Most Overrated players in Hockey

Sports Illustrated asked 161 NHL players to name the most overrated player in hockey.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1201/nhl.players.poll.most.overrated/content.1.html?sct=nhl_t2_a4


Also below they asked players to name the most underrated.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1201/nhl.players.poll.most.underrated/content.1.html?sct=nhl_bf5_a4

A few of these are over-rated by the idiot who gave them their contract but everyone knows better, Gomez f.ex. Disagree with the Iggy inclusion most.he'd be a complete superstar if he had better players around him throughout his career.

Unless the Oilers have 161 players, this is stupid. Jarome Iginla is not overrated!

I would love to know which pillock thinks Iginla is overrated. Dumbass.

I agree with Heatly being in there, and Komisarek. But Ovechkin? Seriously?

Semin should be well above Ovechkin if you are going to go there.

Can't believe Pronger is listed as overated - 698pts in 1167 games with a career +/- of +183.

I'd love to have a 27yr old Pronger in our current roster Infact i'd swap a 37 yr old Pronger for Barret Jackman. What his experience would bring to the likes of Pietroangelo, Cole and Shattenkirk!

Datsyuk and Giroux underated? Every man and his dog knows what they bring to the ice. As for Benn and Eriksson - none of us underates them on this messageboard thanks to Homer!

Ovie...is he as good as he was? He and Sid are supposed to be the big two stars of the NHL. No argument when it comes to Crosby but does the Russian deserve it?

I think I agree with about two - Komisarek and Boooooo-mister. Of the others - Does anyone really rate Jokinen and Gomez that highly in superstardom? Phaneuf is touch and go - sometimes Norris worthy, sometimes Noddy worthy. And I have to question the intellect of the NHL players if they believe the greatest player of his generation is overrated. What next, Gretzky was lucky? Orr was mediocre?

On a side note- Brett Hulls twitter account is @secondbesthull. That ladies and gentlemen is genius and humility, and I bet he wouldn't select Ovi in the overrated category!

And as for the underrated? St. Louis? Overratted in my opinion, and massively overrated if you put Lacavalier in the top 15 overrated! Suter underrated? The man they say makes Weber so good? And Kopitar? the only way Kopitar is underrated is if you think he's better than Sid and Ovi. I love Kopitar, but so do many people, hence he is so highly rated. And Pavel Datsyuk is underrated

I'm going to go away and find 179 blind, brain-damaged gibbons who have never seen ice and they could get a more accurate idea of underrated and overrated.

Rant over. You may now return to the room, Leafy is being sedated....

As Paddywan says, big contracts for some of them are probably why they're seen as overrated, but generally most people know they're not that good.
Of course surprised Iggy is there. Ovechkin has had a poor year this season and last season wasn't as good as previous years (though still point per game) but 2nd most overrated? jog on. Like Paddywan says Semin can go up that high before Ovechkin.
Don't think Kovalchuk is really overrated eithere, though can see him being in there. Heatley for me is a no too.
And Kesler as well, surprised he's there. Seems a very very good two-way, team player.

As for underrated; Eriksson and benn doesn't surprise me, i'm sure we'll here from homer shortly.
Players like datsyuk, giroux i don't think are underrated. nor to some extent pavelski that much. Nielsen surprises me. Staal i would definitely agree with, and fleischmann certainly. wouldn't put kelly up that high but can see it. though if he's there would've expected someone like dominic moore to be there.
suter i would've put higher. is in weber's shadow but excellent d-man.
kopitar, not sure about but maybe yeah.

So agree with much of underrated but overrated seems a lot wrong to me.
Interesting to see who was in there though

I just hope it was an anonymous poll, because I can imagine Pronger and Phaneuf hunting down the players who had the temerity to say they were overrated.

I guess it's all relative though. If it's a contemporary survey then maybe that's why Ovechkin being the superstar that he is gets a bad deal. I suppose they're saying "yeah he's still really good...but best in the league at the mo? Nah".

Calamity Jane wrote:I just hope it was an anonymous poll, because I can imagine Pronger and Phaneuf hunting down the players who had the temerity to say they were overrated.

