Who Is the Greatest Player in NHL History?
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- I placed a few names on the board to compare the all time greats, but the absolute greatest depends on what you feel defines makes a player worthy of that title.
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Best player: 99
Best player if they were given modern medicine and training: 66
Matthew Nolfo I’ve gotta say Howe is the greatest. He played in a much more difficult era and if you divide all of the top players point totals by the average goals per game Gordie Howe has the highest number.
Given modern medicine is 66? Are you forgetting mike bossy bossy would have scored 1000 goals easily if hes back and knees didnt give out
Maybe. Players still get injured today even with modern medicine. I think the better pick for "better than Gretzky" presuming perfect health would be Orr. But I don't know too much about hockey, this is just looking at numbers
Yea Bobby Orr is a no brainer. Gretzky Lemieux and Orr are the only three to record 100 assists.
Nicklas Lidstrom should be in the honorable mentions!
You forgot the man that lead the rangers to the 94 Stanley cup jeff beukeboom
Johnathan Korkie lol
Hey Jessie
LETS GOOOOOO
BEUKES!
A bar down fan I see
I misread the first honorable mention as: Dany Heatley lmao
Hey, 50 in 07 aint bad
Same lol
you didn't misread he just miswrote it
Taro Tsujimoto is the greatest
If Crosby's up there I think you've gotta put Ovechkin up too. I know he's not as much of an all around player but his ability to constantly lead the league in goals year after year is pretty amazing.
Ovetchkin only got one cup tho :/
Love your vids and yeah he should at least be an honorable mention
Bossy did the exact same thing
Nan, while his goal scoring ability and accomplishments are impressive, he wouldn’t be bumping anyone off this board
3 cups
It's funny, guys who grew up with Orr will say him. Those who grew up with Howe or Richard say them. Those who grew up with Gretzky say him. Whoever you first saw, you will remember the best.
Clearly the Rocket is the best player ever, he passed away 20 years ago, and yet here he is posting on a UA-cam video!
Speaking English no less. I'd love to see any of the other finalists do that!
Orr was my hero, but he, Mario and Gretzky all said Gordie was the greatest player they ever saw.
@@kosmicwizard He did not win one scoring title.
@@David-dz2xj He was first to score 50 goals in 50 games. And what does your comment have to do with him being able to comment on UA-cam in English after he has passed away?
Jagr is not officially retired from the NHL yet.
Will he ever truly retire? I think he'll be playing in at least the KSW for years to come.
If I remember correctly, he was still killing it in the Czech-2 league which is nuts lol
Top 10 imo
@@centralhockey12 He's in the top Czech league (Czech Extraliga?) now, he scored 4 goals is his team's promotion game. Sadly he's not exactly dominating the league so there's no real hope of a return unless he signs a 1 day retirement contract in PIT.
@@theMrFouldsy I would love him to retire in PIT but how is his and Lemieux's relationship?
Ur you have borque as a honorable mention i think Lidstrom should be there too
I agree in terms of hardware Lidstrom takes it easily. As for points. Ray has more assist than Lidstrom has points. Pretty insane.
No. Lidstrom is not even on the radar of bourque, Lemieux Coffey gretz. Just no.
@@bruceal4797 I think he absolutely does. 7 Norris trophies, only one behind Orr, and Lidstrom
played in an era with more teams which makes it harder to win awards. 4 Stanley cups and a conn smythe plus a ton of points in the dead puck era
In Lidstrom's tier I can think of many other defensemen: Bourque, Lidstrom, Harvey, Robinson, Niedermayer, Coffey, Macinnis... the list gets long and that's just for defensemen.
"For me Brodeur's the greatest" Freudian slip there?
Richard Brodeur.
Oheao I mean Marty is the greatest- devils fan, obviously no bias at all.... honestly tho Hasek prob is the greatest just becuase he played less and did a lot more.. Roy and Brodeur are great in their own way
@@jessiegandhi4340 I agree about Hasek and Roy. Brodeur had a great defense. A guy facing 15 to 25 shots a game on average is not impressive goaltending.
We both know Roy and Hasek faced a ton of shots especially Hasek.
Paul Cohen I hate this debate...
@@paulcohen7480 ill disagree. Facing fewer shots means you have less opportunity to feel the pace and flow of the game, making breakaways much harder to adjust to.
