From James Mirtle of From the Rink:
So, Green’s 30 goals (and counting, given he has three games left to play) in 65 games is pretty darn impressive, ranking tied for 15th (or 14th if you throw Housley out) in the all-time scoring ranks for defencemen. In goals per game, Green’s performance is tied for seventh, and works out to 38 goals over an 82-game season.
But … like Ovechkin’s marvelous 65-goal season last year, Green’s managed the feat in an ultra-low-scoring era. Orr is the only other player in NHL history to have scored 30 goals in a season that averaged less than 6.24 goals per game, and Green has done it in one that so far has averaged only 5.70.
So, using my crude adjustments for era, where would Green rank if we put these top campaigns in 2008-09 goals?
To see where Green ranks all-time click on the remainder of the post here.
It’s funny James posted this Green piece this morning because I came across Green’s numbers (about five minutes before reading his post) and was pretty astounded by how good they were. He has become the best offensive defenseman in hockey in a very short time and if he continues to work on his defensive game, he should be a shoe-in for Team Canada 2010.
The Caps have the best scoring forward and best scoring defenseman in hockey locked up for a long, long time. Good on George McPhee.
