Which NHL Goal-Scorer Is Most Valuable To His Club?

by Rafal Ladysz on Jan 19, 2010 3:21 PM EST

Times are good with the Buffalo Sabres currently. Yesterday's ~~win~~ slaying of the Phoenix Coyotes brought the team past the New Jersey Devils and into a tie with the Washington Capitals for first place in the Eastern Conference. With a game in hand, Buffalo is playing the type of hockey they saved for April in the last two years when it was too little, too late.

Ryan Miller is the engineer of it all; the heart that breathes life into the group. But it's been a total effort throughout the line-up with 16 players registering more than ten points and seven scoring double digits in goals. The defensemen have taken hits, blocked shots and a Calder Trophy candidate on the blue line helps. Is there a more complete team in the league?

Then, there are squads who depend on a single player for a lot of their scoring. While that person is unstoppable sometimes, defensemen can shut him down putting expectations on others to pull their own weight or more. I've decided to look at the leading goal-scorer on each NHL organization and calculate how much of their work accounts for the overall total. If two individuals are tied, the tie-breaker will take into consideration who's taken part in less games.

We'll go through the league alphabetically.

Anaheim Ducks: 138 goals for/ Bobby Ryan/ 21 goals= 15.21%

Atlanta Thrashers: 149 goals for/ Ilya Kovalchuk/ 28 goals= 18.79%

Boston Bruins: 123 goals for/ Marco Sturm/ 15 goals= 12.19%

Buffalo Sabres: 134 goals for/ Thomas Vanek/ 13 goals= 9.7%

Calgary Flames: 131 goals for/ Jarome Iginla/ 21 goals= 16.03%

Carolina Hurricanes: 120 goals for/ Ray Whitney/ 15 goals= 12.5%

Chicago Blackhawks: 165 goals for/ Patrick Kane/ 20 goals= 12.12%

Colorado Avalanche: 147 goals for/ Chris Stewart/ 16 goals= 10.88%

Columbus Blue Jackets: 134 goals for/ Rick Nash/ 22 goals= 16.41%

Dallas Stars: 141 goals for/ Loui Eriksson/ 20 goals= 14.18%

Detroit Red Wings: 123 goals for/ Tomas Holmstrom/ 15 goals= 12.19%

Edmonton Oilers: 128 goals for/ Dustin Penner/ 21 goals= 16.4%

Florida Panthers: 141 goals for/ Stephen Weiss/ 19 goals= 13.47%

Los Angeles Kings: 143 goals for/ Anze Kopitar/ 19 goals= 13.28%

Minnesota Wild: 138 goals for/ Mikko Koivu/ 14 goals= 10.14 %

Montreal Canadiens: 128 goals for/ Michael Cammalleri/ 22 goals= 17.18%

Nashville Predators: 140 goals for/ Patric Hornqvist/ 19 goals= 13.57%

New Jersey Devils: 131 goals for/ Zach Parise/ 20 goals= 15.26%

New York Islanders: 131 goals for/ Matt Moulson/ 19 goals= 14.5%

New York Rangers: 127 goals for/ Marian Gaborik/ 29 goals= 22.83%

Ottawa Senators: 138 goals for/ Milan Michalek/ 16 goals= 11.59%

Philadelphia Flyers: 143 goals for/ Mike Richards/ 19 goals= 13.28%

Phoenix Coyotes: 133 goals for/ Radim Vrbata/ 16 goals= 12.03%

Pittsburgh Penguins: 157 goals for/ Sidney Crosby/ 30 goals= 19.1%

San Jose Sharks: 166 goals for/ Patrick Marleau/ 32 goals= 19.7%

St Louis Blues: 126 goals for/ Andy McDonald/ 14 goals= 11.11%

Tampa Bay Lightning: 125 goals for/ Steven Stamkos/ 25 goals= 20%

Toronto Maple Leafs: 134 goals for/ Niklas Hagman/ 17 goals= 12.68%

Vancouver Canucks: 155 goals for/ Henrik Sedin/ 21 goals= 13.54%

Washington Capitals: 182 goals for/ Alexander Ovechkin/ 30 goals= 16.48%

Marian Gaborik takes the first prize at just under 23%, Steven Stamkos is second with a very nice and even 20% and third place goes to Patrick Marleau at 19.7%. These three have definitely earned their salary for 2010 and possibly might earn their teams a player berth. Keep shooting.

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nice post

would like to add a little * to the Canucks stats, as both Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows have 21 goals this season. Looking forward to the game next Monday even more than Chicago on Saturday

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by canucklehead666 on Jan 19, 2010 3:25 PM EST reply actions

From the original post

I’ve decided to look at the leading goal-scorer on each NHL organization and calculate how much of their work accounts for the overall total. If two individuals are tied, the tie-breaker will take into consideration who’s taken part in less games.

The point of the post was to use only one player. I’m guessing that is why he did it that way.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Jan 19, 2010 4:04 PM EST up reply actions

Which is why I wouldn’t complain about Stewart being pick for the Avs over Wolski (both have 16 goals), but Stewart has scored those 16 goals in 5 fewer games.