I don't know how I feel about talking about games missed due to injury in these types of discussions. It always feels like it puts players who didn't miss games at a disadvantage. There is a reason the saying goes "the most important ability is availability."
But if you are going to use missed games to pad a resume how about the 100+ games Ovi has missed due to lockouts (and maybe another 14 due to coronavirus). With those games he is easily 3rd all time in goals, with a realistic chance at 1st all time.
Just due to how forward heavy the discussion I believe iit should be split up into Greatest Forward, Defense man, and Goalie
Ya I agree
at least separate skaters and goalies, they are basically playing different sports.
Gretzky
Orr
Hasek
Scotty Bowman for coach
Lemieux
Orr
Hasek
I think Ovechkin should be on the list
@Atheos B. Sapien he has extremely similar stats to Crosby, he certainly should have been here over the Rocket.
On greats of all time, I think we all can agree it's THG when it comes to hockey news and entertainment!
The poor guy just has poor taste in teams 😉
Yes! Second ONLY to Grapes!
Unpopular opinion: championships are irrelevant to determining who the greatest hockey player of all time is. Hockey is a team sport.
Lando Calrizzzian but the greatest player should be a winner, and even if his team is trash, should be able make others better, make the playoffs and then go on a run
@@jessiegandhi4340 There is only so much one guy can do no matter how good he is, it takes quite a few great players to win a championship, not just one.
@@jessiegandhi4340 I disagree. I don't think there's ever been a player that's done it alone aside from goalies. I think the greatest player of all time needs to have similar stats in the playoffs as regular season, but I don't think cups should be a factor. Conn Smyths should matter and playoff stats should matter, but that's the extent of it imo.
Clearly Dave Semenko is better than Joe Thornton because of the Stanley Cups he won.
The most important thing about the 'team versus individual' argument in hockey is this: An individual may not win you many cups. But an individual can easily lose you many cups.
Gretzky obviously. Should've left him off merely to make the argument more fun.
Lemieux put up gretzky like numbers with cancer he is the greatest of all time
Nor is it obvious if you actually delve into the sheer ridiculousness of Orrs stats. Playing the what if game, he would have had over 2000 pts by the end of his career if he kept pace... as a defenseman.
TBC he didn’t though
There's not enough love for defenceman when making greatest player arguments.
Lidstrom>Crosby
Big fan of Denis Potvin. He should of been on the board as well. Damn near a point per game defense men. Not alot of them.
@@Shatamx Heck with him. Potvin sucks!
If Maurice is on the board, surely his brother should be too? I mean we're having a conversation about Greatest Player in NHL history and the most amount of cups on the board is 10. Also I think Mike Bossy should be there too if we're going to play the "what-if" game with Lemieux and Crosby, his projected goal total (again, "what if he'd played as long as Gretzky") is just absurd, far far beyond anyone else who's ever played. Great video though, thanks for providing so much hockey content in this drought 😭
I agree with you. Mike Bossy's points per game was 3rd all time only behind Gretzky and Lemieux
Henri might have won most Cups, but he's not on the same level as Maurice. The Rocket was feared around the league as the top goal scorer at the time.
@@cloudsopowera6248 I agree, but of course Henri was a great player in his own right. I don't know if he much left in the tank, but I would have liked to have seen him play one more season and be a part of the Habs team that won 4 straight in the late 70's.
AVID Sion henri was a good player on great teams. He wasn’t a great player who carried his team
Agreed on Bossy. Unforgivable omission.
John beliveau was so good Montreal coudnt have him because he stuck with his non pro team so they bought the whole league (or team) so they could have him.... best move ever
I'm glad to see Shannon mention Jean. Even though I like him very much, I wouldn't put him in the argument for GOAT. On my alltime team, he'd be 2nd or 3rd center, with Gretzky and then maybe Lemieux. He would get the "C" though, and that would be true if Mess was on the team.
@@sdgakatbk Jean Beliveau is the all time greatest captain. If we stick to "greatest X attribute" we can come up with interesting lists. Like Gretzky owns many goal scoring records, but it's debatable if he was the best goal scorer... but he certainly was the best playmaker in history, and it's not even close.
