Stats Don't Lie

What makes a great hockey player?  

His draft status or his accomplishments. Too often players are judged on their names and not their stats. How many NHL'ers do you know that slip under the radar solely due to their name and not their stats?  

Take, for example, Ryane Clowe. Where would you rank him in terms of LW's in the NHL? What if I told you that he had more points then Spezza and Toews?

Rethink that question now. To many players in the NHL are living off a) either their name alone or b) what people think they will do.

Sure, Spezza is a great hockey player and may well beat Clowe in points nine out of 10 seasons, but at this moment in this year, who is a better player?

To many players at the deadline are judged on what they have done in the past rather than this year. The bottom line is that the deadline is 65 games into a 82 game season, so what they have done so far, is very much what they will do this season.  

Unfortunately, not everyone will always have their best season. Does this mean that I would flip Clowe for Spezza or Toews, absolutely not, but if as a GM, you are able to pick up a guy who is having that one in 10 year that he will beat these players, you pay the price to make a run.  

The year that you win a Stanley Cup is the year that you have all five of your five top players playing at their highest caliber. How do you judge a sports player?  Their stats! Stats do not lie.  

Another perfect example is Cory Stillman. He has bounced around the league more than Paris Hilton has bounced around Hollywood, yet no one will consider him a legitimate top three forward. What if I told you his PPG average is better than Ryan Smyth's over the last four seasons?

It has been too long that players are judged on their reputation and not their talent and stats.  It is time that people open their eyes to what really matters in not just the NHL but all sports, and that is the stats.