Jimmy Carson (NHL 1986-1996, Canucks 1993-1994) | 17 | C

[Kevin Biestra]

Jimmy Carson, now this was a guy I was glad to see given a shot with the team in 1993-1994 (yeah that's right the Cup run year) because he had not just been a good but a GREAT player and while he had fallen on hard times the last few years, I had seen late career resurgences from guys like our own Ivan Boldirev.  Our first captain Orland Kurtenbach became the best player he had ever been when he joined the Canucks at about 35 years old.

 

The Canucks have at least two guys who were and forever will be punished by history for not being Cam Neely...  Barry Pederson and Jim Sandlak.  Well imagine being punished by history for not being Wayne Gretzky.  Jimmy Carson was the main piece the Oilers got back in the 1988 trade for The Great One and he had been a 100 point player with the Kings.  The thing is, he showed up in Edmonton and also immediately had a 100 point season for the Oilers...and he is still remembered as a disappointment.  Jeez, what more did they want?

 

Jimmy Carson started his career as a Calder finalist for the Kings, losing the 1987 Calder to his own teammate Luc Robitaille.  The two were pretty much equals in their first two seasons.  About 80 point rookies and about 100 point sophomores.  Things were looking great for both...and then "the trade" happened.  Robitaille went to the Hall of Fame and Carson began to sputter out a couple seasons later.

 

By the time we got him he was on his fifth team (counting a second brief stint with the Kings as he was declining) and he seemed like an awesome depth piece for the forward lines in the 1993-1994 season.  The lineup was actually full of those kinds of guys...former rookie phenom Stephane Morin, up and coming Mike Peca, Dane Jackson, Dixon Ward, Shawn Antoski and Jose Charbonneau.  Carson really seemed like a guy who might sub in at a key moment and find his old form for some playoff heroics.  Our own King Richard Brodeur did that for the Whalers in the 1988 playoffs after we traded him.  Bill Ranford did it for the Red Wings about a decade after his legendary 1990 playoff run with the Oilers when he was considered washed up.  Jeremy Roenick did it at the end of the career in the playoffs for the Sharks.  Trevor Linden did it in his final playoffs with the Canucks, far outscoring his place on the depth chart as a greybeard.

 

After three seasons in the NHL, with 79, 107 and then 100 points (and 37, 55 and 49 goals) Jimmy Carson was looking like a potential lock for the Hall of Fame.  And he did have 20, 21, 34, 37 and 25 goal seasons afterward so he didn't go off the Jonathan Cheechoo cliff.  But by the time he was a Canuck his goal total for that season was 11.

 

But he was a part of the 1994 playoff run and had an assist in his two games so did contribute and was on a decent pace.

 

And the fact remains he is still one of the best hockey players to ever wear the Canucks jersey.  We just caught him after his peak, like we did a number of good players.  Gary Leeman, Andrew McBain, Eric Weinrich, Mike Ridley, Esa Tikkanen, Tom Fergus, Ryan Walter, Blair MacDonald, Christian Ruuttu, Peter McNab, Brayden Holtby etc.

 

He still some interesting accolades in the NHL...

 

• Most goals as a teenager in NHL history- 92 goals
• Only Wayne Gretzky (20 years, 40 days old) scored 100 goals at a younger age than Jimmy Carson who achieved the feat at 20 years, 116 days old.

 

1994 was a great ride and a fading NHL big star was a modest part of the ride.  Cheers to Jimmy Carson...

 

Edited Thursday at 01:21 AM by Kevin Biestra