If I were drafting a team, my first pick is Orr. As you said, retired at age 31. He changed the game.
As a student of the game and one who has watched the NHL closely for well over 50 years, I give you an A+ for the correct compilation of players, including your honorable mentions. I would have included in the honorable mentions Phil Esposito, Glenn Hall, and Red Kelly, but overall you nailed it. Orr is the best player I’ve seen play (Kings fan since Day 1 - 1967) hands down; I’ve seen the complete list in action except the Rocket, all hockey gods indeed. Jagr, who I loved, is the only guy who might deserve honorable mention more than a seat at the table due to his transactional movement compared to the others; He played with a ridiculous number of clubs AFTER his potential HHOF status was already sewn up. Seeing him in both the Flyers and Bruins uni still feels and looks strange. Well done, Shannon!
Thanks for giving me something to look forward to in this difficult NHL season! You bring up a great point, there are so many eras. I do like this format. Not necessarily 1-10. but top 10 in a grouping.
Lidstrom at least deserves a honorable mention, arguably the best defenseman of all time.
easily one of the 3 best defensive defenseman who ever played
Lidstrom is my favorite player but I would say he is more of a Top 20-25 player of all time, not Top 10. Forsberg and Yzerman might be higher than him.
@@lpenna7307 Lidstrom was a two way defenseman
I never thought of it before, but we really do give defensemen less respect and less recognition among the all time greats. It's also reflected in how rarely they win league MVP.
Would be intersting if you made a video about Richard riot and all the story around. It would explain even more why he can be considere the all Time great
I think you're right to leave Ovechkin off the discussion of greatest of all time, but the metrics you used to measure greatest of all time should include Ovechkin. 1 Cup, 3 Hart, 1 Art Ross, Goals 1st 8 times (probably 9), top 10 scorer 8 times, and most importantly Calder Memorial trophy winner once (hehe). Those are very similar to, and I'd argue better than, some of the guys on your list. That being said I think you included too many players that don't really deserve to be in this conversation. It's tough because they all deserve to be appreciated as the best players of all time, but I don't think they all deserve to have a claim to THE greatest player of all time. I do think Ovi is one of the greatest players of all time, but he's not close to guys like Gretzky.
No one is
Ya but he put Crosby then u goats put ovi
he needs at least 2 cups and beat gretz record.
I love the cat in the background. He’s just chillin, absorbing hockey knowledge.
I agree with hockey guy about the different era's, different positions, playing for a dynasty vs weak team etc .
Way too many great players for me to choose one. Great video enjoyed it. As a Redwings fan really loved Yzerman, Fedorov, Shanahan, Lidstrom, and Hasek. The best goalie I thought growing up was Patrick Roy.
A Wings fan who loved Roy? Never thought I'd see the day. Although I do love Fedorov, Lidstrom, and Datsyuk. I think Forsberg is the greatest player ever. Too bad his career was cut short. Same with Bure.
Hasek is the greatest Goalie of all-time. I dont count Cups as that's a team sport. They didnt call him the Dominator for nothing
Hasek
Roy
Sawchuk
Broduer
What about Tretiak?
Where’s Mike Bossy? He won 4 cups, scored a lot of goals in a short period of time
@The HockeyGuy That's a good list. With that being said, at least for honorable mention I would argue that you could add Nick Lidstrom. 4 Stanley Cups, 12 time All-Star (10 first team), 7 Time Norris Trophy winner, Conn Smythe Winner, Olympic Gold Medalist, 1st European born and trained captain to win the cup. Plus he played huge minutes against the best other teams had to offer and rarely took a penalty. That's heady stuff.
further continuing with the European theme, the injuries with Lemieux and Crosby are always brought up. The effect of those injuries and how they limited the player's accomplishments. But you never seem to see people argue that the greatest player was someone who mostly - or not at all - played in the NHL. The 'what if' conversation has a heavily North American flavor. There have been various European 'what ifs' though. Who never got to the NHL at all or got there way too late. Just as an example, Gretzky said that Tretiak was the best goalie ever. And that was in 1988 when Roy was well known already.
Perhaps best player of each era might be better. The has changed so much over time.
I think Ovi should be on the list.
Bobby Orr is my pick for best NHL player of all time lol because he revolutionized the game by making a defenseman a part of the offense. Also, he was tough and he fought. He could singlehandedly kill penalties. He could do it all.
