NHL Players Who Got CARRIED By A Star
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- Опубліковано 10 лис 2024
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In today's video we go over the stories of Jonathan Cheechoo/Joe Thornton, Ty Rattie/ Connor McDavid, Jeff Skinner/Jack Eichel, and Chris Kunitz/Sidney Crosby.
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Can you think of a player who got CARRIED by a star?
Jesse pulijarvi scored 15 goals this season, all mcdavid
tyler bozak dude was useless, but somehow always got to play with kessel
I think Victor Rask is getting carried by Kirill this season
Esa tikkanen
Abdelkader carried by Datsyuk
I dunno about Cheechoo, he had a bad knee injury that slowed him down after his banner year, a hernia surgery that backfired and a few concussions. His injuries explain his decline a lot more than him simply being carried by Thornton.
Injuries killed his career way more than not playing with Joe.
Agreed, the take that Cheechoo was a one hit wonder is often mentioned by people who aren't Sharks fans and just look at Cheechoo's numbers. Cheechoo was an average to below average skater before the injury, so once his knee got injured he couldn't really keep up after that.
Pretty much. Cheechoo was a good player and put up nice numbers before Thornton. Sure he wouldn't have been 50 goal scorer without Thornton but claiming he was AHL quality without him tells the author has no idea what he is talking about. Injuries destroyed Cheechoo way more than not paying with Thornton ever did.
@@hellasloh Exactly. He wasn't a very a good skater but could compensate with his amazing shot. In just his 2nd season be put up 28 goals in 2003 at the height of the dead-puck era, just before Thornton joined the Sharks, which shows he was a capable scorer before Jumbo joined him.
@@varghejo true
As a longtime Sharks fan I will defend Jonathan Cheechoo as a clutch goal scorer who's goal production declined because of injuries. He had double hernia surgery that affected his skating. As someone who has had a sports hernia and a regular hernia I can tell you both are very painful.
I agree. I think him and joe just complimented each other, I don’t think that was a pure carry like someone like Kunitz or Anson carter
Thornton's most productive time in his career came when HE was playing with Cheech. 206 points in 140 games as well as a PPG in the post season.
And I may be wrong, but likely nobody on Joes wing ever scored more of his feeds in his career than Cheechoo. To me they were a line that should never have been broken.
I dont think you're entirely wrong. But I think Thorton made more of an impact by himself apart from Cheech vs Cheech did without Jumbo
Almost everyone playing together with Kane or Crosby. Today we have Blackwell a depth player playing with Panarin
Agreed, but he also did play well when Panarin was injured and in Russia, NOT as good but still played well, especially defensively.
It's funny because back in Chicago, people were saying that Kane was carrying Panarin... Now Panarin carries his own line
Blackwell is still a good player.
@Thomas Ruggiero You're so wrong
@Thomas Ruggiero strome and panarin make each other better
Cheechoo had surgery after the season which may have had effect to adapting back to hockey. Pointing at Karlsson, Cheechoo isn't the only sharks player in history starting to decline like that.
Some NHL superstars are on such a different level it can be difficult to find linemates for them who can keep up with and think and play on the same level as them. So yeah, their stats might be carried by playing with a star, but a good linemate with good chemistry is also super important for the stars themselves.
Justin Abdelkader carried by Datsyuk to a 20 goal season and even made the USA national team and got a hefty payday
Holy shit.. EVERYBODY realizes how ridiculously true this is.. I love you all, fellow Red Wings fans.. We're not stupid, we all know he woulda ended up buried in the Always Hungry League (AHL) if not for Pav.
Abby better be sending him& his family a badass Christmas basket EVERY damn year, til the end of time...😋
Datsyuk made EVERYONE around him play better, such a unselfish player
What about Holmstrom when he was with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, his goal scoring stats per game skyrocketed before the "Euro Twins" split up into separate lines... lol Carried by two stars...
Ouch
Jori Lehtera comes to mind. He was putting up numbers playing on the #1 line with both Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz before he couldn't keep up with them.
He got busted for cocaine lol
I like how you had clips of caufield when setting up the video. He totally carried Jack Hughes throughout the usntdp.
i hope thats sarcasm lol
Chill out kid. He showed him standing in a hallway
@@tylerdowd It's not. Have you seen how ass Hughes is with the Devils?
