Which NHL Team has the best Offense?
The question is simple, but the answer is not. How do you evaluate who has the best offense? Does a ton of top goal scorers make you the best? Does 3 balanced scoring lines put you to the top? How about have 2 top lines? Where does a good power play fit in? How about having the most offense from your defensemen? Frankly, it's all about opinion, so I want to know what you think.
Here's some teams worth considering:
Detroit: They are leading the league in goals with 273, 30 more than the 2nd place team. They also have the best power play currently clicking at 26.3%. Detroit has 3 players with 30 or more goals and Zetterberg is knocking on the door with 29. With Rafalski and Lidstrom they also have 3 defenseman in the top 10 in scoring. If there's an argument against Detroit, it's the fact that they only really have 2 scoring lines, partly because of poor production and partly because of injuries.
Calgary: Calgary is a team with incredible depth of scoring with 12 players with 10 goals or more (10 forwards and 2 defenseman). They have 3 players in the top 21 (and ties) in goal scoring and with Jokinen is currently on fire, he could easily make it 3 players in the top 15 by the end of the season.
Boston: Boston has probably the most unique situation. None of their top 3 lines would be considered an elite top line, but they get more production out of their 2nd and 3rd lines than most teams could dream of. Earlier this year their 3rd line centre, David Krejci was in the top 15 in scoring. Boston has had a lot of injuries among their forwards and so consistency has been an issue but they still have 7 forwards with 17 goals or more (Lucic would probably join that group to make it 8 if he hadn't missed 10 games from injuries). Boston also has 2 of the best offensive defenseman in the league, with Wideman and Chara both in the top 14 in scoring for defenseman. Also, in regards to potential, Boston should be able to keep their team together for far longer than Detroit or Calgary because of the youth on their top 3 lines.
Philadelphia: Philly is one of only two teams with 6 players with 21 goals or more and have 5 players with 26 goals or more. They also have two other significant contributors who have barely played this season, Danny Briere who's only played 19 games but has 8 goals and 14 points and Claude Giroux 32 games, 5 goals, 19 points but who is improving and producing more every game. Philly does have one elite defenseman with Timonen currently tied for 19th in scoring among defenseman.
Pittsburgh: They may have not had the best offence throughout the year, but with the trades they made bringing in Kunitz and Guerin, and getting Gonchar back from injury they are in the running. Oh yeah, and they have arguably the 2 best playmakers (and the top 2 in points) in the game in Crosby and Malkin. If Bill Guerin gets another goal they'll have 6 guys over 20 goals and could figuratively have another if Satan wasn't in the AHL. On defense, Gonchar was 2nd in scoring among defenseman last season but isn't this year because he missed more than half the season with an injury.
San Jose: The Sharks are third in the league on the power play, and are only one of two teams with 7 players with over 50 points (Detroit is the other). Besides Philadelphia, San Jose is the only other team with 6 players who have scored 21 or more goals. They are also the only team with 4 defenseman in the top 34, and those 4 d-men all have 33 or more points. And now for a random fact, they have the most balanced 2nd line in hockey: Michalek, Clowe and Pavelski all have 52 points and have Pavelski has only one goal less (21) and one assist more (31) than Michalek and Clowe (22,30). Just think how much better they could be if Jonathan Cheechoo ever gets his scoring touch back, he's a former Rocket Richard trophy winner, but his production has steadily declined since then. He had 56 goals in 05'06 (37 in 06-07, 23 in 07-08) to just 9 goals this season.
Washington: The case for Washington is simple, elite talent: they have the leagues leading goal scorer in Ovechkin and the leagues top scoring defenseman in Mike Green (who's got 28 goals so far). Both Green and Ovechkin have huge leads on the 2nd place players in goal scoring. They also have two others besides Ovechkin in the top 19 in scoring (Backstrom and Semin). Washington has the 2nd best power play in the league, clicking at 24.3%.
Here's one more bizarre comparison for you. Take the top 7 scorers from each of these 7 teams and let's look at the goals per game of each contributor.
Detroit: 180 goals in 458 games played. 0.393 goals per player. 2.75 goals per game.
Calgary: 170 goals in 458 games played. 0.371 goals per player. 2.60 goals per game.
Boston: 153 goals in 480 games played. 0.319 goals per player. 2.23 goals per game.
Philadelphia: 180 goals in 442 games played. 0.407 goals per player. 2.85 goals per game.
Pittsburgh: 152 goals in 446 games played. 0.341 goals per player. 2.39 goals per game.
San Jose: 166 goals in 490 games played. 0.339 goals per player. 2.37 goals per game.
Washington: 172 goals in 452 games played. 0.381 goals per player. 2.66 goals per game.
So what are your thoughts? What team do you think is the best offensive team in hockey? Are there any of these teams that really don't belong in the conversation in your mind? What factors would you use to decide what team is the best?
Here's some teams worth considering:
Detroit: They are leading the league in goals with 273, 30 more than the 2nd place team. They also have the best power play currently clicking at 26.3%. Detroit has 3 players with 30 or more goals and Zetterberg is knocking on the door with 29. With Rafalski and Lidstrom they also have 3 defenseman in the top 10 in scoring. If there's an argument against Detroit, it's the fact that they only really have 2 scoring lines, partly because of poor production and partly because of injuries.
