Sunday, March 6, 2011

#131 - Jeremy Roenick

Jeremy Roenick (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #131)

Adjusted Stats

1988-1989   Chi        21 GP   8 goals     8 assists     15 points     0.74 PPG
1989-1990   Chi        80 GP   22 goals   34 assists   56 points     0.71 PPG
1990-1991   Chi        81 GP   37 goals   48 assists   86 points     1.06 PPG
1991-1992   Chi        82 GP   48 goals   45 assists   93 points     1.14 PPG
1992-1993   Chi        82 GP   41 goals   47 assists   89 points     1.08 PPG
1993-1994   Chi        82 GP   43 goals   57 assists   99 points     1.21 PPG
1994-1995   Chi        56 GP   18 goals   42 assists   60 points     1.06 PPG
1995-1996   Chi        66 GP   31 goals   34 assists   66 points     0.99 PPG
1996-1997   Phx        72 GP   31 goals   42 assists   73 points    1.01 PPG
1997-1998   Phx        79 GP   28 goals   37 assists   65 points    0.83 PPG
1998-1999   Phx        78 GP   28 goals   56 assists   84 points    1.08 PPG
1999-2000   Phx        75 GP   38 goals   49 assists   87 points    1.17 PPG
2000-2001   Phx        80 GP   33 goals   51 assists   85 points    1.06 PPG
2001-2002   Phi         75 GP   25 goals   54 assists   79 points    1.05 PPG
2002-2003   Phi         79 GP   31 goals   37 assists   68 points    0.86 PPG
2003-2004   Phi         62 GP   23 goals   34 assists   56 points    0.91 PPG
2005-2006   LA         58 GP   9 goals     13 assists   22 points    0.39 PPG
2006-2007   Phx        70 GP   12 goals   18 assists   30 points    0.43 PPG
2007-2008   SJ          69 GP   16 goals   21 assists   37 points    0.54 PPG
2008-2009   SJ          42 GP   4 goals     21 assists   25 points    0.59 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1988-1989   Chi        10 GP    1 goal      3 assists     3 points      0.34 PPG
1989-1990   Chi        20 GP    9 goals     6 assists    15 points    0.76 PPG
1990-1991   Chi        6 GP      3 goals     4 assists     7 points     1.14 PPG
1991-1992   Chi        18 GP    10 goals   9 assists    19 points    1.07 PPG
1992-1993   Chi        4 GP       1 goal      2 assists    2 points      0.62 PPG
1993-1994   Chi        6 GP       1 goal      6 assists    7 points      1.15 PPG
1994-1995   Chi        8 GP       1 goal      2 assists    3 points      0.33 PPG
1995-1996   Chi        10 GP    5 goals     7 assists    11 points    1.15 PPG
1996-1997   Phx        6 GP     2 goals      4 assists    6 points      1.05 PPG
1997-1998   Phx        6 GP     6 goals      3 assists    9 points      1.48 PPG
1998-1999   Phx        1 GP     0 goals      0 assists    0 points      0.00 PPG
1999-2000   Phx        5 GP     2 goals      2 assists    5 points      0.96 PPG
2001-2002   Phi         5 GP     0 goals      0 assists    0 points      0.00 PPG
2002-2003   Phi         13 GP   4 goals      6 assists    10 points    0.73 PPG
2003-2004   Phi         18 GP   5 goals      11 assists  17 points    0.92 PPG
2007-2008   SJ          12 GP   2 goals      3 assists     5 points     0.44 PPG
2008-2009   SJ          6 GP     0 goals      1 assist       1 point      0.17 PPG

Career - 1389 GP, 526 goals, 748 assists, 1275 points, 0.92 PPG
Career-Highs - 48 goals (91-92); 57 assists (93-94); 99 points (93-94); 1.21 PPG (93-94)
Avg. (19 seasons) - 72 GP, 27 goals, 39 assists, 66 points, 0.92 PPG
Peak Avg. (90-98) - 75 GP, 35 goals, 44 assists, 79 points, 1.05 PPG, 0 Cups

Playoff Career - 154 GP, 52 goals, 69 assists, 120 points, 0.78 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 10 goals (91-92); 11 assists (03-04); 19 points (91-92); 1.48 PPG (97-98)

Accolades - None
All-Star Teams - None
Never Won Stanley Cup

JR languished on the bubble of my Pyramid for a while, but eventually I had to throw him in right at the cutoff point, based solely on the Dino Ciccarelli Rule (if you had a more impactful career than Dino Ciccarelli, you're in). He's like the center equivalent of Ciccarelli: good-but-not-great production for nineteen seasons, a gritty, sandpaper style to his game, and a total lack of accolades, all-star recognition or Stanley Cup wins.

Still, with Roenick there are a few intangibles. I remember growing up in the early-1990s that Jeremy Roenick was one of the most electrifying young players in the league. After a few modest seasons as a youngster, Roenick burst onto the scene as a twenty year-old by scoring 15 adjusted points in 20 playoff games as the Blackhawks made it to the Conference finals. For the next four seasons, he owned Chicago (well, aside from, you know, Michael Jordan).

Roenick's run from 1990 to 1994 is still impressive. He averaged 42 goals and 91 points, and the Blackhawks consistently seemed like a threat for the Stanley Cup even if they never actually pushed through. In 1992, when the Blackhawks made it to the Cup final, Roenick had 19 adj. points and was +11 in 18 games. It looked like Roenick was going to be the first genuine Blackhawk superstar in a long time.

It didn't pan out that way. Roenick went to Phoenix, then to Philadelphia, and while he enjoyed productive campaigns, he was never able to recapture the glory of the Blackhawk days. With Phoenix, he never made it past the first round, and while the Flyers' teams were always in contention, they only made it to the Conference finals once (when JR scored the goal that broke the hearts of Leaf fans everywhere).

So why is he on the Pyramid at all? The Phoenix years may not have been stellar but they were still productive, and Roenick was such a galvanizing personality he was able to sell hockey to a non-traditional market (of course, since he's left, it's all been downhill). He helped spark what little interest there is in hockey in the United States with his frequent talk-show appearances (even if they hurt Roenick's legacy by revealing him as a ham). And he was known as a great trash-talker, although in his most famous trash talking incident, he was thoroughly burned by Patrick Roy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW1aSTmwrOE).

The career totals of 526 goals and 1,275 points aren't anything to be ignored, even if they may be a Ciccarelliesque product of being around for so long. The point is, while Roenick didn't ever actually win anything of consequence throughout his career, the purpose of this blog was to remind myself in future years of the players who made an impact. Roenick did, so he earns a spot. Barely.

No comments:

Post a Comment