@@rebeltvr6046 you obviously didn’t see how good he was this year. *led the league in takeaways
@@evanchick4214 You're right. I'm seeing a lot of positive comments about Hughes. I take it back.
John Leclair never scored more than 19 goals a season for Montreal. Then he was traded to Philadelphia, put on the same line with Eric Lindros and immediately became a 50 goal scorer.
Mikael Renberg had something to do with that too.
The “Legion of Doom” line was very good and Leclair fit it well. Leclair was also a big star for Team USA internationally, especially at the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Scored a lot of big goals. He was a good player.
Leclair was good (not AS good) without Lindros too though, had probably his best season in 96-97' when Lindros was out like half the year
to Leclair defence, he was starting to bloom just before the trade. dude was still green
@@johnthomas5314
He even put up a solid season towards the end of his career on a really bad Penguins team.
Kunitz was literally Crosby's carry on baggage to the Sochi Olympics. Pretty upsetting they cut legends like Thornton and St. Louis for him though.
Kunitz repressing Canadia at the Olympics pales in comparison to Rob Zamuner's selection in 98'.
honestly, hockey is a team sport. yes there are "stars" but they need support to win games. these players were good support and the right fit for the stars so they earned those points too.
yes line chemistry is very important in hockey. Some players gel well and some don't.
Purest playmaker that existed in my opinion : Adam Oates. He was amongst the best set up guys in the 90s...and he was undrafted!
You got hockey knowledge. Bravo.
Adam Oates is the best passer ever in my opinion, I mean the dude is almost single handedly responsible for 3 different 50 goals in 50 games performances by his linemates, its nuts the jump in goal scoring Hull and cam neely had when playing on his line
@@RIPJimmyA7X Absolutely in full agreement. It's still shocking that the guy was undrafted and gets little to no recognition for his career efforts. I wanted to say the same thing about centering three different 50 goal scorers but I forgot the third one (I had to look it up - Peter Bondra). Oates is so very underrated!
@@Indium111 as a coach too! 😂
I actually thought of Oats too. Although I can't remember enough to say he was better then Thornton. I just remember he was an unbelievable passer.
Mario was so good he turned Kevin Stevens into a two time 50 goal scorer, while still getting 254 pims. A 50 goal thug, in other words.
True fact, except absolutely nobody was afraid of Kevin Stevens...
@@thegobbledygooker731 i miss this line Stevens Lemieux Jagr, i saw them only for 30games together but it was fun
@@themarast they rarely played together. rick tocchet was in that line instead of jagr
Drouin, drouin, drouin
To be fair, Stevens did score 41 goals in 93-94 season. A season that saw Mario play only 22 games.
Conor Sheary. 53 points in 61 games playing with Crosdaddy. He's never come close to that production again.
"Stacking one line just isn't feasible anymore"...the Avs would like a word.
I was about to say that… then saw your comment.
@@Jake_rants_and_jokes To be fair, MacK's contract being such a bargain is one reason you can stack that line and still sign 2nd line talent. That is why Newhook's development has been so encouraging. Hopefully Rambo Santa...I'm sorry...Sampo Ranta pans out too.
Burakovsky have been on a 60+ point pace on the second line since he joined avs. So they have some dept and now with Newhook coming up
Bruins have been trying it. It works until it doesn’t. Hall makes the 2nd line work. Krejci finally has someone to pass to that will put the puck in the net
This comment didn't age well
Mcdavid got carried by Zach Kassian.
Damnit someone already made this joke
What joke?
Throw McDavid In this vid he gets carried by zack kassian
Loll
Is that supposed to be a joke lol
Draistl
Edmonton gets carried by McDavid
Kunitz scored the sexiest goal of the Olympics. Knocking down the biscuit at the blue then going bar Mexico. Validation
Amazing video Rob! Love the start with the Caufield footage. In 1943-44 Ray Getliffe was a point every other game forward coming off a career season. Then he gets to play with Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard and he scores 28 goals and 53 points in only 44 games played.
You really know your hockey. Lach and the Rocket? Thanks.
@@extremelycareless2541 Thanks for the compliment!
