In the modern NFL, having a strong pass-catching tight end is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity for an effective offense. In fact, in some cases, the tight end may actually be one of the team’s top receivers; at certain points in their careers, such was the case for Vernon Davis of the San Francisco 49ers and Greg Olsen of the Carolina Panthers. During the 2000s and 2010s, each tight end was the quarterback’s best friend in his prime and had a long career highlighted by a peak in which he was one of the league’s elite tight ends, thus prompting the question:
Outside of the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders were arguably the two most successful franchises of the 1970s and 1980s with two and four Stanley Cup titles, respectively. While each team had its share of great forwards and defensemen, both also had Hall of Fame goalies in Bernie Parent (Flyers) and Billy Smith (Islanders); in their primes, each goalie was a Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe winner who elevated his game in the postseason – as two of the best netminders of this era, it is a natural comparison to ask the question:
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