Joe Thornton vs Ryan Getzlaf

I caught an article during the Olympics that made me seriously think about Joe Thornton. Die By The Blade had a good post that was contrasting the styles/careers of Jumbo Joe and someone who is the polar opposite: Chris Drury. The piece goes on to explain how Drury is small in stature but has come up huge in every big moment throughout his career. On the other hand, Thornton has been a great player throughout his career, yet still has not been able to step up his game under the brightest spotlights.

Just to clarify: That is a Shark head, not playoff pressure swallowing Thornton whole...

Just look at Drury and Thornton and it’s obvious that they’re complete opposites. But it made me think about another comparison that I’ve had in my head for awhile: Joe Thornton vs. Ryan Getzlaf. Both players have the body of giant and the hands of a skilled specialist. Both guys are among the league’s elite in passing, ice vision, and overall scoring. They’re both alternate captains on their respective teams and both are the proud new owners of a Gold Medal from Vancouver. So what’s the difference?

Actually, that’s where the similarities end. Since he was picked #1 overall in 1997, Thornton has been expected to be the kind of player that can carry his team to a Stanley Cup. They might not be realistic expectations—and they might not even be fair expectations, but when a guy is picked first overall and is productive in the regular season, he’s supposed to lead his team to glory. It’s not enough for Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Joe Thornton to be good players. They need to lead good teams not only to regular season success—but playoff success, as well.

There’s a fine line between being a great player and being a great player who makes their teammates better. During the regular season, there’s no question that Thornton makes his teammates around him better. Hell, he made Jonathan Cheechoo into a league-leading goal scorer. That would be AHLer, Jonathan Cheechoo. We’ve all watched Thornton lift his linemates to heights they never would have accomplished without him. But that is lifting linemates. Have we ever seen him lift his entire team?

Herein lies the difference between Thornton and his Californian/Canadian counterpart. Not only does Getzlaf help players like Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan thrive, but the entire Ducks team takes on his persona. He plays a skilled game with a healthy dose of grit and nastiness—just like the rest of the Ducks do. Just like the rest of Team Canada did in the Olympics.

Ryan Getzlaf might not have an Art Ross Trophy to his name and he certainly doesn’t have a Hart Trophy. But what he does have is a Stanley Cup. The joke was that the Ducks were a one line team that had a Hall of Fame defense and a money goaltender. Well, that one line team had no problem dominating in the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup Finals in 5 short games. Can you imagine Thornton doing that? The fantasy hockey player in you might, but the hockey fan that WATCHES the game knows that there’s a better chance of him disappearing.

A glaring example of their differences was on full display during the Olympics. How many times did you notice Ryan Getzlaf in Vancouver? He was either defending teammates when the opponents were physical, creating glorious scoring chances for linemates, or charging the net and setting the tone for his team. How many times did you see Thornton do those things? Better yet, how many times did you notice Thornton at all? I know he was out there because I repeatedly heard Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley’s names, but I’ll be damned if I ever saw him. He was, quite possibly, the most unnoticeable 6’3, 235 lbs man in the history of all sports.

If you can get past the permanent smirk on his face or his male pattern baldness, he's pretty good...

Let’s fast forward to April and the NHL playoffs. As it stands today, the Sharks are the best team in the Western Conference and the Ducks are sitting on the outside looking in. But if the Ducks narrowly made the playoffs, which player would scare you more: Joe Thornton or Ryan Getzlaf? Of course, the Sharks are a dominant team and would strike fear into anyone, but I’m talking about the specific players. Thornton or Getzlaf? When the money’s on the line, Getzlaf scares the hell out of me—and it has nothing to do with his receding hairline.

It’s no secret that Joe Thornton has struggled in the playoffs. In 76 career playoff games, Thornton has only mustered 12 goals (and only once scored more than 2 goals in a playoff year). To put that into perspective, three players had that many goals in last year’s playoffs alone!

The Olmypics were simply more of the same. In 7 games, Jumbo Joe only managed a goal and an assist playing on a line with snipers (and San Jose teammates) Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley. In those same 7 games, Getzlaf had 3 goals, 4 assists, and played an overall TOUGHER game than Thornton.

Thornton: 12 goals, 41 assists for 53 points in 76 career playoff games (.70 ppg)
Getzlaf: 16 goals, 31 assists for 47 points in 56 career playoff games (.84 ppg)

When you see the drop in production compared to the regular season, the difference is even more noticeable.

Thornton: 918 points in 899 career games played (1.02 ppg)
Getzlaf: 331 points in 354 career games played (.94 ppg)

In last year’s deciding Game 6, Thornton dropped the gloves with Getzlaf during the game’s opening faceoff. I’ll give credit where credit is due—he tried to play the part of inspirational leader. But to an outsider who is not a fan of the Sharks or the Ducks, he just came off as a guy that had been listening to the naysayers in the media and was going to prove his point first thing. The problem was that the media and his opponent were in his head before the game had even started. Somehow, I don’t think Ryan Getzlaf has that problem.

It’s interesting that if you asked the casual hockey fan which player they’d prefer, most of them would jump to the bigger-named Joe Thornton. But when you stop and think about it, the discussion isn’t as cut and dry as the outsider may think. After the Olympics, more people are familiar with Getzlaf’s overall game. Sooner or later, people are going to realize just how good he is.