Crosby, Malkin, & Staal or LeCavalier, St. Louis, & Richards?

Question

Which three would you rather have? I don't know, but it seems to me like those three in Tampa get overlooked a lot.

WOW! Most everyone put a lot of thought into their answers, and although I didn't count them up, it seems like there was about a 50/50 split. Thank you all. Hard to pick a best answer. I also meant no disrespect to any other players (like Thornton, Cheechoo, & Marleau, or Penner, Getzlaf, & Perry, or Frolov, Kopitar, & Cammalleri) I was just thinking about relatively young stars, and how a lot of them might be getting missed due to the immense talent gathered in Pittsburgh right now. Thanks again everybody!!!!

Answer 1

If I wanted to win now then I'd take the three from the Bolts but if I wanted to win for a long time to come I'd go with the Pens three. Pretty interesting comparison. I think it's bang on.

Answer 2

This year I'd have to say Lecavalier, St. Louis, & Richards. Their team is consistently putting three pucks past the best goalie in the league ( Brodeur ) every game. Emery is no slouch, but Crosby and Malkin should be scoring more. As for Staal, he might end up being the best of the bunch. He should be getting more ice time. If the three stars stay around for Pittsburgh they will be unstoppable soon. Right now I prefer the Lightning trio and their playoff experience
As a Sabres fan I gotta say Superstars aren't everything. They led the league in scoring during the regular season without any really huge stars. Drury and Briere are great, but you could not compare them to St. Louis, Crosby, or Lecavalier. It is the Jason Pominville's and Derek Roy's that win games. Overachievers for sure.

Answer 3

wow, great question. I agree that the Tampa boys get over looked, and you could also say that Crosby is definately getting pushed by the NHL. Im not a fan of crosby or st. louis. I think malkin will be the best player of all you listed, but is not there yet. Staal will be good, but i dont think he will be as good as his older brother. he could have used a year in the minors to tweak his game. LeCavalier has finally (after years of criticism) become the player Tampa expected. Richards has been quiet all year (or atleast I havent been hearing about him). I'd also say that the penguins have a much better supporting cast, with guys like Whitney, Recchi, Gonchar, Laraque, Roberts etc. This is not the 3 person team that Tampa is.
Because of that, I have to give my vote to Vinny, St Louis and Richards.

Answer 4

Anything to do with Crosby is always going to be in the news. Crosby, Malkin, & Staal are a very impressive young group that receive a lot of hype but i think i would still choose them over LeCavalier, St. Louis, & Richards. LeCavalier always seems to quit when they get down. Tampa definitly does not get enough respect but what hockey team in a warm climate does?

Dont Forget Thornton, Cheechoo & Marleau!

Answer 5

I would rather have Crosby than anybody, because he's the ultimate franchise player.

That said, Tampa has the better line. Staal is not a complete player, he only scores goals. The same goes for Malkin. Both are inexperienced.

Lecavalier is an exceptional goal-scorer, but he puts in the assists, too, and the same goes for St. Louis. Richards had a pretty bad season this year, but we know he has it in him.

Maybe sometime in the future Crosby, Malkin, and Staal will be the best threesome in the league, but not yet.

Answer 6

Well, considering the Pens are my team...

I still would like to have LeCavalier, St. Louis, and I guess Richards... don't really know about Richards to make decision on him. Definately the dynamic duo though.

Even though I am a Pens fan through and through, LeCavalier and St. Louis are a consistent scoring threat.
With Malkin, you either have Super Russian or zombie boy. Staal is awesome, but he's hardly ever out there with the other 2. And Crosby is great no matter who you put him with but tends to pass when he should shoot.

If you put LeCavalier and St. Louis with a consistent, strong defense they are easily cup contenders no matter what team they're playing for.

Answer 7

I'd definitely pick the Big 3 (Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards). Richards has had a hard year since they lost Modin and he was taken off Lecavalier's line, but the point is he is still a sharpshooter. Recently the Big 3 has seemed to be Vinny Prospal with Lecavalier and St. Louis, but Richards was still the Con Smythe winner when they one it, and he currently has a 12 game point streak in the post season dating back to the 2004 Stanley Cup win.

Answer 8

You can't really make a fair comparison between an 18,19 & 20 year old and a 31 year old and 2 soon to be 27 year olds. The T.B. players are all in their prime right now.

To try and answer the question though...it depends. If you mean for one season right now, the T.B. trio. If you mean for the next few seasons or to build a team around, then obviously the Pens trio.

And you're right about LeCavalier getting overlooked. This season he was a top 5 player in the entire league, and finally put it all together to become the player he was hyped to be when drafted.

Answer 9

I would much rather have the three in tampa, both now and for the future! Its not like Vinny and Brad are that old at 26,27 and Marty is 31. They have all that playoff experience (4 seasons in a row) and winning the cup under their belt at that age. Only problem is Tampa has so much of their payroll wrapped up in them where Pens have room to make moves.

Also everyone is hating on Richards so much saying he had a bad season, i mean if 70 points is a bad season then thats not too bad! He does have 5 points in three playoff games right now too.

Answer 10

While I'm not going to argue with those who do this for a living, I would put Hemsky, who is underrated as a playmaker, above Frolov, Kariya, and Ribiero, who aren't even the best on there teams and I'm not sure belong in the top 50. But as you said, there is a small difference in points. I must really be out of the loop. When did Scott Niedermayer re-sign with New Jersey? He's a Free Agent as well come July 1st, isn't he? Where is Mark Striet? Is he the highest Islanders player? If you get a chance.... Thanks very much for posting, LITY

Answer 11

I agree with you. They do get overlooked. New Jersey sure isn't overlooking them anymore! BUT... considering the fact that the other three are a combined 58 years old, while the Tampa three are a combined 84 years old... gotta go with the Pens' three. They are going to be stars for a long, long time. Tampa, meanwhile, will be lucky if they don't lose one of their guys to free agency in the near future. They are a talented three, but age makes a big difference in the long run. If I could only have them for this current year, I'd take your guys simply for the combined skill and experience.