I know you have a video on Selane from 2 years ago, but do you think about doing a top 10 best rookie year!? Or something like that? I would like to hear your take on that! Thanks for the video!
No Ovechkin?
I wanna see who are the best career 3rd and 4th liners,& career back up goalies. Top players have been done to death.
So the greatest goal scorer of all time is not considered?, Hart ,Ted,narice,cup? What does he have to do?
Yeah it is a little odd. Every player impacts the game differently it wasnt like Gretzky was out there for his defense and physicality does that mean he shouldn't be in the discussion.
damn good analysis. I personally think comparing players from different eras and who played different positions is a tough debate, but this seemed like a pretty fair list to me. who comes out on top? us hockey fans, every time :)
While being a Detroit fan I do err on the side of Gordie Howe, I have to confess that I love reading old timers' accounts of the Howe/Richard rivalry. According to peeps who saw them play, they two had both a vocal resentment and a silent respect for each other. I cannot think of a scenario that is more illustrative of post-war existentialism or of the changing identity of Canada in that time.
Bossy/trottier at least an honorable mention 🥺
John Scott all star MVP???
Mike Bossy SNUBBED. The Sandy Koufax of hockey.
good shooters make it look too easy
I think ovi should be part of the debate, but that’s just me. Yes he might not be the most complete player, but his impact and his far and away goal scoring ability is something that’s worth noting.
Obviously lemieux look what he dealt with in his career just imagine if he didnt have cancer
The fact that he beat Cancer came back and still was the best instantly makes him the greatest for me
barely missed any games because of cancer look it up... his back was the issue... but either way he was slower to every mark compared to Gretzky... gretzky hit 1000 in 424 games and went from 1000-2000 in 433... lemieux made it in 513 games... so lemieux was a season slower than gretzky twice... not to mention Gretkzy had 105 more points in 85 than lemieux
@@thebullfighter6733 i am not talking about games missed only, dude it was cancer, bassicaly a killer which shuts youre body down completely thst impacts youre performance on ice don't you think?
@@artursfilipovs1722 ... dats not how cancer works
Messier is no where near as good as Lemieux or Gretzky, or even Jagr for that matter
Lidstrom is a big miss
Can someone explain to me why Ovi isn't here?
HeS KnOT a CuMplEt hoCkeY pLayEr
He's Russian
Jara because he’s played 150 games more than sid and has 15 more points and he’s won everything at least 2-3 times as a captain
@@PittsburghFan Yeah I agree Crosby's durability is a real concern, but that doesnt have much to do with Ovi. "He's won everything at least 2-3 times as a captain" Not really sure what that even means. Here are a few things to keep in mind. Ovi has more Hart Tropies, more All star games, more NHL first teams, more Rocket trophies, same Lindsay Awards and as important as points seem to be for you, Crosby only has 1 more Art Ross then Ovi.
A power rankings of the 50 best teams ever would be awesome too
Ovechkin
There is no argument that Ovie is the greatest hockey player in the history of the game.
Jesse Barre their really isn’t an arguement
Atheos B. Sapien how the hell is Ovi in the GOAT conversation in ur books?Maybe the greatest pure goal scorer, and maybe top 20 GOAT but no higher dude
You can’t have Crosby but leave out Ovechkin. Their points are close (But Ovi has more) and Ovi kills him in goals and hits and NHL awards. He was much more durable and physical. He dominated his era more than any other player with 9 times leading the league in goals. Crosby hasn’t led the league 9 times in ANY category. You can’t mention one without the other. What list has Magic but not Bird? Use your Richard excuse and change the name to Ovi and you have the EXACT same argument. 16:09 - 17:02 (Your words)
Hot take, Ovi is the best sniper of all time!
William Mayer best Sniper AND best Power Forward of all time.
