Where does Gaudreau rank among all time Flames forwards?

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

He's 9th in ppg.

1. Kent Nilsson 1.32
2. Mike Bullard 1.15
3. Joe Mullen* 1.12
4. Doug Gilmour* 1.11
5. Joe Nieuwendyk* 1.07
6. Theoren Fleury 1.05
7. Guy Chouinard 1.03
8. Al MacInnis* 1.02
9. Johnny Gaudreau 0.99
10. Sergei Makarov* 0.98

So that's probably a good estimate?

That doesn't work. For one thing, ranking that way, the best player in Flames history apparently isn't even top 10.

[dissentowner]

This thread is going to get sidetracked arguing over who is the best player in Flames history. I don't think there is any clear wrong answer there between Fleury and Iggy. You could even make an argument for big Al. For me its Theo but I can respect other opinions.

[Matty81]

For me timeframe and consistency is huge. I've seen guys show incredible talent for a game or even a month and then fall away. Single season? If he keeps rolling this year will be up there. All time - he needs to stick with the team and do it for many more years to be in the conversation with Iggy and Fleury.

But just game 7 of the finals and you have to pick one at their peak? I'd still take Theo. He showed he could do it in the playoffs and had a way worse supporting cast. Iginla next... Again did it in all situations and had the toughnrss. Then Lanny during his 66 goal season. Didn't see Nilsson play.

If Johnny keeps playing like this and shows it in the playoffs I'll put him somewhere in that group.

Pretty dammed impressive lately though.

[Duffalufagus]

If we are talking just pure talent alone, he is easily #1 imo.

[David Struch]

It all depends in what era you grew up watching, I don't really remember Mike Bullard or Guy Chouinard.

I barely even remember Lanny McDonald, I only really remember him for the "goal" during the 89 playoffs.

My personal preference:

1. Fleury
2. Gaudreau
3. Nieuwendyk
4. Iginla
5. Roberts
6. Nilsson
7. Gilmour
8. Mullen
9. Loob
10. Makarov

[Winsor_Pilates]

Too soon to say for Johnny.
But I'm surprised by anyone not putting Iginla at #1. That's not even debatable, and I loved Fleury.

[codynw]

Iginla is the only Flames player to win the Art Ross or the Rocket Richard trophy. The Flames have had some great players, but #12 is the only one that was ever in the conversation for best player in the world.

[jg13]

1st.

I honestly see 600 goals and 1300 points out of him.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Tom Lysiak

[Yobbo]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

This thread is going to get sidetracked arguing over who is the best player in Flames history. I don't think there is any clear wrong answer there between Fleury and Iggy. You could even make an argument for big Al. For me its Theo but I can respect other opinions.

Yeah I'm with you. Fluery in his prime was an amazing talent to watch. Iggy had it all, and competed like a beast.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[foshizzle11]

He provides the same kind of entertainment as #14 did, so I rank him as 3rd right now, but he can surpass Theo if he is a Flame for a long time. Ie signs another contract after this one. If the team can be a perennial playoff team/contender then I think he stays.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by jg13

1st.

I honestly see 600 goals and 1300 points out of him.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

1. Iginla - 1095
2. Fleury - 830
3. Nieuwendyk - 616
4. Roberts - 505
5. Nilsson - 469
6. Loob - 429
7. Otto - 428
8. Peplinski - 424
9. McDonald - 406
10. Mullen - 388
11. Reichel - 354
12. Gaudreau - 352

He ranks 12th

incredibly he could be top 5 by end of some time next year

[camm13]

What % is he in on the teams overall offense, saw this stat a month ago on the cbc broadcast and he was definitely leading it. And higher than Mcdavid. Does anyone know where I can search up this stat?

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by David Struch

It all depends in what era you grew up watching, I don't really remember Mike Bullard or Guy Chouinard.

I barely even remember Lanny McDonald, I only really remember him for the "goal" during the 89 playoffs.

My personal preference:

1. Fleury
2. Gaudreau
3. Nieuwendyk
4. Iginla
5. Roberts
6. Nilsson
7. Gilmour
8. Mullen
9. Loob
10. Makarov

Lanny scored 66 goals one season. He was exceptional and a great leader. Mike Bullard looked great after one season, but then was traded for Gilmour and Hunter when his value was high. He never repeated those numbers.

Nilsson scored 49 goals and 131 points winding up 3rd overall in league scoring behind Gretzky and Dionne. He has an amazing season, but the holes in his game became bigger and bigger before the team decided they'd be better off without him on the team. If he kept having 131 point seasons, he would have been the best, but he didn't.

Gaudreau could get 50 goals and 120 points this season and wind up in the top three. That would be one of the best seasons ever by a Flame. If he keeps it up for 6 more seasons, he'll be the best Flame ever. If he falls back to 70 points a season, he'll just be a very good Flame.

It's going to take some time to figure out where he lands.

Fleury's best seasons are in 1991 when he scored 104 points and ranked 8th in the NHL and 1993 with 100 points which ranked 20th. Joe Mullen ranked 7th with 110 points in 1989. In 1979, Bob McMillan was 5th with 108 points and Guy Chouinard was 6th with 107. The only players for the Flames to rank in the top three for league scoring are Iginla and Nilsson.

