Scott Niedermayer (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #57)
Adjusted Stats
1991-1992 NJ 4 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.22 PPG
1992-1993 NJ 78 GP 9 goals 24 assists 33 points 0.42 PPG
1993-1994 NJ 79 GP 9 goals 33 assists 43 points 0.54 PPG
1994-1995 NJ* 82 GP 7 goals 26 assists 33 points 0.41 PPG
1995-1996 NJ 79 GP 8 goals 24 assists 32 points 0.41 PPG
1996-1997 NJ 81 GP 5 goals 32 assists 37 points 0.46 PPG
1997-1998 NJ 81 GP 16 goals 50 assists 66 points 0.82 PPG
1998-1999 NJ 72 GP 13 goals 41 assists 54 points 0.75 PPG
1999-2000 NJ* 71 GP 8 goals 35 assists 43 points 0.60 PPG
2000-2001 NJ 57 GP 7 goals 32 assists 39 points 0.69 PPG
2001-2002 NJ 76 GP 13 goals 26 assists 39 points 0.51 PPG
2002-2003 NJ* 81 GP 13 goals 32 assists 45 points 0.56 PPG
2003-2004 NJ 81 GP 17 goals 48 assists 65 points 0.80 PPG
2005-2006 Ana 82 GP 13 goals 51 assists 64 points 0.78 PPG
2006-2007 Ana* 79 GP 16 goals 58 assists 74 points 0.93 PPG
2007-2008 Ana 48 GP 9 goals 19 assists 28 points 0.59 PPG
2008-2009 Ana 82 GP 15 goals 49 assists 64 points 0.78 PPG
2009-2010 Ana 80 GP 11 goals 42 assists 53 points 0.66 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1992-1993 NJ 5 GP 0 goals 2 assists 2 points 0.49 PPG
1993-1994 NJ 20 GP 2 goals 2 assists 4 points 0.20 PPG
1994-1995 NJ* 20 GP 4 goals 6 assists 10 points 0.49 PPG
1996-1997 NJ 10 GP 2 goals 4 assists 6 points 0.63 PPG
1997-1998 NJ 6 GP 0 goals 2 assists 2 points 0.37 PPG
1998-1999 NJ 7 GP 1 goal 3 assists 4 points 0.63 PPG
1999-2000 NJ* 22 GP 6 goals 2 assists 8 points 0.38 PPG
2000-2001 NJ 21 GP 0 goals 7 assists 7 points 0.33 PPG
2001-2002 NJ 6 GP 0 goals 2 assists 2 points 0.40 PPG
2002-2003 NJ* 24 GP 2 goals 19 assists 21 points 0.89 PPG
2003-2004 NJ 5 GP 1 goal 0 assists 1 point 0.26 PPG
2005-2006 Ana 16 GP 2 goals 9 assists 11 points 0.68 PPG
2006-2007 Ana* 21 GP 3 goals 9 assists 12 points 0.59 PPG
2007-2008 Ana 6 GP 0 goals 2 assists 2 points 0.35 PPG
2008-2009 Ana 13 GP 3 goals 7 assists 10 points 0.79 PPG
Career - 1293 GP, 189 goals, 623 assists, 813 points, 0.63 PPG
Career-Highs - 17 goals (03-04); 58 assists (06-07); 74 points (06-07); 0.93 PPG (06-07)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 76 GP, 11 goals, 37 assists, 48 points, 0.63 PPG
Peak Avg. (01-10) - 76 GP, 13 goals, 41 assists, 54 points, 0.71 PPG, 2 Cups
Playoff Career - 202 GP, 26 goals, 76 assists, 102 points, 0.50 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 6 goals (99-00); 19 assists (02-03); 21 points (02-03); 0.89 PPG (02-03)
Accolades - 1 Norris, Conn Smythe
All-Star Teams - 3-time 1st-team, 1-time 2nd-team
4-time Stanley Cup Champion
Scott Niedermayer will be remembered as a beautifully smooth-skating offensive defenceman, but his offensive numbers actually are nowhere near those of a Bourque, Lidstrom, Coffey, or even Larry Murphy. Ah then, you say, he must have been fantastic defensively. Well, Niedermayer certainly wasn't known for his hitting, and although he was superb at defensive positioning later in his career (until the final years, when age caught up to him), Niedermayer's career +/- per 82 games is a solid but unspectacular +11 (and he played the majority of his career for Devils' teams that were always among the league's best). So why does Niedermayer rank this highly on the Pyramid? Because he was a winner, plain and simple, and ended with one of the most purely successful careers of any player of the modern era.
It's actually remarkable that I didn't rank Niedermayer any higher: he played for my favourite team, is well-known for being cerebral and thoughtful about the game, and is a left-wing nature advocate to boot! If I were a chick...well, let's not go down that road. Suffice it to say that Niedermayer was the best or second-best defenceman on four Stanley Cup champions, a winner of two Olympic gold medals (and captain of the 2010 squad in Vancouver), winner of a World Junior championship, a Memorial Cup and even a Calder Cup for good measure! It's become well-known that Niedermayer is the only player to have won all of those different championships.
Of course, this could have been the result of some Robert Horry-like good fortune (no disrespect to Horry, by the way, who's hit countless key jump shots for his championship teams). But Niedermayer has been incredibly valuable to his team at all times: while Scott Stevens was intimidating opponents with his presence, it was Niedermayer (and later Brian Rafalski) who kept the Devils' attack going. After Niedermayer left the Devils, they continued to be decent in the regular season but never got past the second round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, his new team, the Ducks, made the Conference finals in his first season, and when they added Chris Pronger, the Ducks won the championship and Niedermayer was named Conn Smythe winner.
Clearly Niedermayer made a difference to the teams he was on. There's another factor that has him high on the Pyramid: for most of his career with the Devils, Niedermayer's offensive potential was stifled. It's no coincidence that Niedermayer's peak eight years in terms of production are his final eight years! That never happens, unless you're Johnny Bucyk and Bobby Orr comes along to set you up for one-timers. But for Niedermayer, once the Devils got rid of Lemaire and played a more up-tempo game, and once he had moved to Anaheim and been paired with Pronger, Niedermayer's offensive numbers took off. It makes you wonder how much he would have produced had he not been with the Devils in the mid-90s.
Niedermayer did complain about Lemaire's stifling system, but he did his job, because he knew that he could help the Devils win. When they needed a spectacular rush, they got it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYGS-ooHq8w). But for the most part, Niedermayer would hold back and be responsible defensively. As he got older and his defensive responsibilities waned, Niedermayer answered the bell for the Ducks when they needed a power-play specialist. Whatever it took, Niedermayer did what was needed of him, and the result was often a championship at the end of the season.
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