Couldn’t agree more
chris scorpio he doesn’t have nearly the playmaking ability Crosby has and Crosby has had serious health issues and ovechkin plays the least important position on the ice as centers have much bigger impacts on games and have a greater defensive responsibility
@@scorpiothegreat1 not a better "power forward" than Forsberg
Ovechkin beat 500 points in 373 games(257g+243a), Crosby in 369 games(181g+320a), but Ovi has 3 consecutive Ted Lindsey 2008,2009,2010. Both McDavid lvl stats, but in lowest scoring era. Ovi 7th all time in Era-Adjusted Points Per Game(above him only Malkin, Orr, Forsberg, Crosby, Gretzky, Lemieux). Ovi has 17 individual trophies. And If not for 10 games suspension in 2010, then he would have won another Art Ross, Hart and Richard. I really think TheHockeyGuy didnt watch how plays prime Ovechkin, just watched his statistics, but didn’t look at how he plays. I have a feeling that everyone specifically focuses on the fact that Ovechkin is a Goalscorer, so that there are no claims to the throne of Crosby as the best player. I've been watching you for several years, but this video made me a little mad. Sorry for my English, i use Google Translate.With love from Russia.
Дмитрий Филин I agree 100%
Unpopular top 3
1. Bobby Orr
2. Gordie Howe
3. Shawn Thornton 😉
Very unpopular. Many would have had John Scott up there. At least an honourable mention
What about a video(s) on sinlings/families in the NHL like the Hulls, Howes, and etc or jersey evolution for teams since this thing is really making for a long pause/offseason?
No mention of Yzerman? At all? Not even an honorable mention?
What I like about Yzerman was his mental strength to fight through injuries. Seems like he found a way to help his team achieve success as a team player.
he mentioned him and his reason for leaving him off the list makes sense
11:26
he did mention him. Said there was such a difference between Lemieux and Gretzky and the rest of the league that he didn't put other guys from that era in.
Guy who is 2nd all time in points is a 2nd tier material, makes sense...
For people who think Ovie should be considered as one of the greatest players of all time are purely wrong. Ovie is only about scoring goals but not much else when it comes to gaining points. Crosby compared to Ovie is a greater all around player. Being the greatest player doesn't just mean being the best goal scorer.
He’s got more points than Crosby, what are you talking about? And Crosby is a Center, he’s supposed to have more points, he always has the puck.
Just curious as to why Lidstrom isnt' at least in the honourable mentions
Jean Beliveau in my opinion is the greatest player of all time because he had 1,033 PIMS along with his over 1,000 points and he won 10 cups. He led the NHL 12 times in scoring while playing as the same time as Gordie Howe. Also I remember watching a video in which Ted Lidnsay said that to him Beliveau was the greatest centermen to ever play
HOCKEY HELL YA Gretzky played when lemioux did and Gretzky has over 2,000 and I don’t a team accomplishment should be used to measure individuals
MIKE BOSSY? Not even an honourable mention?!!!!! common...
An unanswerable question. The best we can do is judge the players we have personally seen. And we are going to be biased depending on our age and the eras we know.
For me personally, I started watching hockey seriously about 1990, so I missed Gretzky's best years. Mario really looked like the most dominant player.
But my father who had a broader perspective would have said Marcel Dionne or Mike Bossy (or Gretzky).
But while younger fans have recentcy bias, older fans might have oldie bias. I think a big part is who is the best whenever you start watching hockey. that player tends to make an impression.
Anyway, this vid should get a lot of views.
Where’s Anson Carter
I'm curious who you'd consider as the best all around player, when talking about greatest we tend to go over just offensive stats, which don't get me wrong keeping the puck in the opponents net is a great defensive system, but who do you think epitomizes the perfect hockey player? is it still Howe? does Crosby get in the conversation? or maybe consider Yzerman?
Jacques Plante also in the goaltender category .... also don't forget that Bobby Hull scored plenty in the WHA as well... and without bothering to check... it seems to me, that his combined numbers put him right near the top, in terms of the all time scoring list...
I feel Yzerman and Lidstrom should be in the honorable mentions at least.
Especially Lidstrom if you put Orr, Bourque on the bord and mention Doug Harvey.
Lidstrom is arguably the greatest D-man of all time if you look at cups, medals and hardware. Also when you mention longevity he eclipses Orr.
Yes Orr was amazing, most vezina's, great scoring prowes and changed the position. No argument there, BUT Lidstrom is right up there with him and deserves more respect than being considered 4th all time.
How is Ovechkin not even an honorable mention. Ridiculous.