Calgary: Calgary is a team with incredible depth of scoring with 12 players with 10 goals or more (10 forwards and 2 defenseman). They have 3 players in the top 21 (and ties) in goal scoring and with Jokinen is currently on fire, he could easily make it 3 players in the top 15 by the end of the season.
Boston: Boston has probably the most unique situation. None of their top 3 lines would be considered an elite top line, but they get more production out of their 2nd and 3rd lines than most teams could dream of. Earlier this year their 3rd line centre, David Krejci was in the top 15 in scoring. Boston has had a lot of injuries among their forwards and so consistency has been an issue but they still have 7 forwards with 17 goals or more (Lucic would probably join that group to make it 8 if he hadn't missed 10 games from injuries). Boston also has 2 of the best offensive defenseman in the league, with Wideman and Chara both in the top 14 in scoring for defenseman. Also, in regards to potential, Boston should be able to keep their team together for far longer than Detroit or Calgary because of the youth on their top 3 lines.
Philadelphia: Philly is one of only two teams with 6 players with 21 goals or more and have 5 players with 26 goals or more. They also have two other significant contributors who have barely played this season, Danny Briere who's only played 19 games but has 8 goals and 14 points and Claude Giroux 32 games, 5 goals, 19 points but who is improving and producing more every game. Philly does have one elite defenseman with Timonen currently tied for 19th in scoring among defenseman.
Pittsburgh: They may have not had the best offence throughout the year, but with the trades they made bringing in Kunitz and Guerin, and getting Gonchar back from injury they are in the running. Oh yeah, and they have arguably the 2 best playmakers (and the top 2 in points) in the game in Crosby and Malkin. If Bill Guerin gets another goal they'll have 6 guys over 20 goals and could figuratively have another if Satan wasn't in the AHL. On defense, Gonchar was 2nd in scoring among defenseman last season but isn't this year because he missed more than half the season with an injury.
San Jose: The Sharks are third in the league on the power play, and are only one of two teams with 7 players with over 50 points (Detroit is the other). Besides Philadelphia, San Jose is the only other team with 6 players who have scored 21 or more goals. They are also the only team with 4 defenseman in the top 34, and those 4 d-men all have 33 or more points. And now for a random fact, they have the most balanced 2nd line in hockey: Michalek, Clowe and Pavelski all have 52 points and have Pavelski has only one goal less (21) and one assist more (31) than Michalek and Clowe (22,30). Just think how much better they could be if Jonathan Cheechoo ever gets his scoring touch back, he's a former Rocket Richard trophy winner, but his production has steadily declined since then. He had 56 goals in 05'06 (37 in 06-07, 23 in 07-08) to just 9 goals this season.
Washington: The case for Washington is simple, elite talent: they have the leagues leading goal scorer in Ovechkin and the leagues top scoring defenseman in Mike Green (who's got 28 goals so far). Both Green and Ovechkin have huge leads on the 2nd place players in goal scoring. They also have two others besides Ovechkin in the top 19 in scoring (Backstrom and Semin). Washington has the 2nd best power play in the league, clicking at 24.3%.
Here's one more bizarre comparison for you. Take the top 7 scorers from each of these 7 teams and let's look at the goals per game of each contributor.
Detroit: 180 goals in 458 games played. 0.393 goals per player. 2.75 goals per game.
Calgary: 170 goals in 458 games played. 0.371 goals per player. 2.60 goals per game.
Boston: 153 goals in 480 games played. 0.319 goals per player. 2.23 goals per game.
Philadelphia: 180 goals in 442 games played. 0.407 goals per player. 2.85 goals per game.
Pittsburgh: 152 goals in 446 games played. 0.341 goals per player. 2.39 goals per game.
San Jose: 166 goals in 490 games played. 0.339 goals per player. 2.37 goals per game.
Washington: 172 goals in 452 games played. 0.381 goals per player. 2.66 goals per game.
So what are your thoughts? What team do you think is the best offensive team in hockey? Are there any of these teams that really don't belong in the conversation in your mind? What factors would you use to decide what team is the best?
posted by Aidan Tiefenbach at
10:16 PM
1 Comments:
I don't think Pittsburgh belongs in any conversation outside of the "which team sucks?" one. I think a team that scores from all lines is crucial and this is coming from a fan of a "one line" team. Ottawa in its heyday (yeah there was one) was a team that boasted depth and could score from all lines. This kind of team can only hold together for so long as we've seen as these scorers soon out price themselves out of town. That's why I like a team such as Boston that can score like that and does not rely on a few to carry them in a game. You shut the few down and you've got yourself a win.
My last comment focuses on Cheechoo who produced far beyond his talent when he got 50 goals with Thornton. At best he's a 20-30 goal scorer and as of right now Setoguchi is a better fit and has more talent than Cheechoo. It is sad but that's the way of the league sometimes when there arises a diamond in the rough. Crosby is the rough propped up to look like a diamond... oh how many times do I hear "Crosby should have had that!" I say indeed but he was not on his knees.
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