There is no better stage to showcase your talent than in the playoffs. In any sport, legends are made or grown with an epic or championship caliber performance in the postseason. A bloody sock (Curt Schilling), a catch(Dwight Clark and Joe Montana), or a shot(Michael Jordan over Mark Price at the buzzer) can turn someone great into an immortal.
The world is littered with the stories of players that take their game to the next level in the playoffs and the NHL is no different. Sure Wayne Gretzky rewrote the entire NHL record book with his regular season shenanigans, but when he did it in the playoffs, people became disciples to the “Great One”. Edmonton became more than a weirdly spelled Canadian city in a province called Alberta, it was the home of hockey royalty.
In stark contrast to the success of Gretzky in Edmonton, was the star of Los Angeles, Marcel Dionne. He retired as the second leading scorer in NHL history behind Gordie Howe, but is basically anonymous because of his lack of playoff production. Dionne played for some bad teams in Los Angeles, but was one of the most gifted players ever. Fair or not, rarely is he mentioned among the greats because of his shoddy playoff resume.
Today’s game is the same. Players shine and put up nice stats, but they don’t earn the major respect in the NHL until they can produce in the postseason. Heck, they might want to get to the postseason if they want to be considered elite. With this season’s playoff door closing rapidly, here are six names that you won’t be seeing (but should) in this year’s playoffs.
6. Martin St. Louis, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning
Do you know who the leading scorer in the NHL is? It’s a 37-year old from Laval, Quebec who just notched a hat-trick Wednesday night. “Mighty Mite” Martin St. Louis is a point producing machine and always seems to find his name on the score sheet. His Tampa Lightning will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
5. Eric Staal, C, Carolina Hurricanes
The captain of the Carolina Hurricanes was supposed to get the Canes back to the playoffs this year, especially after the Carolina brass ponied up some money to bring Alexander Semin to town and traded for his brother Jordan Staal. The elder Staal had another big year and currently sits tied for sixth in the NHL in scoring.
4. Taylor Hall, LW, Edmonton Oilers
The oft-injured former number one overall draft pick finally had a season without incident. Unfortunately it is business as usual as the Oilers missed the playoffs again. There is simply too much talent in Edmonton for Hall and the Oilers to sit on the outside of the playoffs for much longer. Unfortunately the only way they’ll get to this postseason is by purchasing a ticket.
3. Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville Predators
The 2012 Vezina Trophy finalist and Nashville Predator giant/goalie started slow but did his part to keep the Predators in every game. Unfortunately Rinne doesn’t score goals. He is tied for the lead in the NHL with five shutouts, but Nashville ranks second to last in the league in goals scored.
2. Claude Giroux, C/RW, Philadelphia Flyers
This was supposed to be the year that Claude Giroux took his rightful place alongside Sidney Crosby as the co-kings of the NHL. It didn’t happen so much for Giroux as he found himself(along with the rest of the NHL) in Crosby’s shadow. Giroux had a decent year individually, but the Flyers missed the playoffs during his first year as team captain, which equals failure.
1. Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
Along with Claude Giroux, there is no other player in the league that gets as much attention as the Tampa Bay sniper. Stamkos is a perennial contender for the Richard award as the league’s top goal scorer, but will be watching the playoffs as an outsider for the second consecutive season. With all the offense that the Lightning have generated, they should be able to get into the playoffs by accident. Stamkos needs a better team around him to showcase his amazing talents at the next level.