Stan Mikita (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #18)
Adjusted Stats
1958-1959 Chi 3 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.35 PPG
1959-1960 Chi 78 GP 10 goals 22 assists 32 points 0.40 PPG
1960-1961 Chi* 77 GP 23 goals 41 assists 64 points 0.82 PPG
1961-1962 Chi 82 GP 30 goals 62 assists 92 points 1.12 PPG
1962-1963 Chi 76 GP 38 goals 54 assists 92 points 1.16 PPG
1963-1964 Chi 82 GP 51 goals 65 assists 116 points 1.41 PPG
1964-1965 Chi 82 GP 35 goals 74 assists 109 points 1.33 PPG
1965-1966 Chi 80 GP 36 goals 57 assists 92 points 1.16 PPG
1966-1967 Chi 82 GP 42 goals 75 assists 117 points 1.43 PPG
1967-1968 Chi 80 GP 49 goals 57 assists 106 points 1.33 PPG
1968-1969 Chi 80 GP 33 goals 75 assists 108 points 1.35 PPG
1969-1970 Chi 82 GP 45 goals 54 assists 98 points 1.20 PPG
1970-1971 Chi 78 GP 25 goals 50 assists 75 points 0.96 PPG
1971-1972 Chi 78 GP 27 goals 41 assists 69 points 0.88 PPG
1972-1973 Chi 60 GP 27 goals 55 assists 82 points 1.37 PPG
1973-1974 Chi 80 GP 30 goals 51 assists 81 points 1.01 PPG
1974-1975 Chi 81 GP 33 goals 46 assists 79 points 0.98 PPG
1975-1976 Chi 49 GP 15 goals 38 assists 53 points 1.07 PPG
1976-1977 Chi 58 GP 18 goals 28 assists 47 points 0.80 PPG
1977-1978 Chi 78 GP 17 goals 39 assists 56 points 0.72 PPG
1978-1979 Chi 67 GP 17 goals 32 assists 50 points 0.74 PPG
1979-1980 Chi 17 GP 2 goals 4 assists 6 points 0.36 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1959-1960 Chi 3 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.34 PPG
1960-1961 Chi* 12 GP 7 goals 6 assists 12 points 1.03 PPG
1961-1962 Chi 12 GP 6 goals 15 assists 21 points 1.73 PPG
1962-1963 Chi 6 GP 3 goals 2 assists 5 points 0.82 PPG
1963-1964 Chi 7 GP 3 goals 6 assists 9 points 1.36 PPG
1964-1965 Chi 14 GP 3 goals 8 assists 11 points 0.78 PPG
1965-1966 Chi 6 GP 1 goal 2 assists 3 points 0.53 PPG
1966-1967 Chi 6 GP 2 goals 2 assists 4 points 0.69 PPG
1967-1968 Chi 11 GP 5 goals 7 assists 12 points 1.09 PPG
1969-1970 Chi 8 GP 4 goals 6 assists 9 points 1.16 PPG
1970-1971 Chi 18 GP 5 goals 12 assists 17 points 0.92 PPG
1971-1972 Chi 8 GP 3 goals 1 assist 4 points 0.47 PPG
1972-1973 Chi 15 GP 6 goals 12 assists 18 points 1.18 PPG
1973-1974 Chi 11 GP 5 goals 6 assists 11 points 0.98 PPG
1974-1975 Chi 8 GP 3 goals 4 assists 6 points 0.80 PPG
1975-1976 Chi 4 GP 0 goals 0 assists 0 points 0.00 PPG
1976-1977 Chi 2 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.44 PPG
1977-1978 Chi 4 GP 3 goals 0 assists 3 points 0.73 PPG
Career - 1530 GP, 603 goals, 1021 assists, 1625 points, 1.06 PPG
Career-Highs - 51 goals (63-64); 75 assists (66-67); 117 points (66-67); 1.43 PPG (66-67)
Avg. (21 seasons) - 73 GP, 29 goals, 49 assists, 77 points, 1.06 PPG
Peak Avg. (62-70) - 81 GP, 41 goals, 64 assists, 105 points, 1.30 PPG, 0 Cups
Playoff Career - 155 GP, 59 goals, 91 assists, 147 points, 0.95 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 7 goals (60-61); 12 assists (72-73); 21 points (61-62); 1.73 PPG (61-62)
Accolades - 2 MVP awards, 4 Art Ross, 2 Lady Byngs
All-Star Teams - 6-time 1st-team, 2-time 2nd-team
1-time Stanley Cup Champion
While Mikita was a key player on the Chicago Blackhawks' 1960-1961 championship team, it wasn't until the year after that he began to emerge as the league's premier center. Along with his teammate Bobby Hull, Mikita pretty much owned the 1960s...they were the league's premier 1-2 punch for that decade. His eight-year run from 1962-1970 is pretty much as good as it gets for a center, unless your name is Wayne Gretzky.
His more modern day equivalent would certainly be Steve Yzerman: both were excellent passers, more-than-adept goal-scorers, and great defensively (although it took Yzerman a few years to develop his defensive abilities). Mikita ranks a tad behind Sakic because he didn't have quite as many ultra-productive years, although as mentioned before, at his peak the numbers are comparable. But he may rank a hair ahead of Yzerman in my books out of sheer luck: where Yzerman rarely made it to the year-end all-star teams because he was playing behind Gretzky and Lemieux, Mikita was considered the league's best center six times, and made the 2nd team twice (all of these accolades unsurprisingly came in the 1960s).
Mikita's excellence was also important for the future of European players in hockey: he was productive, a quietly reliable leader of the Blackhawks, and, much like Sakic, admired for his class and work ethic. If he had played in the 1990s, he'd be right there in the conversation with Burnaby Joe and Stevie Y. That's where Mikita fits in history.
But should Mikita be ranked higher than Messier? It was one of the toughest calls of the Pyramid. I originally gave Mikita the edge because he led the league in scoring four times, while Messier never did. Messier enjoyed greater team success...but if you put a Mikita equivalent on the Oilers in the mid-1980s, it's fair to say that they would have won an equal amount of championships. Messier's game had more sandpaper (translation: he was a cheaper S.O.B.), while Mikita developed from a bit of a hothead in his younger years to a Lady Byng-winning, universally-respected two-way center (think Yzerman in his later years). It's a close call, and given Evolutionary Bias (i.e. players get better as time goes on), the temptation would be to go with Messier. On the other hand, Mikita's peak was far more impressive than Messier's. He was the best center of the 1960s and the best center in the history of one of the NHL's original six teams. What gives Messier the slight edge is that he was even better in the postseason than in the regular season, a key part of six championship teams. Mikita was no slouch either, but only won one championship, meaning he will have to defer to The Moose. But he's still deserving of a top-20 spot on the Pyramid.
No comments:
Post a Comment