FanPost

Matt Moulson - Overlooked or Overvalued by the Hockey world?... Islanders fans?

Let me give you the answer first, and then we'll go back in time and unearth the reasoning behind it. The absolute truth is Matt Moulson is overlooked by the NHL and apparently Hockey Canada as well.

I decided to write this FanPost after seeing Moulson snubbed from the Canadian Olympic Orientation roster, and yes, I am more than willing to call it a "snub". As I started doing the research required to prove my point, I realized that not only is Moulson undervalued by the rest of the National Hockey League, but even undervalued by yours truly. I have always loved Moulson, ever since he scored a goal in a preseason game against the Devils back in 2009 and I knew there was something special. But ever since then, I think I have taken him for granted, and I don't think I'm the only one.

I looked at the roster the Hockey Canada submitted yesterday and picked out a few names to compare, as well as a few of the names people considered "snubs" (keep in mind, not one mentioned Moulson). The names I am about to list are not all completely comparable to Moulson, because they all have different styles of play. My take however, is to just prove that big names don't always mean big results. The funny thing about it all is the argument of "superstar playing on a crappy team" is not valid at all, due to the fact that Moulson played 3 of his 4 seasons on one of the worst teams in the league.

The first batch of players is those who were listed on Hockey Canada's orientation roster.

(The stats are over the last 3 seasons, a total of 212 possible games.) *Sorry if the stats are hard to read*

Name- GP G A P

Eric Staal 211 75 124 199

Jordan Eberle 195 68 88 156

Jordan Staal 152 46 65 111

Andrew Ladd 211 75 80 155

Brad Marchand 198 67 65 132

Rick Nash 201 83 84 167

These next two players are widely considered snubs. **Jason Spezza is not listed because he was broken all of last year so it's hard to even out the stats**

Name- GP G A P

Jamie Benn 181 60 92 152

Evander Kane 195 66 67 133

This next player, has not been deemed a "snub", was not included on the orientation roster, and was once confused for a Matt Coulson while in Vancouver.

Name- GP G A P

Matt Coulson Moulson 211 82 84 166

No, I don't have any fancy stats (sorry). Not only has Moulson proved to be an Iron Man of sorts playing in 211 of 212 games (just like E. Staal and Ladd) he eclipses many of the listed names in all categories. Here's my favorite, Moulson has just 1 (yup one!!!) less point than the almost 8 (7.8) million dollar man, Rick Nash. The superstar formerly of the Blue Jackets and currently of the Rangers has only one more point in 3 seasons, than a waiver scrap heap Islander pick up. But not to worry, Rick Nash was of course invited to the Orientation camp for Hockey Canada.

The stats I used are obviously arguable, as is really anything. But what I don't think is arguable is the fact that Matt Moulson is completely and utterly undervalued, overlooked, and underrated throughout the NHL, and even the Hockey world, including the Islanders fan base (including myself) who takes him for granted.

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