6 and watched Theodore pretty much win a series single handedly? Markov had little to do with that. God we were awful that year. Hiring MT again as the coach again just reminds me of it.
I kinda feel the same way, sadly.
12 years and we are picking between Koivu, Markov, Theodore and Kovalev...
Any of you stats freak that can compile a list of most games played for the Habs during the stretch? Markov is the only player still on the team that played for the Habs pre-lockout, Pleks is the second longest serving player. They are the only one left since the first year post-lockout.
What about Rivet. Guy was a trooper, a leader to the team and a strong presence on the ice. When he no longer fit into the plans, he was traded out for Gorges and a pick that turned out to be Pacioretty.
My vote is also for Markov, can only imagine what could/ should/ might have brought to our team if he was as tough as Gorges ?
Quick calculation showed that he participated in 70% of total games since 2000-2001 season.
On the upside, let's do the same excercise in 10 years and without having a crystal ball, i'm absolutely certain we'll have a lot more fun answering this post !.....the future is brighter than it's been in ages
My vote is also for Markov, can only imagine what could/ should/ might have brought to our team if he was as tough as Gorges ?
Quick calculation showed that he participated in 70% of total games since 2000-2001 season.
On the upside, let's do the same excercise in 10 years and without having a crystal ball, i'm absolutely certain we'll have a lot more fun answering this post !.....the future is brighter than it's been in ages
If one of our young guns becomes what Markov was ( I even doubt it.) it will be a complete accomplishment.
People really forget how Markov was consired just behind Chara before the freaking knee & Blade story.
Has to be Markov. The team has been so different without him. PK picked up the slack against Boston in the playoffs, but otherwise Markov has definitely been the MVP.
Montreal fans never realized how good he was.
Last edited by tinyzombies: 07-27-2012 at 12:53 PM.
I feel PK is pretty much on level with Markov, Price is already better than Theodore in his prime and Pacioretty is light years ahead of Kovalev in terms of consistency and overall usefulness to a hockey team, gotta love those snipes from the dots while not moving, Kovy's got nothing on Max, he's got talent son...
