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Post by legaspesien on Oct 23, 2002 16:42:59 GMT -5
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Post by legaspesien on Oct 23, 2002 16:50:13 GMT -5
But gathering all of those MVP votes created enormous expectations for both players, anointing them as NHL superstars despite the fact both have work to do to truly be considered among the league's elite.
For Theodore, it's worth remembering that Jim Carey also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie in 1996, while Iginla need look no farther than players like Teemu Selanne, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov to understand that one huge offensive season can become a burden over time if it is never matched again.
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Post by MPLABBE on Oct 23, 2002 18:29:51 GMT -5
Damien Cox is a Toronto journalist. If either one of them was a Leaf, an article like this would have never been written. Enjoy Belfore and Kidd and a team with only 2 guys who can score Damien. 'Nuff said.
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Post by HFTO on Oct 23, 2002 21:23:51 GMT -5
Theo is the last of our problems he will rebound! HFTO
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Post by legaspesien on Oct 24, 2002 16:59:35 GMT -5
Jarome Iginla and Jose Theodore are good hockey players, but don't look for their names on any more trophies any time soon.
posted Oct. 24, 11:49AM EDT
Here is a trivia question: How many players have won the Art Ross trophy in the last 22 years? If you had answered four, you would have been correct.
They are Wayne Gretzky (10 times), Mario Lemieux (six times), Jaromir Jagr (five times), and Jarome Iginla once. Before that, it was won by the likes of Marcel Dionne, Guy Lafleur, Phil Esposito, Gordie Howe and so on and so on. All these players who were winning the scoring championship were consistently in the top ten, if not on top.
I am not trying to take anything away from Jarome Iginla. He had an amazing year on a team that was offensively challenged. Night after night he faced the other team's top checking line or top defence pairing or both and night after night he put up points.
He was the ultimate power forward, but can he do it again? I don't think so.
The other guys who have won scoring titles always had a teammate who was close and provided a distraction so the other teams couldn't concentrate on just one guy. Gretzky had Kurri. Lemieux had Jagr. Esposito had Orr and Dionne had Taylor and Simmer.
Iginla had Craig Conroy, who had a career year, more than 30 points better than his previous best and 21 points behind his winger. Jarome finished with 21 more goals and 25 more points than he had ever scored.
Jose Theodore came from obscurity to win the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player. Will he ever win it again? Don't bet on it.
You have to like the way Theodore almost single-handedly led the Canadiens into the playoffs. Down the stretch, when they couldn't afford to lose a single game, he refused to give in to the enormous pressure and played the best hockey of his career. He beat the Bruins in the first round by himself. He revitalized and re-energized hockey in Montreal. He was the perfect hero for the long struggling Hab fans.
Jose carries himself like a winner in both languages, but can he do it again? Last year was the first year he was over .500. His previous best was in 1999-'00, when he was 12-13 and played in only 30 games.
The previous Hart Trophy winners were stars for years before they won the big award. The names are a list of who's who for the last decade. Gretzky, Sakic, Pronger, Hasek, Lemieux … all these guys were established stars on successful teams.
Jose Theodore had a great year and was the most valuable player in the league. I think he will be just as happy this year as last if his team can just make the playoffs. Jarome Iginla won the scoring race last season but would be happier with fewer points and more wins so his team too can reach the postseason.
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