Pronger is a poor man's Luca Sbisa...

colonelbagpuss wrote: Staal i would definitely agree with

Same he is probably one of my favourite NHL players as he puts in so much work in the defensive end, wins battles you do not expect and has the skill to score the big goals, I was actually gutted when he got injured.

The over-rated players as pointed out seem to be the one with the inflated contracts, but how anyone can say iginla is 'over-rated' is beyond me, the guy makes calgary worth watching along with kipprusof. The only one I would agree with on the over-rated list is Komisarek...... the guy regularly makes stupid decisions.

Im surprised P.K. Subban aint on the over-rated list, anything he does gets blown widely out of proportion

My formula is to take the general perception of the player and compare it to the actual reality of the situation. If perception is higher than reality then they are over rated. If reality is higher than perception then they are under rated. Rudimentary but simple.


Over rated

1. Dion Phaneuf
Perception: Neanderthal prone to stupid decisions.
Reality: Neanderthal prone to stupid decisions. But they were good hunters.
Decision: Not over rated

2. Alexander Ovechkin
Perception: One of two league titans, expected to be at least a nominee for major individual honours.
Reality: Russian who actually has the physical game to go with the skills but still reflects the traditional Russian motivational worries. Yet still competes near the top.
Decision: Not over rated

3. Scott Gomez
Perception: Over paid because he doesn’t produce points and points make prizes.
Reality: Has only scored over 70 points once in a season. Expectations were too high upon signing.
Decision: Over rated

4. Roberto Luongo
Perception: Can’t handle the heat.
Reality: Can’t handle the heat. Paid big bucks to just that.
Decision: Over rated

5. Dany Heatley
Perception: Stroppy player but bags you plenty of goals.
Reality: Stroppy player but bags you plenty of goals. Just as you expected.
Decision: Not over rated


Under rated

1. Loui Eriksson
Perception: Who?
Reality: Can play with anyone and has grown with each season. If he played on the Eastern Seaboard he would be highly rated.
Decision: Under rated

2. Jamie Benn
Perception: Since the departure of Neal to Pittsburgh, Benn has become the focus of attention. Awareness of his stick handling skills is commonplace.
Reality: The physical side of his game is often over looked in favour of the fancy stuff.
Decision: Under rated

3. Joe Pavelski
Perception: Lost in a sea of stardom and depth at San Jose.
Reality: Managed to stick on a competitive roster playing an unfamiliar role to begin with in his pro career has developed as one of the go to guys whilst other have failed to inspire.
Decision: Under rated

4. Jordan Staal
Perception: A very versatile and capable player who plays in the shadow of Crosby and Malkin.
Reality: A very versatile and capable player who plays in the shadow of Crosby and Malkin. But everyone knows this.
Decision: Not under rated

5. Chris Kelly
Perception: Hard working player without the high profile.
Reality: Primarily an effective defensive forward great at killing power plays who is paid $2m+ and was traded for a second round pick.
Decision: Not under rated

I’ve just done the top 5 for because otherwise I would be here all day.

I read something (can't for the life of me remember where now) that said the biggest factors in determining over/underrated players tends to be the market they play in and the media. It stands to reason the Stars leading scorer wouldn't get nearly as much attention as the Leafs captain. He probably doesn't even get as much attention as the Leafs 4th line players.

I can kind of understand Datstyuk being underrated to an extent. Everyone knows how good he is yes but how often do you see him talked about in the media unless it is because of something he has done the night before. The overrated players are talked about even if they stood their picking their nose.

That said he is a multiple Selke winner so he certainly is appreciated. Classic example of underrated was Sergei Zubov who spent his entire career being one of the best offensive defenders in the league yet only received one Norris nomination in the twilight of his career.

Puck Daddy said something that made me laugh though. If Eriksson was the most underrated player in the league last year and again this year then how many years of this is it until he becomes 'rated'

BuffonIdol wrote:Reality: Neanderthal prone to stupid decisions. But they were good hunters.

That made me chortle heartily.

I would probably say that Vlasic was more underrated than Pavelski (not that Pavelski isn't underrated) as he is one of the best young 'stay at home' d men, and he's now added a little scoring pop. In fact he had more points than Burns this season.

On a side note, whenever someone says 'stay at home' defenseman I get the image of a guy in hockey gear looking after his ageing mother while living in the converted basement