These players weren't able to maintain this level of play for years. Let's hope Gaudreau can.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by looooob

incredibly he could be top 5 by end of some time next year

The way things have been going lately he could be 4th by the end of next season

[Cole436]

Jarome Iginla is one of the most complete players in NHL history. He was one of the best goal scorers in NHL history and was a rare combination of being almost as good of a playmaker.

His physicality and strength let him outmuscle anyone on the ice and was always the first to drop his gloves when it mattered. His leadership and clutch play were unmatched. For a short time he was without a doubt the best player in the world. And he played at an elite level for almost 15 years.

The only players in Iginla's league that played like him were Lindros, Neely, Ovechkin and Esposito.


I don't even know what it would take for Johnny to take that top spot.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Lanny scored 66 goals one season. He was exceptional and a great leader. Mike Bullard looked great after one season, but then was traded for Gilmour and Hunter when his value was high. He never repeated those numbers.

Nilsson scored 49 goals and 131 points winding up 3rd overall in league scoring behind Gretzky and Dionne. He has an amazing season, but the holes in his game became bigger and bigger before the team decided they'd be better off without him on the team. If he kept having 131 point seasons, he would have been the best, but he didn't.

Gaudreau could get 50 goals and 120 points this season and wind up in the top three. That would be one of the best seasons ever by a Flame. If he keeps it up for 6 more seasons, he'll be the best Flame ever. If he falls back to 70 points a season, he'll just be a very good Flame.

It's going to take some time to figure out where he lands.

Fleury's best seasons are in 1991 when he scored 104 points and ranked 8th in the NHL and 1993 with 100 points which ranked 20th. Joe Mullen ranked 7th with 110 points in 1989. In 1979, Bob McMillan was 5th with 108 points and Guy Chouinard was 6th with 107. The only players for the Flames to rank in the top three for league scoring are Iginla and Nilsson.

These players weren't able to maintain this level of play for years. Let's hope Gaudreau can.

Nilsson had the skill and talent to be a star in the league for many years but lacked the drive and seemed to take his talent for granted. Drove Badger Bob Johnson crazy with his indifferent play and attitude. He would disappear come playoff time which lead Johnson to ask Cliff Fletcher that Nilsson be traded.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by codynw

That doesn't work. For one thing, ranking that way, the best player in Flames history apparently isn't even top 10.

No kidding, how many would Iggy and JG have shooting on this guy

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Dion

Nilsson had the skill and talent to be a star in the league for many years but lacked the drive and seemed to take his talent for granted. Drove Badger Bob Johnson crazy with his indifferent play and attitude. He would disappear come playoff time which lead Johnson to ask Cliff Fletcher that Nilsson be traded.

Peter Maher figured that Nilsson was afraid of his own talent, because in those days a good Swede was not supposed to stand out from his peers. Long after, he said he had once told Nilsson he could be as good as Gretzky. Nilsson looked shocked and said, ‘Oh, no. Not me.’

I remember Macdonald's first full season in town, when he scored 66 goals – just five behind Gretzky. (Nowhere near on total points, of course.) At a time when the team was rebuilding and below .500, Lanny provided instant excitement, and he was (and is) a consummate gentleman. He fully deserved to be the face of the franchise.

In training camp in 1988, everybody knew it was Lanny's last year. I went to an exhibition game – against Chicago, I believe – asking myself who was going to sell tickets for this team in the 1990s, because as great as they were, nobody else could match his charisma and fan appeal. Then I saw this tiny little kid knocking giants on their arses every chance he got. I pointed and said, ‘THAT is the face of the Flames for the nineties.’ I was pointing at Theo Fleury.

What can I say about Iginla? He did it all. He was the only hockey player my mother ever had a crush on.

Gaudreau is definitely in the Flames' top five of all time. At present I'd rank him ahead of Nilsson because of his consistency, ahead of Fleury because he's a better team player, but for now, behind the other two. A good playoff run, though, and he will have a chance to leapfrog Lanny.

I was watching Gaudreau the other night, and his play reminded me of a poem from around 1930: ‘Monsieur Joliat’, by Wilson Pugsley MacDonald. It's told from the point of view of a francophone Habs fan who gets into an argument with an Anglo at the Forum, who at that time, of course, was a Maroons fan. The Habs fan is raving about ‘the Little Giant’, Aurèle Joliat:

He weigh one hondred feefty pound.
Eef he were seex feet tall
He'd score one hondred goal so queek
Dere'd be no game at all.

Joliat was five foot seven, played left wing, and was one of the most purely talented and beloved players ever to suit up for the Canadiens. He was on that team for 16 years and won three Stanley Cups (including, by the way, one in 1924 against the Calgary Tigers). At the age of 83, he took a lap around the Forum ice to salute the fans in Montreal at an old-timers' game. The next year, he died after seeing his old team win their 23rd championship – against the Calgary Flames this time.

I see Gaudreau as our Joliat. I hope we keep him as long, and with as much success.