It’s hard to overstate just how good Sidney Crosby is. Yahoo! Sports drives home the significance of Crosby’s break-out season.
Mario Lemieux didn’t win a scoring title until his fourth NHL season and, despite his enormous talent and on-ice presence, couldn’t lead the Pittsburgh Penguins into the playoffs until his fifth season.
Sidney Crosby did both in his second season. At age 19.
The NHL hasn’t seen anything like this since a 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky’s first NHL season with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80 — a teenager being greatly responsible for carrying his team into the postseason.
Crosby did exactly that with his 120-point season, one that left him six points ahead of San Jose’s Joe Thornton and secured his first Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring leader. There aren’t many in the NHL predicting it will be his last.
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Crosby is the first teenager to win the Ross. Gretzky equaled Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings with 137 points in 1979-80, but Dionne won the trophy because he had more goals.Still, the most impressive statistic of Crosby’s sophomore season wasn’t his point total, which represented an 18-point increase from his rookie year, but this one: the Penguins’ 47-24-11 record.
SportingNews.com predicts Broduer over Crosby for the Hart Trophy “by a nose”.
Comparing a skater to a goalie is always unfair. There is no way to deny that the goalie has a bigger effect on the game’s outcome. With the greatest respect for the amazing season from the 19-year-old Penguin, that’s just the way it is, and it takes the trophy out of his hands.
I don’t doubt that Broduer had a great season. But it’s not even clear that Brodeur was the best goaltender. Luongo and Hasek should both be seriously considered for the Vezina. It’s true that comparing a skater to a goalie in difficult. In this situation, we should compare them to others playing the same position. Both Crosby’s numbers and his leadership skills place him well above any other center (or any skater, for that matter) this season. He should win the Hart.