Why you gotta do my boy Cheechoo like that 😂😂🙃
You could have at least spelt his name right Rob!
Late night edit : ( All love for my guy Cheechoo though 😅😅
@@RobTalksHockey he a legend in San Jose. Got his own plaque in SAP Center. If you ever get the chance to go to the tank its pretty cool.
He got hit knee on knee in the playoffs in the same year he won the goal scoring title. Wasn't the same after that.
@@RobTalksHockey I feel like the botched double sports hernia surgery should've been mentioned in the Cheechoo segment. He was definitely inflated by Jumbo but a slow guy getting even slower is never good.
Also, how could you miss the Jonathan Cheechoo song? (ua-cam.com/video/7EZ7dc0mv_A/v-deo.html)
This guy man straight disrespecting my cousin all the time
Love the vids, Rob. Can't stop watching, I'm addicted. Keep up the awesome work 👍
Michael Ferland for the Flames, had some good seasons with us because he was on the same line as Monahan and Gaudreau. When we traded Hamilton, Ferland, and Fox for Lindholm and Hanifin, we won that trade easily because Ferland's numbers plummeted when he came to Carolina, he was then sent to Vancouver later, and I don't even know if he still plays in the NHL. This was all because of how Monahan and Gaudreau carried him.
I remember that trade, and immediately thinking "Welp, they got Ferland, we definitely won this trade". And Lindholm and Hanifin have been excellent so far
I clearly remember Markov carrying Komisarek, outta the NHL four years after leaving
Or Weber carrying Emelin.
I can think of a whole team that is carried by a player...we love you Price
Drouin was carried by MacKinnon in junior, made the expectations for him far too high
Mmm.....I live in Halifax and watched those games, Drouin was good in his way. He’s too finesse for the NHL, but he was a skating dynamo in junior.
I don’t think so. Drouin showed a lot of potential in his early years, mackinnon certainly didn’t hurt his production though
Makes me think of Jaromir Jagr and certain Kip Miller back in the day. :-)
Also makes me think of Jaromir Jagr and certain Petr Prucha back in the day. :-)
Also makes me think of Jaromir Jagr and certain Jan Hrdina back in the day. :-)
Also makes me think of Jaromir Jagr and certain Brandon Pirri back in the day. :-)
Also makes me think of Jaromir Jagr and certain Mark Jankowski back in the day. :-)
yea they always choose "good" linemates for him
but the worst of them was jan hrdina. by far.
and it was all jaromir's fault. he was thinking more about his friendship than his team success..
Anson Carter's career year playing with the Sedins, then saying he "made the Sedins" after Vancouver didn't resign him
Clearly 01/02 and 02/03 with the Oilers were better seasons for him. The Sedin Sisters are the most overrated pair of all time
@@Jim-pq9pm what makes them overrated? I rarely hear people talk about how good the sedins are (except for in Vancouver). They also each have some of the highest pp60 in the history of the NHL. Curious to hear what you think makes them overrated
@@joshw604 Roberto Luango stood on his head, and they still couldn't pull out a victory. They suck. I also can't stand the Canucks or that entire city.
@@Jim-pq9pm I see. They couldn't win a cup and your hate towards Vancouver as a city makes them overrated. Makes sense.
@@joshw604 lol thanks for understanding!
Love the Rathbone clip at the end 🤌
There's a good story from the 1980-81 Quebec nordiques Jacques Richard, he had 52 goals 51 assists-103 points playing with Peter stastny. He played 10 seasons in the nhl and his best performance besides 80-81 was a 27 goal 16 assist season-43 points this was his only other season scoring 20+goals.
Stastny carried a lot of players, he was so damned talented
Kunitz was a solid player before Crosby. I'd say Crosby elevated him more than carried him.
maybe even that they just have tons of chemistry
Kunitz by himself is a good hockey player. For sure playing with Crosby helps fuck he would help me. 2 good players put together get results. Kunitz no slouch. Good hockey player played big part of the Pens. I would take him
Yeah I'm pretty sure he was already a great goal scorer when he was with Perry and Getzlaf... That was a VERY dangerous line.
