Paul Coffey (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #25)
Adjusted Stats
1980-1981 Edm 76 GP 7 goals 19 assists 26 points 0.35 PPG
1981-1982 Edm 82 GP 23 goals 47 assists 70 points 0.85 PPG
1982-1983 Edm 82 GP 24 goals 55 assists 78 points 0.95 PPG
1983-1984 Edm* 82 GP 32 goals 69 assists 101 points 1.23 PPG
1984-1985 Edm* 82 GP 30 goals 68 assists 98 points 1.20 PPG
1985-1986 Edm 81 GP 38 goals 71 assists 110 points 1.35 PPG
1986-1987 Edm* 60 GP 15 goals 43 assists 58 points 0.95 PPG
1987-1988 Pit 47 GP 13 goals 44 assists 57 points 1.21 PPG
1988-1989 Pit 77 GP 25 goals 70 assists 95 points 1.24 PPG
1989-1990 Pit 82 GP 25 goals 63 assists 88 points 1.07 PPG
1990-1991 Pit* 78 GP 22 goals 63 assists 85 points 1.09 PPG
1991-1992 Pit/LA 66 GP 10 goals 53 assists 62 points 0.95 PPG
1992-1993 LA/Det 78 GP 10 goals 62 assists 72 points 0.92 PPG
1993-1994 Det 78 GP 13 goals 58 assists 71 points 0.91 PPG
1994-1995 Det 77 GP 25 goals 77 assists 102 points 1.33 PPG
1995-1996 Det 76 GP 14 goals 59 assists 72 points 0.95 PPG
1996-1997 Hfd/Phi 57 GP 9 goals 26 assists 36 points 0.63 PPG
1997-1998 Phi 57 GP 2 goals 31 assists 34 points 0.59 PPG
1998-1999 Chi/Car 54 GP 2 goals 14 assists 16 points 0.30 PPG
1999-2000 Car 69 GP 12 goals 32 assists 45 points 0.65 PPG
2000-2001 Bos 18 GP 0 goals 4 assists 4 points 0.25 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1980-1981 Edm 9 GP 3 goals 2 assists 5 points 0.55 PPG
1981-1982 Edm 5 GP 1 goal 1 assist 2 points 0.31 PPG
1982-1983 Edm 16 GP 5 goals 5 assists 11 points 0.68 PPG
1983-1984 Edm* 19 GP 7 goals 12 assists 20 points 1.03 PPG
1984-1985 Edm* 18 GP 9 goals 19 assists 28 points 1.54 PPG
1985-1986 Edm 10 GP 1 goal 8 assists 9 points 0.86 PPG
1986-1987 Edm* 17 GP 3 goals 7 assists 10 points 0.58 PPG
1988-1989 Pit 11 GP 2 goals 11 assists 13 points 1.17 PPG
1990-1991 Pit* 12 GP 2 goals 8 assists 9 points 0.78 PPG
1991-1992 LA 6 GP 3 goals 3 assists 6 points 1.02 PPG
1992-1993 Det 7 GP 2 goals 7 assists 9 points 1.29 PPG
1993-1994 Det 7 GP 1 goal 6 assists 7 points 0.98 PPG
1994-1995 Det 18 GP 5 goals 11 assists 16 points 0.88 PPG
1995-1996 Det 17 GP 5 goals 9 assists 13 points 0.79 PPG
1996-1997 Phi 17 GP 1 goal 8 assists 9 points 0.56 PPG
1998-1999 Car 5 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.22 PPG
Career - 1459 GP, 351 goals, 1028 assists, 1380 points, 0.95 PPG
Career-Highs - 38 goals (85-86); 77 assists (94-95); 110 points (85-86); 1.35 PPG (85-86)
Avg. (21 seasons) - 69 GP, 17 goals, 49 assists, 66 points, 0.95 PPG
Peak Avg. (83-91) - 74 GP, 25 goals, 61 assists, 87 points, 1.17 PPG, 4 Cups
Playoff Career - 194 GP, 50 goals, 118 assists, 168 points, 0.87 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 9 goals (84-85); 19 assists (84-85); 28 points (84-85); 1.54 PPG (84-85)
Accolades - 3 Norris Trophies
All-Star Teams - 4-time 1st-team, 4-time 2nd-team
4-time Stanley Cup Champion
Paul Coffey hit a bit of a wall in the final five seasons of his career, diluting the impact of his numbers, but let there be no doubt: he is hands down the second-best offensive defenceman of all-time behind you-know-who. Coffey's numbers take a hit from the adjusted stats of the 1980s, but the exercise also allows for the highlighting of his peak average, a run only ever seen by Bobby Orr (and perhaps threatened of late by the Capitals' Mike Green).
Like his modern-day equivalent Mike Green, Coffey often took a lot of flak for his defensive play, but I ask you: what is the goal of hockey? To play the most complete game? No, it's to win! Coffey's style may not have been airtight, but it was perfect for what the Oilers needed to make their run-and-gun system go. It's not as if Coffey's defensive liabilities were costing his team wins...it's arguable that on the Oilers first three Cup championships, Coffey was as important as anyone not named Gretzky to the team's success. More important than Messier? Yes, I'd say so. His passing and skating are legendary. There's a reason Grant Fuhr holds the record for most assists by a goaltender in a season: he'd pass it off to Coffey, and Coffey would do the rest.
Coffey was a little more exposed defensively with the Pittsburgh Penguins (he was an ugly -18 in 1990-1991, the year they won the Stanley Cup...tough to be -18 on a Cup team), but he was still a key part of their championship team. And he went on to enjoy another Norris trophy campaign (his third) and several productive seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (as a side note, Coffey, excellent as he was, certainly benefited from the fact that he played with Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman).
Toward the end, Coffey slowed down considerably and threatened to tarnish his legacy, becoming one of those Rickey Henderson-type players that becomes fodder for sports fans challenging each other with trivia ("Dude, I bet you can't name the teams Paul Coffey played for. There's nine of them"; "Fuck! I forgot he was on Chicago!"). But in his second-last season, spent with the Hurricanes, Coffey still had 45 adjusted points in 69 games...perhaps not the elite numbers we once saw, but not half-bad for a 38-year old.
So: three Norris', four first-team all-star appearances, another four seconds, and four championships during what also happened to be his prime years. Not too shabby for someone who is somewhat condescendingly always referred to as a great "offenceman". Does Coffey belong in the pantheon of defencemen with Lidstrom, Harvey and Bourque? Probably not. But he may be the best pure skater the game has ever seen, and one of its best passers. Perhaps most impressively, he's probably the player (other than Gretzky) who most epitomizes the era of run-and-gun, wide-open hockey that made the 1980s so exciting. If you can be one of the iconic faces of the most popular era your sport is known, you've earned a high place on the Pyramid.
No comments:
Post a Comment