I also wonder how this would look using points instead of just goals.

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by Americanario on Jan 19, 2010 9:28 PM EST up reply actions

By the way. The pitiful Sabres offense is currently tied for 10th in goals per game.

All your tshirt needs.

by twoeightnine on Jan 19, 2010 3:33 PM EST reply actions

So, yay for balanced scoring.

by Frank Reich Revolution on Jan 19, 2010 3:40 PM EST reply actions

Not only are we in “last” for that stat, but we’re the only one in single digits… BUT STILL 1st IN THE EAST!!!! Go figure.

This team is deep… I think it was during the Isles game they said we could realistically have 12 players with 10+ goals.

"Be a wuss at home! Be a man on Rumblings!" - Kurupt

by bflo on Jan 19, 2010 5:48 PM EST reply actions

You got a shout-out on Puck Daddy

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Previews-Wings-vs-Caps-most-valuable-tea?urn=nhl,214570#remaining-content

Great work, Raf. Keep it up.

by HarryNeale'sGarden on Jan 19, 2010 5:58 PM EST reply actions

Speaking of Puck Daddy… that desk cleaning zamboni is pretty badass. I hope its for sale soon. That would be a good one to have at the office. lol

"Be a wuss at home! Be a man on Rumblings!" - Kurupt

by bflo on Jan 19, 2010 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

It's for sale

$25 you can find it here http://www.onlyhottrends.com/zadeva.html

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Jan 19, 2010 6:47 PM EST up reply actions

Nice. Thanks. I was looking all day for one online and could only find it to go back to the original site.

"Be a wuss at home! Be a man on Rumblings!" - Kurupt

by bflo on Jan 19, 2010 7:04 PM EST up reply actions

Nice post. The sabres have the lowest perecentage, with Vanek at 9.7%. Yet we are first in the Eastern. The sabres play great as a team, and a lot of credit goes to ruff. we have no real star player, like ovechkin, though we have miller, he doesn’t score, he saves, yet we still have a great team. buffalo for the cup!

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.
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by sabres4ever on Jan 19, 2010 6:12 PM EST reply actions

Marian Gaborik takes the first prize at just under 23%, Steven Stamkos is second with a very nice and even 20% and third place goes to Patrick Marleau at 19.7%. These three have definitely earned their salary for 2010 and possibly might earn their teams a playoff berth.

I guess AO at a meager 16.48% hasn’t quite earned his salary…

:: grin ::

IS KEPTIN NOW

by EmilyB on Jan 19, 2010 6:23 PM EST reply actions

This is all fine by me.

I’d prefer a team with balanced scoring over having one offensively explosive player (I know a few disagree, as some people are licking their lips watching the Kovalchuk situation). To me, it is somewhat pathetic relying on one person to generate about a fifth of the teams goals. It is much better to come in every night knowing that even if your top guys have an off night, every line is willing and able to chip in to get the goals.

by The Burl 8 on Jan 19, 2010 8:19 PM EST reply actions

Mixed blessing.

There are pros and cons to having balanced scoring but no explosive players. As you said you can get by even if your top line is having an off night also injuries are less of a factor plus it is harder to match up against.
The downside is late in a game there no one on the bench to send out if you are down a goal and if you get down several you don’t have that player capable of scoring 3 in the second to get you back in. Finally it usually hurts the power play and goal scoring so you end up living and dying by you goaltending and team defense.
Plus always find those 1 goal playoff games hard on the system myself.

by I am I on Jan 20, 2010 9:58 AM EST up reply actions

Huh?

How many games in a row and over this season have the Sabres come back? From three goals? How many were they down last night before coming back? (To tie it before the tying goal was called off?) As for the power play, it was atrocious early in the year but is already up to 17th in the league.

All your tshirt needs.

by twoeightnine on Jan 20, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

hmm.

Down by 3? Twice in 51 games. Pittsburgh on December 31st while they were in the midst of a 6 game losing skid that included Toronto, Florida and Tampa Bay and the next day they did it to the Thrashers who were in the middle of losing 9 in a row.

Note I didn’t say that it couldn’t happen, just that there isn’t the player that can pick up the team and carry it on his back offensively. It has to be a collective effort.

That said Buffalo is actually pretty good coming back. They are 12th overall when trailing after 1 (6-10-3), 5th when trailing after 2 (5-14-2) and 8th when they give up the first goal (9-10-4). But Washington is 1st or 2nd is every one of these categories. Plus they are 1st overall on the PP (26.1%) to Buffalo’s 15th (18.4%). But that isn’t fair, Washington is a better team offensively.

I forgot one downside of the explosive player: they consume a lot of the teams salary cap room. Though Vanek fills that role nicely on the Sabers at 7.14M. You don’t end up with a lot of depth on teams with a star player (or two).

The game against Anaheim is what is called “not coming back.” I didn’t watch the game. I’m not a Buffalo fan. The recap doesn’t mention any goals waved off.

by I am I on Jan 26, 2010 5:26 PM EST reply actions