He was one of my favorites growing up but Petr Sykora lived a charmed life from NJ playing on the Elias-Arnott line, then to ANA playing with Paul Kariya, then to Pitt playing along side Malkin. Talented player, but was always the sidekick.
I love Petr Sykora, he had a great shot and was still a great top 6 forward.
I remember when Sykora got the arbitration and was awarded a big contract. Just like Bill Guerin before him, he didn't stay long after they had to pay him. The Devils always won and always had a low payroll.....and a great goalie and played the trap.
Bernie Nicholls was a really good player in the 80's and early 90's. A solid PPG if not even higher scorer. Gretzky shows up an now he's got the highest non Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman, Esposito single season point total of all time. 150 pints and 70 Goals! Thank you Mr. Gretzky.
I would argue that Kunitz was the type of winger you wanted with a high talented center. He could put the puck in, played really good defensively and could goon it up a bit if the other team took liberties with your start. Kunitz wasn't "carried" he made himself useful.
We can’t ignore the fact that rob brown had 600 something points in only 300 something games
In the IHL
@@mrpigglesworthjr4273
Yeah, but still.
Still pretty impressive.
rob brown's ihl stats are insane lol
It’s more about being on a line with playmakers than being carried. Thornton and Crosby are pass first type of players especially. You wouldn’t say Brett Hull was “carried” by Adam Oates.
Bret Hull even admitted himself. before Adam Oates he was a great goalscorer when he had Adam Oates he was an amazing goal scorer.
I really appreciate this video. While the tip of the iceberg, it highlights how absolutely important it is to have secondary scoring, which means smart cap management.
As a Pens fan I can't help but think of James Neal playing when he played with Evgeni Malkin in which he scored 40 goals 81 points. Also love Kunitz, highly under-rated role player. Gritty, hard nosed two way player and a guy who happened to be the key to some of the Pens biggest clutch playoff goals in route to each of their cups. He's the perfect example of guys you need to win cups that don't get enough credit for what the bring.
I remember Andy Hilbert was Crosby’s line mate and people freaked out claiming he was amazing and angry that the penguins let him walk in free agency 😂
Who?
:-D
Andy who?
Kunitz always seemed like one of those glue guys in the line-up. He's not the type to carry a line, but tightens up established player's lines.
Being a Canucks fan, you should know!
ANSON CARTER
While he did alright in '01 and '02 he had 16 total goals the following two season before arriving at the Canucks where he posted 33 goals on the Sedin line in '05 - '06. I'll never forget him trying to cash in and request a ridiculous contract, luckily Nonis wasn't buying it. After that, 11 goals in 64 games in the following season including being traded before going to Europe. Where he also didn't fair much better.
Being a Canucks fan, who could forget BJ MacDonald.
John leclair is also a good candidate for this video. He was a 20-25 goal scorer until he played with Eric Lindross then he became a 50+ goal scorer 3 seasons in a row with 2 40+ seasons in the to.
i wouldn’t say Crosby completely carried Kunitz. he was selected tor the olympics because of the chemistry he had with crosby. Crosby and Kunitz had amazing Chemistry
Also Kunitz' defensive game was great IMO.
It was said that a fire hydrant would score 30 goals on Mario's line.
Another player that Mario carried was Warren Young. With Mario for one season, Young put up 40 goals and 32 assists, with a shooting percentage of 30%. After that season, Young left via free agency to the Red Wings for a 4-year, $1.2 million salary. (Big bucks back then.) The next season with the Wings, Young scored 22 goals and 24 assists, and was out of the NHL two years later.
old vid idc, you make some of the most entertaining hockey content on the website
Cheechoo's smile in the pic with the trophy was of a man who knew he didnt belong.
Craig Simpson. Gets to play wing for Gretzky and Lemieux in his first 3 seasons. Then Messier. And everyone who plays with Marner has a career year. Just goes to show how hard it is for Ovechkin to do what he does.
Ovechkin has Backstrom dishing the puck and Oshie is a good linemate. But yeah, he might have had better numbers if he played somewhere else.
It isn’t only carrying, finding these superstars a good line mate is hard... chemistry is more likely than carrying
Tom Wilson gets carried by Backstrom and Ovi big time.
Understatement of the year
Tom Wilson gets carried by George Parros big time.