Wayne Fretzky not only has a HUMONGUS gap between him and second place on the all time points list but he also has the higher points per game average (1.92) of any player in recorded history. And when I say a big gap, the difference in points (936) between Wayne Gretzky and second place Jagr is as big as Brad Richards entire career (932). There cannot be a debate with a stat gap this large to anyone else who ever played. I'm a Habs fan and I'd love to talk about Richard and Beliveau and Dryden (6 cups in 8 career seasons and nearly as many shutouts (46) as losses in his career (57) is insane) but you can't argue with the numbers in this case. And any argument about era is ridiculous. Any other player on this list or any list will have other players from the same era with similar amount of points. Even if Crosby played as many games as them, he wouldn't be multiple hundreds of points ahead of Malkin, Ovechkin, Kane or Stamkos.
And I will go one step further with this. I think the stats Gretzky has flats out makes him the single most dominant in sports history.
i'd have yzerman on before messier. perhaps ovi should get an HM.
my vote for the top spot goes to 66.
If Crosby is on there, Ovi needs to be as well.
Nicolas Lidstrom definitely top 10
You definitely need a hospital
Lanemars you definitely either didn’t watch him or have no appreciation for half the game, which is defense
@@lgrw9883 Agreed. Imo, Lidstrom is the most talented Defenseman ever and at least Top 3 amongst Defensemen alongside Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque.
Lanemars u definitely need to get carona
@@lelouchvibritannia4028 Doug Harvey before Bourque and Lidstrom
Greatest scorer: gretzky Greatest All Round Hockey player: Bobby Orr...category not mentioned...My personal AllTime Fav to watch: Pavel Datsyuk...my opinion
Gretzky is my number one just for pure domination of the league. But if I could pick just one guy, itd be pavel. He is just jaw droppingly good at everything. I can't even fathom it.
Datsyuk was a thief. Led the league in takeaway his whole career. Not taking anything away, but Gretzky couldn’t spell defense, let alone play it. Then again, the way those Edmonton teams were seat up, he didn’t have to do it either.
Best intro: "OKEY DOKEY" lol
If we are talking about the greatest goalie of all time then it has to be hands down Terry Sawchuk (playing career from 1949-1970). For those who may not know Sawchuk held the goalie record for career shutouts for 40 years before Martin Brodeur broke it in 2009-2010.
Like Sawchuck, but I have to go with someone nobody talks about among the greatest goalies. I love Bill Durnan. Sure, his career was short, but he had a lock on the Vezina Trophy until the last season of his career. But what puts him at the top of my greatest goalies was his ambidextrious style. He could handle the stick and catch the puck equally well. He had special gloves that would allow him to do this. Won the Stanley Cup twice.
Nick Lidstrom?
Crosby and Jagr? Might as well have Eric Lindros...I agree with putting Sawchuck in the Goalie argument but there are a few more than those three modern Goaltenders who should be in your Top List!
Lindros was not a serious mention, obviously!
I’m ok with not separating it by position. It’s not like football where 2 different positions do completely different things. A dominant top line center is expected to be a lock down defender and on the pk, and an elite defenseman like Makar, Josi, or Hedman is also expected to be a sniper.
Stevie Y, no knees, willing our team over the top, and had some digits too
Good list; only forgot mike Bose buddy was an absolute beauty
Shannon I would love to see you do a Jagr career video being that he has just started his 33rd professional season
Gretzky was a little past his prime when I started watching hockey. Lemieux was the most dominant skater when healthy that I saw active, Jagr not far off. Hasek's the best goalie I've ever seen. He could have stopped the coronavirus in his prime. Judging on '70s footage of Orr in his prime, he might have been more head and shoulders above and beyond his peers and contemporaries in the league at the time than anyone in any other era. He was ahead of his time.
Edit: since my above answer's unclear I'll add this: in a pickup game with all other things being equal between our teams, if I had access to any player healthy and in his prime and I could take one skater and goalie I would pick Orr for the skater and have Hasek in goal. You can have any one skater and goalie you want after that. All other things being equal between our teams I still like mine's chances of winning that game.
Patch 83 nice analysis
Nice, but you forgot to mention Forsberg...
@@dr3putt62 thanks. Who do you have? It's a difficult, complex and subjective argument with no clear answer. Orr and Hasek could also be said to be my if-forced-at-gunpoint picks.
