Seahawks will be a dynasty

Miss Butsy's prospective and sense of humor. Hope he comes back to posting one day.
- PLindbergh31

Miss Butsy?
Is that his daughter or his wife?

Watching the 1979 cup final as lemaire fires an unscreened slap shot on the goalie outside the blue line and of course scores.

Crosby would put up 200 pts in his sleep in 1980

EDIT: Nope, that's actually fine. Bossy was on a high scoring team in a high scoring era, and his goals were adjusted because of that. Stamkos was on a lower scoring team of a lower-scoring era, and his goals reflect that. This is a good baseline.
- JAKEw1234

Tampa Bay was 3rd in the League this past Season with 3.06 goals per game

Watching the 1979 cup final as lemaire fires an unscreened slap shot on the goalie outside the blue line and of course scores.

Crosby would put up 200 pts in his sleep in 1980
- Just5

Because goals like that never happen in modern day Hockey. Such as Nittymaki watching the scoreboard?


One player has put up 200 pts in a Season in the entire history of the NHL. And he did it 4 times. Yea, Crosby would do it in his sleep!

Watching the 1979 cup final as lemaire fires an unscreened slap shot on the goalie outside the blue line and of course scores.

Crosby would put up 200 pts in his sleep in 1980
- Just5

The same happened in 1971 to Tony Esposito, one of the all time greats and who brought the butterfly style to the modern age. But he was reportedly very nearsighted and had problems with long shots. Lemaire took advantage of this.

It was game seven and Chi was up 2-0 at the time. The goal turned the game around and the Habs won the Cup.

Dryden was in net for Montreal who I would definitely rate in the Roy/Hasek/Brodeur category.

Who are the stand alone three best today on a consistent and regular basis?
- dingo8urbaby

Lundqvist is the top guy

After that, probably Quick and Rinne, as a distant 2nd and 3rd.

Crosby doesn't have the vision that 99 had.

Gretzky was the most talented player in the league by far, but he scored 200 pts because he played the game 3 steps ahead of everyone on top of that skill.

That kind of hockey sense is timeless, shall we say. I don't think he'd drop off that much in production.
- Giroux_Is_God

Correct, I know I'm late to the conversation, but you all need to remember that when Gretzky was putting up 215 points, the next best was Lemieux at 141. If you figure that today's best are at best around 110 points, then Gretzky would most likely come in around 165-170, which would still be unreal!

Lundqvist is the top guy

After that, probably Quick and Rinne, as a distant 2nd and 3rd.
- jmatchett383

Agreed!

Watching the 1979 cup final as lemaire fires an unscreened slap shot on the goalie outside the blue line and of course scores.

Crosby would put up 200 pts in his sleep in 1980
- Just5

Crosby, with today's training, no clutching/grabbing, a composite stick, and a full closet of modern hockey apparel, would definitely put up 200 points in the 80s.

Gretzky would put up 300.

The same happened in 1971 to Tony Esposito, one of the all time greats and who brought the butterfly style to the modern age. But he was reportedly very nearsighted and had problems with long shots. Lemaire took advantage of this.

It was game seven and Chi was up 2-0 at the time. The goal turned the game around and the Habs won the Cup.

Dryden was in net for Montreal who I would definitely rate in the Roy/Hasek/Brodeur category.
- 77rams

Goalies are hard to rank. I think you have to do a pre-butterfly and post-butterfly ranking. Dryden was good, but if he played his style today, he'd get lit up. So would Parent. So would Tretiak. The butterfly has proven to be far superior.

In fact, going back even further, goalies used to not be allowed to leave their feet on saves. So the REALLY old goalies can't be compared to today's.

Watching the 1979 cup final as lemaire fires an unscreened slap shot on the goalie outside the blue line and of course scores.

Crosby would put up 200 pts in his sleep in 1980
- Just5

I think it's tough to compare eras and say one player would excel in a specific era.

Guys are in much better shape, year round, nowadays than they were back in the day. Guys are bigger and stronger today....moreso than previous eras. Guys today play with better equipment (sticks, pads, gloves, etc), to say nothing of rule changes.

How many breakaways would the '80's Oilers have had if there was no 2 line pass rule?

I think it's tough to compare eras and say one player would excel in a specific era.

Guys are in much better shape, year round, nowadays than they were back in the day. Guys are bigger and stronger today....moreso than previous eras. Guys today play with better equipment (sticks, pads, gloves, etc), to say nothing of rule changes.

How many breakaways would the '80's Oilers have had if there was no 2 line pass rule?
- johndewar

The 2-line pass is a great example. The game back then had so much neutral zone play compared to today's game.

If you aren't old enough to have seen Gretzky in his prime, you really can't understand how amazing he was. His peripheral vision was unreal, he would make passes out of nowhere and the puck would always hit his teammates stick. He had an amazing knack of always being in the right place at the right time and he had the innate ability to see the game unfold so much faster than everyone else. He also had a deceptively quick release on his shot and rarely, if ever, shot the puck wide.

The only comparable player to Gretzky was Mario. Lemieux was a more impressive physical specimen and the better sniper, while Gretzky was the slightly better playmaker.

Crosby is certainly an excellent player, but to compare him to Wayne and Mario is just ridiculous. A better comparison for Crosby would be Steve Yzerman, a great player for sure, but not one of the 2 greatest of all time.

If you aren't old enough to have seen Gretzky in his prime, you really can't understand how amazing he was. His peripheral vision was unreal, he would make passes out of nowhere and the puck would always hit his teammates stick. He had an amazing knack of always being in the right place at the right time and he had the innate ability to see the game unfold so much faster than everyone else. He also had a deceptively quick release on his shot and rarely, if ever, shot the puck wide.