Mikael Renberg was one third of the Legion of Doom line in Philly. With Lindros and LeClair he put up insane goal totals. Then he got traded and fell straight off a cliff. Absolute carry.
yeah he was a good fit for that line though. I liked Renberg better than Jones. How about Brent Fedyk when he played on the crazy 8's line with Lindros and Recchi? Nobody remembers that line befor ethe Legion of Doom. I hated to see Recchi go but Desjardins and LeClair both...you had to give something up to get them. I said the Flyers would never trade Recchi and they did twice.
Chris Kunitz was the first player that was able to play alongside Sid, besides someone named Geno. Kunitz should be credited for helping or teaching Crosby on how to go from being a great individual player to becoming a great team player.
And after Shero brought in Iginla and Morrow, they had to play on the third line with Brandon Sutter because Crosby didn't want to play with anyone not named Kunitz or Dupuis.
It's been tough finding someone who had really good chemistry with Crosby during his career. Pens won three cups with Kunitz, and he scored the game-winner in game-seven overtime against the Senators during one of the cup runs. He also won a cup with the Ducks. Pens have only won one playoff series since Kunitz left. I'd take him back in an instant.
Agree, I loved Kunitz game. The role he played for the Pens is very under-rated. His defensive game alone was great and he could always be counted on to lay out some big hits.
Lemieux made a guy score in the juniors by telling him "stand in front of the net with your stick on the ice, I'll do the rest''.
It worked, to this day it's the only goal that guy ever made.
How about Anson Carter when he played with the Sedins?
That's a great one!
Everyone who played with the sedins tbh
Carter put up 20 goal 40/50 point seasons in Boston (when they sucked) and Edmonton though.
@@VonCurry8 he also signed a massive contract with CBJ after the Sedins and became a non-factor
Sedins massively overrated Im actually a Canucks fan now after they left.
Gretzky / Kurri is probably the best example because it shows what happens when you stick with the player your entire career.
Kurri is a hall of famer. Gretzky played with amazing players his whole career
Jordan Binnington comes to mind when I think of one season wonder. Id wager at the end of his career his stats will show the one good season and a bunch of mediocrity.
Matt Moulson had 2 or 3 30+ goal seasons with Tavares on the Islanders, got traded and was never heard from again
everything ending in buffalo :D
Jumbo Joe in the background of the thumbnail 😂
Don't think it's fair to call Kunitz a person that got carried. He was a key contributor to Pittsburgh.
Chemistry is so underrated. Remember, the USA beat Russia in 1980, not because they had the best players, but because they had the right players. It’s a symbiotic relationship with playmakers and snipers. It’s what makes sports so cool. Yes, all three dudes in either of Boston or Avs’ top lines are great, but they also compliment each other and seemingly know what the other is doing at all times. If they didn’t have chemistry, it wouldn’t work.
I’m no McDavid fan, but the moment he finally finds his [insert favorite buddy movie pair-I’m going with “his Gimli to his Legolas”], it will be lights out.
that jeff skinner bit made my day as a sabres fan
"Perfectly timed career" very good way to describe Kuni's career, he was good and got lucky
Uh, Cheechoo was a 28 goal scorer before Thornton came along. His probelm was that he became a one trick pony with Joe in the fold his game didn't evolve. Also he wasn't that good defensively and took a lot of dumb penalties. I'm confident that if he had a competent center on his other teams he could have maintained a 25-30 goal a year pace. There's also the injury issue that slowed him down, he wasn't the same after he had a major core injury/double hernia. I also think that he also had a problem with alcohol as well after the injury. He got his scoring touch back in the KHL, but he was already 37 when he finished playing over there.
I think Joe gets too much credit for what Cheechoo did and not enough gets thrown towards Nils Ekman. Joe had a lot of secondary assists and assists off of rebounds. Also Joe Thornton did not play the same game the rest of his Sharks career as he did when he first came over. He was more active around and attacking the net, something he rarelt did in the following 15 years. Want proof, watch this video. It's pretty grainy but does show you the fashion that these goals were scored and will also show Ekman as a big contributor who was not brought back after that season for whatever reason.
ua-cam.com/video/VVF5kTWsmng/v-deo.html
I think the video scratches on the underlying truth; sometimes a team is better than the sum of it's parts. When players click as a group, it's a beautiful thing to watch and brings a lot to the team. I wouldn't so much call it 'carrying' a player as complementing playing styles that bring out the best in teammates and that is the thing that statistic guys will never be able to quantify
1:10 Rob Brown did play in the NHL afterwards... Almost 200 games. - You could have said "He came back to the NHL but was never the same" to get your point across. Always be factually correct.
