CHICAGO, IL -- Before we officially
dispatch the Ducks, Canucks, Capitals and Bruins, I'd like to take a
moment to contemplate greatness. I have one example which I use
consistently to illustrate this point.
Over the years, Chicago Cubs' fans have asked me why former Orioles'
third baseman Brooks Robinson is in the Hall of Fame, and former Cubs'
third baseman Ron Santo is not. When you look at their career
statistics, Santo has better offensive numbers by a long shot: more
home runs, a higher batting average and slugging percentage, and very
close in runs batted in, in eight fewer seasons! Both players went to
scores of all star games (Robinson 15 in 23 years, Santo 9 in 15
years). Robinson won the AL MVP Award in 1964, Santo was in the top 10
in NL MVP voting four times. And while Robinson had a decided
advantage in the field, the fact that both won several gold glove
awards (Robinson 16, Santo 5) suggests that both were consistently
excellent fielders.
The big difference between the two exists in the post-season. Robinson
went to the playoffs six times as an Oriole. He hit 35 points above
his career average, including five series in which he hit better than
.300. And of course, he virtually secured his position in the Hall of
Fame with his fielding in the 1966, 1969 and 1970 trips to the World
Series. Santo, despite playing a key role on some very good Cubs'
teams, never reached the postseason at all.
This baseball example is relevant here because it clearly illustrates
what we believe separates the very good from the great In sports, we
measure the distance between those two attributes by how well a player
performs against his toughest competition and in the most
pressure-packed situations.
This is an especially relevant equation for the Vancouver Canucks and
their stable of star players, led most prominently by goalie Roberto
Luongo and backed by forwards Mats Sundin, and brother Daniel and
Henrik Sedin.
Sundin is without question an
excellent player. He was the top pick in the draft, and has since
played 18 seasons in which he never played less than 70 games in any
full season (he played 47 in the strike-shortened season of 1995, and
41 this year when he signed with the Canucks in mid-season). But
despite being the centerpiece of some excellent Toronto teams, Sundin
never made the Stanley Cup Finals and only went as far as the
Conference Finals once, when his team was steamrolled in five games by
a not-particularly potent Sabres' squad.
The Sedins were also drafted high in the first round. For eight
seasons they have made a major impact on Vancouver's regular season,
only to largely disappear each of the six times the Canucks made the
postseason. Neither averaged so much as a point every other game in
any of the Canucks post-season runs until this year, and other than
Daniel's two-goal game in game six against Chicago, the Sedins
accumulated their point total quietly.
And then there's Luongo, once the No.4 pick in his draft, and now the
active NHL save percentage leader and a goalie consistently in the top
5 or top 10 in every major goaltending category. He is the only goalie
in the league who also serves as his team's captain, and late in this
most recent playoff his coach, Alain Vigneault, called Luongo his
team's best player. But in this playoffs, Luongo gave up two soft
goals late in game 4 to let Chicago back into a series, and then for
the first time in his career was hit for a 7-spot in the decisive game
six.
Compare that to how Chicago's two highly-drafted kids played. Jonathan
Toews, their 21-year-old captain, emerged from a silent series to
score two goals. And 20-year-old Patrick Kane, who not only scored
three goals in the deciding game (six in the series), but scored three
goals of unique individual beauty and creativity that are the reserve
of the truly elite of the NHL.
We should not summarily dismiss very good-ness. There is a
not-insignificant place for it in hockey. Players who are very good
can still win and deserve both our attention and our respect.
Greatness is elusive -- it cannot
really be taught or explained without visual support, but it always
shows up at the most significant moments. Until they win, or until
they perform better at the most important moments, the Vancouver
Canucks and their stars should not be considered great players, and
that's why they are going home with a month to go in the postseason.
Josh
Mora,
a Columnist with TheFourthPeriod.com, is an Anchor and
Blackhawks Reporter with Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.