The only comparable player to Gretzky was Mario. Lemieux was a more impressive physical specimen and the better sniper, while Gretzky was the slightly better playmaker.

Crosby is certainly an excellent player, but to compare him to Wayne and Mario is just ridiculous. A better comparison for Crosby would be Steve Yzerman, a great player for sure, but not one of the 2 greatest of all time.
- BiggE

Agreed 100%. Seeing these guys in their prime is the key. Watching highlights, or tapes doesn't really do them justice.

Regarding Bobby Orr, his prime was 1969-1974, a person would have to be close to 50 years of age to have seen Orr at his best.

I think it's tough to compare eras and say one player would excel in a specific era.

Guys are in much better shape, year round, nowadays than they were back in the day. Guys are bigger and stronger today....moreso than previous eras. Guys today play with better equipment (sticks, pads, gloves, etc), to say nothing of rule changes.

How many breakaways would the '80's Oilers have had if there was no 2 line pass rule?
- johndewar

Absolutely! At 6'9 and 260 or so pounds, Chara would have killed someone back in the 70s! Heck many of the Flyers from the Bullies era were heavy smokers whose idea of offseason workouts was to skate for a week or so before the opening of camp. If you could magically transport Bobby Clarke of 1974 to today, he would be a 3rd line, undersized, checking center and pk/faceoff specialist who would probably be putting up 15 goals and 45-50 points at best.

If you aren't old enough to have seen Gretzky in his prime, you really can't understand how amazing he was. His peripheral vision was unreal, he would make passes out of nowhere and the puck would always hit his teammates stick. He had an amazing knack of always being in the right place at the right time and he had the innate ability to see the game unfold so much faster than everyone else. He also had a deceptively quick release on his shot and rarely, if ever, shot the puck wide.

The only comparable player to Gretzky was Mario. Lemieux was a more impressive physical specimen and the better sniper, while Gretzky was the slightly better playmaker.

Crosby is certainly an excellent player, but to compare him to Wayne and Mario is just ridiculous. A better comparison for Crosby would be Steve Yzerman, a great player for sure, but not one of the 2 greatest of all time.
- BiggE

I don't think Yzerman and Crosby can be considered. Yzerman was kind of a quiet, classy leader. I'm not taking a shot at Crosby, but Yzerman and Sakic were just classy moreso than anyone else in that era. They also, good as they were, never were "best in the game" players. Honestly, I think maybe Jagr is the most comparable to Crosby.

Goalies are hard to rank. I think you have to do a pre-butterfly and post-butterfly ranking. Dryden was good, but if he played his style today, he'd get lit up. So would Parent. So would Tretiak. The butterfly has proven to be far superior.

In fact, going back even further, goalies used to not be allowed to leave their feet on saves. So the REALLY old goalies can't be compared to today's.
- jmatchett383

Just in terms of the size of goalies nowadays....

Look at guys like Rinne or that other physical freak goaltender in Edmonton.

Agreed 100%. Seeing these guys in their prime is the key. Watching highlights, or tapes doesn't really do them justice.

Regarding Bobby Orr, his prime was 1969-1974, a person would have to be close to 50 years of age to have seen Orr at his best.
- PLindbergh31

I'm almost 48, and I do remember seeing Orr as a kid during the Flyers cup years, the one thing I remember is that he just seemed so much faster than everyone else.

I don't think Yzerman and Crosby can be considered. Yzerman was kind of a quiet, classy leader. I'm not taking a shot at Crosby, but Yzerman and Sakic were just classy moreso than anyone else in that era. They also, good as they were, never were "best in the game" players. Honestly, I think maybe Jagr is the most comparable to Crosby.
- jmatchett383

I have to disagree a bit there, I would say by the mid to late 90s, Yzerman was as good a player as anyone in the NHL.

I'm almost 48, and I do remember seeing Orr as a kid during the Flyers cup years, the one thing I remember is that he just seemed so much faster than everyone else.
- BiggE

Agreed. He was probably the best skater of all time. Not the fastest (Bure and Fedorov probably beat him), but the best combination of speed and agility.

I have to disagree a bit there, I would say by the mid to late 90s, Yzerman was as good a player as anyone in the NHL.
- BiggE

However when it come to class, you are dead on! Yzerman has more class in one fingernail, than Crosby does in his whole whiny body!!

Agreed. He was probably the best skater of all time. Not the fastest (Bure and Fedorov probably beat him), but the best combination of speed and agility.
- jmatchett383

Very true, he's one of the very few, that would still look fast even today.

I don't think Yzerman and Crosby can be considered. Yzerman was kind of a quiet, classy leader. I'm not taking a shot at Crosby, but Yzerman and Sakic were just classy moreso than anyone else in that era. They also, good as they were, never were "best in the game" players. Honestly, I think maybe Jagr is the most comparable to Crosby.
- jmatchett383

Yeah, I don't see an Yzerman/Crosby comparison. Crosby doesn't have an easy historical comparison. He has some "punk" to his game that leaves him out of comparisons to guys like Sakic or Yzerman.

In terms of ability to possess and keep the puck.....yeah, I guess you could say Jagr, but that's not even a perfect compare.

I have to disagree a bit there, I would say by the mid to late 90s, Yzerman was as good a player as anyone in the NHL.
- BiggE

I'm just saying he never won a scoring title, where as Crosby already has 1 at 25. Then again, were it not for the best 2 players in the game, he would have won it in 89. He had 35 points more than the 5th place player, but still was 44 behind Lemieux. I just put Yzerman in a different, but parallel, category.

Yzerman was almost like an amazingly talented grinder, in that he was never flashy but somehow always put up huge point totals. Just very workmanlike.