To be honest that was an oversight. Thanks for the correction!
Oops, I made this point too, but after you, Z...Rob Brown always had offensive skill...maybe not much else, but he did come back at a time when points were hard to get and put some up.
Teams that carried goalies, Niemi, 09/10 Blackhawks
Jim Carrey 96-96 Capitals.
I just remember that Radulov carried a guy to 70 points in the CHL
That wasn’t radulov carrying him. That was Angelo Esposito and he was projected to get drafted above Kane at one point but his career got ruined by injuries. Kinda sad because he never played an nhl game
@@derrymcguinness783 no it was Stamkos or macenaloe
The year that cheechoo scored 56 and thornton had 125 pts. was also the year Jaromir Jagr had 54 goals and 123 points. If it wasnt for that duo, Jags takes home both trophies in 05-06. Crazy
Take a shot everytime Rob says "Jumbo Joe"
Good video. Just a head's up, the S is silent in Jacques.
As a Blue Jackets fan, I think Dubois was somewhat carried by Panarin and even Atkinson. I'm interested to see if he continues to improve or not. He's a great player, but I'm not sure he's the superstar he probably thinks he is.
Jason Blake Carried Mike Sillinger when he put up 59 points in 2006-07 with the islanders as Blake scored 40 goals and 69 points. Don’t get me wrong Sillinger was a solid 3rd line player he never had the ability to put up nearly 60 points at 35 years old.
RTH: Kunitz was being carried
Kunitz: and I took that personally
The cheechoo train!
Kyle okposo should probably be on here cause didn’t he get carried by Tavares in New York for his entire career there?
Towards the end of his islanders career he played a lot with Tavares but he was also productive when he played with frans neilson and Bailey on the islanders second line, okposo also suffered a lot of bad injuries, Matt moulson I’d say was the one who was most carried from Tavares, went from a 30 goal scorer to buried in the minors in Buffalo
Nothing comes to mind more than Brad Boyes with Paul Kariya in St. Louis.
Matt moulson when he played for the islanders was a 3 time 30 goal scorer, got buried in the minors for Buffalo
Idk if I'd necessarily put it this way; that he got "buried" in the minors.
As of today, he still plays in the AHL as a Captain of Hershey Bears and has played pretty well in the league during the last 4 seasons.
But yeah, his trade to the Sabres back in 13/14 was a slow beginning of his end in the NHL. He really had great 4+ seasons with the Isles.
Tavares line
Justin Abdelkader was carried by Pavel Datsyuk, since Datsyuk went back to Russia, the rest is history.
Jesus, Chris Kunitz is the most blessed man in NHL history 0_o I couldn't even do that sort of thing in Be A Pro mode. . .
Everyone who played on the first line with Thornton in Boston. But in particular Glen Murray and Sergei Samsonov, who put up career numbers then promptly crashed and burned without him. Bill Guerin as well had a rennaisance with Thornton that he rode for the rest of his career.
Murray was also a goal scorer with the Kings.
I'm a big Jumbo Joe fan but I think "the purest playmaker we have ever seen." is a tad generous.
There has been instances where Jumbo gets in trouble from coaching staff because he refuses to shoot. Pretty pure
I'd definitely put him above Adam Oates and just below Ron Francis and Wayne Gretzky
Adam Oates all the way. Brett Hull admitted he wouldn’t have had an 86 goal season without him
Peter Forsberg, Wayne Gretzky? Just because you can score, doesn't mean you can't pass and vice versa.
