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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

October: not a bad month for Teemu to take off

Well, as this season continues without much to get excited for, I thought I'd take a look at last year's goal-scorers, mostly to highlight the awesomeness that was Teemu Selanne. The table below is the listing of the top 30 goal-scorers from last season (33 goals or more), separated by what they scored in October '06 vs. what they scored over the remainder of the season. I've sorted by goals scored in October.

Player

Age
10/4/06
ConfOct.
GP
Oct.
G
Oct.
G/Gm
Post-Oct.
GP
Post-Oct.
G
Post-Oct.
G/Gm

C. Drury

30.1

East

11

10

.909

66

27

.409

M. Hossa

27.7

East

13

10

.769

69

33

.478

I. Kovalchuk

23.5

East

13

9

.692

69

33

.478

A. Semin

22.6

East

11

8

.727

66

30

.455

D. Heatley

25.7

East

11

7

.636

71

43

.606

M. St. Louis

31.3

East

11

7

.636

71

36

.507

T. Vanek

22.7

East

11

7

.636

71

36

.507

J. Pominville

23.8

East

11

7

.636

71

27

.380

S. Crosby

19.2

East

9

6

.667

70

30

.429

J. Iginla

29.3

West

10

6

.600

60

33

.550

V. Lecavalier

26.5

East

11

6

.545

71

46

.648

A. Ovechkin

21.0

East

11

6

.545

71

40

.563

S. Gagne

26.6

East

11

6

.545

65

35

.538

J. Blake

33.1

East

11

6

.545

71

34

.479

R. Smyth

30.6

West

11

6

.545

60

30

.500

M. Hejduk

30.6

West

11

6

.545

69

29

.420

E. Malkin

20.2

East

5

5

1.000

73

28

.384

J. Sakic

37.2

West

11

5

.455

71

31

.437

J. Spezza

23.3

East

11

5

.455

56

29

.518

J. Williams

25.0

East

12

5

.417

70

28

.400

O. Jokinen

27.8

East

13

5

.385

69

34

.493

J. Cheechoo

26.2

West

13

5

.385

63

32

.508

D. Sedin

26.0

West

13

5

.385

68

31

.456

M. Cammalleri

24.3

West

14

5

.357

67

29

.433

B. Guerin

35.9

West

10

4

.400

67

32

.478

A. Frolov

24.3

West

14

4

.286

68

31

.456

K. Huselius

24.3

West

10

2

.200

71

32

.451

D. Langkow

30.0

West

10

2

.200

71

31

.437

H. Zetterberg

26.0

West

11

2

.182

52

31

.596

T. Selanne

36.3

West

12

1

.083

70

47

.671


Take a look at that bottom row. Not only is Teemu the 2nd-oldest player among these top 30 goal scorers and the only western conference player to score 40 or more goals, but he did it on the strength of exactly one October goal. Starting in November, Selanne's surge began—from November 1st on, Selanne led this list (and presumably the league) both in total goals scored and goals-per-game.

I really have no idea where Teemu sits when it comes to his plans for this year. For whatever reason, I get the feeling that he is waiting on Scott to make a decision before he'll make one, which strikes me as rather odd. Generally thus far, all my retirement posts have been concerning the whereabouts of a certain Scott Niedermayer; even with forward injuries and depth issues I feel like Scott's decision is more critical to the Ducks' chances this year. Still, I really should stop neglecting Teemu. His 76 goals is the highest total for any first-year NHLer, and his 48 goals may end up being the highest total for any final-year NHLer (does anyone know how to verify that?). And heck, it may even be the highest total for any player coming out of October with one or fewer goals. Whether he retires or not, I think the evidence is pretty darn strong: the Finnish Flash has still got a scoring touch that still ranks among the league's best.

C'mon, Teemu. You've got the touch, and besides, you've only got one less goal than you did this time last year.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw a graphic during the Ducks/Blues game that showed Selanne's career points with the Ducks at 666, proving what Kings fans have known all along...Selanne truly is the Antichrist. Go Kings!!

Earl Sleek said...

By the way, this post title is my sad attempt at irony. Going by results, October was a terrible month for Teemu to take off.

RudyKelly said...

Well, at least you can tell yourself that he wouldn't have helped too much.

Earl Sleek said...

Yeah. A better self-lie would be to say that Bertuzzi has been keeping pace in replacing Selanne's goals. I'm sure Todd's about to break out in a 47-goal outburst. Any second now.

Alexander Dubcek said...

Let's just hope these October vs. rest of season scoring trends from last year bear out for someone else near the bottom of that list, Mr. Cammalleri, whose production went up (albeit relatively modestly) after October of last year. I'd be quite happy if he squeezed another couple of goals a month out above the 10 he's potted in the first month.

Anonymous said...

Teemu's got the touch, the power, and the Matrix. He can light the Ducks' darkest hour.

Anonymous said...

So, what about the rumour TS have signed for the club of Leksand (Sweden), where "the Eagle" are playing at the moment?
Some stars says he will join the swedish team during two months (feb, mars -08)

Anyone?