Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Obviously, players are in much better shape today, than several decades ago, and remain in good shape well into their 30s.
However, while health and fitness have changed drastically, the game itself has changed even more. Players used to be able to coast at times, and pick their spots. This gave an advantage to experience. Now, every shift is contested at top speed, which favours fitness and speed over experience.
Then there are the playoffs themselves, which have gone from 2 rounds to 4 - the physical toll is immense. This also favours youth.
So it isn't at all surprising that we don't see older teams lifting the cup anymore. And the idea of going to the cup final, back to back, as the oldest team in the league, is a really big ask.
Then factor in that you have a team that relies more on its top players than any other team does.
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It's hard to evaluate players from generations many years ago vs now. But the best comparable for McDavid is Crosby
Crosby is still putting up big numbers but when you factor is scoring is up and PP % is way up as well his 90 points is well behind top players who are getting 140 in a season. Clearly Crosby is not the Crosby he once was, no way peak Crosby finished 50 points behind the leading scorers.
When you look at the potential dip - scoring and PP% started to climb in 2017-18, the season Crosby turned 30. His point totals remain close to the same but other scorers have taken off and leaving him behind. Seems like there wasn't much of a dip, but there has been.
30 year old Crosby had 1 big playoff (21 in 12) and 100 point season.
Since Sid turned 31, he is basically an 85/90 point players who is under a PPG in the playoffs and has not made it past the 1st round in 6 seasons. Not all on him, team is on the decline but Sid was still only 31 and Malkin was 32 when the Pens were done.
Crosby has no cup in his 30s, 1 playoff series win, no scoring titles (not even close). He is still proving to be a great player in his 30s but the decline happened many years ago it was just harder to see it with the scoring increase.
McDavid is 28 and Leon is 29 next year, surrounded by a very old roster. The Pens last cup their top 9 scorers were in their 20s. The Pens are often a comparable to the Oilers as Sid and Geno were often labeled as guys carrying a weaker team, but their team was also young when Sid and Geno were at the end of the road for winning cups. Sid and Geno were 29 and 30 the last cup.