Nice job ignoring the fact that Kunitiz just happened to land in the right spots, at the right times, and you also ignored the fact that Kunitiz always busted his a** every single day... Every single game, that Kunitiz played
Lmao Kunitiz
Just have to give a shout out to Rob Brown. Sure, Lemiuex took Brown to a whole other level, but Rob Brown was a good hockey player. I think he still holds a WHL record for assists (138?) and points (212?) in a season. His CHL numbers were off the charts. His NHL numbers without Lemieux aren't bad either. He was one of those players who just can't seem to find their place consistently in the NHL, but excell in the minors. He led the old IHL in scoring numerous times and was named MVP. I think he might still hold some minor league assist records to this day! His plus minus numbers were mind boggling! He could have been an elite NHL player on his own were it not for his skating. He was probably the worst skater to ever make the NHL. But he could think the game like very few others.
BJ Macdonald carried by Wayne Gretzky in 1980. BJ scored 46 goals and 94 points that year.
You should do one about tendies that were carried by their bluelines.
Blair MacDonald who scored 49 goals on the wing for Gretzky then got traded to the Rangers the following year, before the end of the season, he was in the minors!
I like it. You get people thinking and commenting.
Bringing up Cheechoo actually has some coincidal carriedness not too far off from that career story.
Little under a decade ago, the Ottawa Senators were shopping for a new left wing for the Pizza Line (Spezza-Alfredsson) after Heatley demanded out of the capital. The Sens looked to San Jose and shopped him off for the aforementioned Cheechoo as well as Milan Michalek. Michalek filled in for first line minutes and thrived off of an Alfredsson 51-assist season and the rise of Erik Karlsson, and even got an all-star game nod in 2012.
The Pizza Line proceeded to crumble after the lockout season with Alfie signing with Detroit, and Spezza left shortly thereafter for Dallas. This alongside concussion issues threw him down the lines, and later played a full 82-game season where his decline was clear. Two more seasons and he'd be dealt to Toronto in the Phaneuf blockbuster. He played 13 and 5-game seasons as a 13th forward before a minors assignment ended his career.
A year later, it appears Jeff Skinner has rebounded. 33 goals, no Eichel.
Hard to single out any specific individuals, but from the mid-90's to the early 2000's, the St. Louis Blues had a lot of otherwise bottom-6 players putting up decent numbers thanks to playing with Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Of course, Joel Quenneville's system had a lot to do with that, but if you were at least a decent skater with even acceptable hands, taking stretch outlet passes from a couple of Hall of Fame blueliners was surely a dream come true!
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg carrying Justin Abdelkader his entire career
I think you're looking at it all wrong. Sometimes ayers just have a beautiful chemistry together and work well together. Its not so much carried sometimes as it is chemistry. Kunitz was a good player, and he worked well with other very good players.
That bruins trade with San Jose was bad at the time but actually wasn’t that bad in the end. Sturm was a solid player and they ended up trading Stuart for rich peverly who was a big part of the 2011 cup winning team. And on top of that Jumbo Joe has never won a cup.
I don’t think any of those guys wouldn’t admit it. The McDavid bump is real. When I played with the best guys we kicked ass. I go back to my normal line and it’s a struggle to get puck control maybe scoring will be good. Funny thinking about it but I guys I had the best on ice chemistry with were never friends. We were friendly but not friends. Weird
Coming from a Canucks fan thought you would have added Anson Carter with the Sedins lol
I was about to say that isn’t johnathan cheechoo! It’s Jordan tootoo. Glad I checked my facts as I got those 2 mixed up. That was a cool season to watch
Kaprizov is carrying Victor Rask right now.
That Joe Thornton trade took the Art Ross and the Rocket from Jagr. Crazy.
Gretzky turned Bernie Nicholls into a 70 goal scorer.
Bernie wasn't a bum either. He was the most dominant player in juniors and already had a 100-point season before he met Wayne.
Bernie Nichols was a good player. Playing with great players for sure gets any one good numbers. But when your good hockey player your numbers get real big. Nichols was a guy i want on my team. Dude could play.
Simply a freak year since they weren't on the same line. He faced softer defenses because of Gretzky but carried? No.
Bernie was a very good player without Gretzky. > PPG player for 4 -5 years in L.A. before Wayne got there. Several > PPG season after moving on. I’d take Bernie on my team any day.
off course he made him better, but bernie had 100 points season and almost 50 goals even before gretzky.
really bad choice of yours..