Lets put it this way, I am a Flames fan and got to see him and that amazing team play quite often. That team will never be duplicated. He buried my team more times then I can remember and I am sure Mike Vernon still sees him in his dreams. He got taken care of like a star should and Semenko was his bodyguard on and off the ice. Messier, Coffey, Kurri, and a ton of others on that team were great, but he truly stood out. 39 games to 50 goals and what was his one season total...214 points or so, never will be beat. He will be remembered in the Jordan, Marino, Ruth, Dimaggio, etc. leagues. There are a ton more of names that belong there, but Gretzky fully deserved it. Orr was my cose second and could have been the greatest if the Flyers (broadstreet bullies) did not end his career prematurely. Just one guys opinion.
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Was Gretzky Just THAT Good?
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02-11-2013, 12:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-11-2013, 12:23 PM by newfiecomicguy1.)
RE: Was Gretzky Just THAT Good?
Yes...smartest player ever. He was highly skilled with a strong competetive and professional attitude.
(02-10-2013, 02:44 AM)cujo31nje Wrote: Goalie pads were about half the size they are now LOL. The game has changed a lot, but he would still be a high caliber player in today's league. Watch some older games, there was just something so smooth about his playing style.More clutching and grabbing there is 3X more penalties called now then when Gretzky played. You just can't compare different eras. If you want to mention the goalie pads then you also need to mention the poor quality skates, sticks, gloves, pads etc that Gretzky wore and used. You also need to mention how athletes of today have such great off ice conditioning due to advanced eqpt and highly educated trainers and nutritious. If Gretzky was born in todays era he would still be the best, his skill set would still be there only he would also have all the same advantages the modern athletes have. Its like comparing Gretzky to 1950-60 players.
Collecting Vintage OPC and older oddball and food issues as well as Maple Leafs.
Enjoy the hobby at it's purest form, treat it as you did as a kid.
Hmm best definitely, but professor Larionov might have him beat for smartest on and off ice.
(02-10-2013, 03:25 PM)slufan83 Wrote: does anyone know of a pack issued autograph of him in Blues uniform?99-00 Upper Deck Gretzky Exclusives #NNO Auto #ed/99 possibly some Blues autos out of the Gretzky Master Collection UD put out in 2000 Bucket - http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/phildonu37/ (I don't update my bucket when stuff is gone)
Nobody could match Gretzky's vison or smarts on the ice. His hockey IQ was off the charts. Gretzky's teammate Randy Greg was a medical doctor but he certainly wasn't smarter then Gretzky when it came to hockey smarts on the ice..no one else compares.
(02-11-2013, 12:40 PM)wickabee Wrote: Hmm best definitely, but professor Larionov might have him beat for smartest on and off ice.
Collecting Vintage OPC and older oddball and food issues as well as Maple Leafs.
Enjoy the hobby at it's purest form, treat it as you did as a kid. (02-12-2013, 09:59 AM)newfiecomicguy1 Wrote: Nobody could match Gretzky's vison or smarts on the ice. His hockey IQ was off the charts. Gretzky's teammate Randy Greg was a medical doctor but he certainly wasn't smarter then Gretzky when it came to hockey smarts on the ice..no one else compares.I'm gonna respectfully disagree. He was definitely the best player ever, but certain areas others guys beat him. For example, Lemieux is by far the most raw talented player ever, but Gretzky outworked him. Larionov just kind of knew what would happen before anyone else but again, Gretzky outworked him. That's what I think mad Gretzky the best. Sure the points and all are nice but at the end of the day Gretzky worked harder than anyone but made it look like he was just hanging out.
Lemieux and Gretzky have the highest PPG average than anyone else... nearly half a point per game better than anyone. Lemieux could've challenged a great many of Gretzky's records, but health wasn't on his side. Those guys also benefited from playing in an era where scoring 5-6-7-8 goals in a game wasn't crazy
Bucket - http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/phildonu37/ (I don't update my bucket when stuff is gone)
Gretzky is the all time goal, assist and point leader....think of this, take away every nhl goal he ever scored (all-time leader remember) and he would still be the all-time point leader.
Collecting Vintage OPC and older oddball and food issues as well as Maple Leafs.
Enjoy the hobby at it's purest form, treat it as you did as a kid.
I'm not saying he isn't the best. He is. It's just that even the best comes in second or third in some categories.
Example, I would say it's fair to argue that Brodeur is the Gretzky of goaltending. I would also say the Hasek had more raw athleticism than Brodeur, Hextall was a better puck handler, etc. These are just examples. The numbers speak for themselves and you don't have your number retired league wide for being the fifth best player ever. The point I'm making is that some guys have him beat in some categories. Doesn't mean I'm saying anyone will ever even come close to being as good a player overall as Gretzky was.
02-12-2013, 04:59 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2013, 05:01 PM by phildo37.)
RE: Was Gretzky Just THAT Good?
Statistics can be misleading... to echo wickabee, I agree that Gretzky was the best, but you can't measure greatness by stats. Here's a for-instance: Yzerman and Messier both have better Goals, Assists, (and thus) Points numbers than Lemieux, but would anyone say that both Yzerman and Messier are definitively better than Lemieux? Also, look at that all-time Points list... how many players played with Gretzky in those amazingly productive years he had.. 3 - Kurri, Coffey, Messier.. so one can argue that playing with great players helped Gretzky put up numbers (just as those three playing with Gretzky helped them too). Point being, to put up truly big numbers you can't do it all by yourself... just ask Rick Nash
Bucket - http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/phildonu37/ (I don't update my bucket when stuff is gone) |
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