Is Price the most dominant player in team sports?

Carey Price stole the show at the 2014-15 NHL awards and has continued his hot start for the undefeated Montreal Canadiens this season.

Price’s most recent stretch of dominance – a .961 save percentage, 1.29 goals-against average and two shutouts in seven games - has teammate Brendan Gallagher comparing his goaltender to the very best in North American team sports.

“I might be a little biased,” admitted Gallagher to The Province on Monday, “but he’s in that category with guys like LeBron James in basketball, Josh Donaldson in baseball and Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers in football.”

It’s hard to argue Price is not in the elite category in all of sports, but is he the best of the group?

Price was not only named the NHL’s best goaltender last season, winning the Vezina Trophy, but was also named NHL’s most valuable player (winning the Hart Memorial Trophy) and the league’s most outstanding player as voted by his peers (the Ted Lindsay Award). He became the first goaltender to claim all three since Dominik Hasek in 1997-98.

In the debate over who is most dominant, awards provide little to no separation.

Donaldson, of the Toronto Blue Jays, is likely to be the American League MVP season. Packers quarterback Rodgers took home his second NFL MVP award earlier this year.

James and Brady both missed out on award season, but James owns four MVP titles and Brady owns two MVP trophies of his own.

Of the five, Donaldson is likely the first to be ruled out of the race. Donaldson simply lacks the lengthy résumé of the other four, and his WAR (wins above replacement) ranked fourth in Major League Baseball this season, behind three National League players.

In the NFL, Rodgers and Brady play the game’s most vital position and have dominated throughout their careers. Rodgers owns a career 76-33 record as a starting quarterback. His impressive .767 win percentage is just behind Brady’s .779 mark (166-47). Rodgers, however sits first in NFL history in career passer rating, which is likely the most fair statistic to compare any two quarterbacks. Brady sits fourth among active players and fifth all-time.

Like Price, both quarterbacks are also undefeated this season.

What may separate the two are their records in elimination games. Rodgers has one Lombardi Trophy to his credit in one career trip to the big game. His playoff record as whole, however, in only 6-5, while Brady owns a stunning 21-8 record. The Patriots quarterback has won four Super Bowls in six tries.

As for James, he has been basketball’s most dominant player since shortly after entering the league in 2003. He is a four-time league MVP and two-time NBA champion. He has also been named to every All-Star Game since 2005. For a comparison against other active players, he sits first among current NBA players with an average of 27.3 point per game.

The area where Price falls short of Rodgers, Brady and James, is championships. While Price’s stats might suggest he is very much a contender for the title of the most dominant player in sports today, he has never hoisted a Stanley Cup to top all of his individual successes. In fact, Price owns a career 23-27 record in the playoffs, and his numbers in those games sit below his career average.
 

Can one be the most dominant player in sports without team success?  Have your say below.

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