stempniaksen wrote:hemlock wrote:stempniaksen wrote:Big Ev wrote:But Malkin isn't a soft player, he takes hits and dishes them out from time to time. He's also a player who elevates his game when he takes a big hit from an opposing player. He'll go into the dirty areas.
Chara's a great defencman and all, but he is not a winner.
Ding, Ding, Ding. We have a winner (and as usual it's not Chara).
N4L, I'd like to see you defend Chara for the exact same reasons you vilify Spezza.
Listen, chara is a spectacular defenceman. But when taking into account their ages along with how many times they've won on the biggest stage, and the way they performed once they reach that stage I take Malkin every time.
The guy is a top 3 Russian player, and is a top 5 player in the world no questions asked. His regular season dominance and strong playoffs prove that.
I'll give this a shot. N4L's biggest issue with Spezza is the fact that he believed that Spezza cannot or will not ever lead the Sens as a $7 million player. I'm inclined to agree since we haven't seen much of anything sustained over any reasonable amount of time that shows he could be that guy.
Chara on the other hand IS that guy for the Bruins. He's the captain and undisputed leader of that team.
Also, comparing a D-man to a forward just isn't fair. Chara contributes in ways Spezza never, ever could, all while playing in every situation, for more minutes a night. Sure, he'll never out point Spezza, but he brings intangibles that Spezza (not just him, but a lot of players) couldn't even dream about.
I fail to see this Chara isn't a winner argument. He didn't have any success with the Sens (play-off wise), but neither did Alfie then if you want to call a spade, a spade. By this argument, Raymond Bourque was a career loser until he broke through and won the Cup in his last NHL game? Nonsense.
Alfie led his team to the SCF for the first time on modern history. I fail to see any time that Chara has ever led his team anywhere other than a playoff spot.
Most of the Bruins/Senators playoff sucess has come in spite of Chara and not because of it.
And my point was never that Spezza is a better player (I would be foolish to argue that). My point was that N4L's biggest argument against Spezza for his entire career has been the fact that he has never won anything, and that it was hypocritical to not use the very same arguments against Chara.
Yes and no. Chara is a leader, works hard, and shows he wants to win. Spezza isnt a lot of that and really hasnt won anything being on a ton of teams that have been the favaorites and expected to win. Be it in The OHL, International, or in The AHL or NHL.