@@halarmad Forsberg is underrated, even today. He was the original Crosby.
Patch 83 it is a tough to rank because so many factors to consider
This one is a tricky one. The game has changed a lot since guys like Richard played, not to mention modern medicine and training. You can make the case for any of these players given the era they played in
No Sean Avery??
In my opinion...
1) Gretzky (I'd say Lemieux but could have been are worth less than real numbers)
2) Lemieux (in my opinion, the best. All around. Only 2 because of injuries.)
3) Orr (Best defenseman, by far)
4) Béliveau (Lemieux mixed with Messier)
5) M.Richard (the greatest pure goal scorer of all time)
6) Howe (this guy is a machine)
7) Crosby (best new age player)
8) Messier (one of the best leaders ever to hit the ice)
9) Jagr (this guy is the brother from another mother to Howe)
10) Ovechkin (the greatest pure goal scorer of the new age)
No Lidström? I am sad
I would have put Mike Bossy on this list. 50+ goal scorer in all but his last season, and 4 consecutive Stanley Cups. Need I say more?
Too often overlooked. Sure, his career was cut short, but his impact, like Bobby Orr, was huge. Orr's career was also short. Orr revolutionized defensive play. In the case of Bossy, I don't think I could say anything that would exclude him from the conversation.
excellent video!
PETER FORSBERG, heelloooo
I would definitely love to see a video of the best players who never won a cup.
Dale Hawerchuk
What would you think about having the Norris trophy for best Defensive defenseman as well as the Bobby Orr trophy for best offensive defensemen?
It is remarkable how whenever I hear these discussions there is one thing that is consistent across the board.....Phil Esposito is Always overlooked...from 1970 thru 1975 Esposito Averaged 65 goals and 72 assists per season....for 5 years! Sidney Crosby never scored 65 goals with 72 assists in ANY season in his career. Sidney Crosby not only does not belong in this conversation, he is not even the best player in the history of the franchise he plays for, not even close.
Agree about Espo. Generally I think he was overshadowed by Orr. But he was the best forward in the game during the time you mention
Esposito is definitely a great and underrated player, where your argument gets weird and loses validity is when you make it about Crosby.
1. To make a comparison between two great players that played 40+ years apart from each other about scoring totals is mostly, if not totally, pointless, pun not intended. The game changes way too much over the course of that much time for us to be able to take legitimate conclusions away from those numbers. I'm not saying Crosby is the better scorer or player, but to say 'This guy had that many goals and assists and that guy, who was born 6 and a half years after this guy retired, he never matched those numbers, so this guy should be on this list instead of that guy.' that just doesn't work, it's not that simple
2. Making the point that Crosby shouldn't be considered in this discussion because he isn't even the best in the history of his franchise is just bizarre when you're trying to make the case for Phil Esposito. That line of thinking 100% disqualifies Phil as well, forget not being the best player in the history of the franchise, Esposito wasn't even the best player on his team during his prime. Over the 5 year span you talked about, Bobby Orr, a defenceman, almost matched Esposito in scoring, outscored him in the playoffs and more than doubled his +/-. If Lemieux kills Crosby's case, then so does Orr to Esposito.
2 guys on this board weren't even the best player on their line.
4 guys are so clearly above the rest that the others aren't even worth mentioning as potential #1s.
The really hard question is who is #5?
Why no Lidstrom at least as an honorable mention?
Current Favorite player: Crosby. Just because.
N Neichan lidstrom is the goat defensemen
To me the "Greatest Player" has to be good at every aspect of the game. The answer to who that is/was is easily Gordie Howe. But I like like the idea of being more specific with era, style of play, etc.
Valid point - maybe that should be the argument. But how would you then dismiss Orr?
@@varmastiko2908 Lidstrom too.
Maurice Richard, not only for his skills but for what he did as a person and for the people of Quebec.
The Rocket was more of a cultural icon than anyone in hockey. I didn't see him play, but from what I've heard, there was nobody who played with his intensity or was better from the blue line in. I also like that he had a nasty streak, like Howe did too.
Ovechkin miss 116 game because lock out
Crosby miss 120 game injury and 34 because lock out
They were drafted the same year. How did one miss 116 becouse of the lockout and the other 34?
No Ovechkin was drafted in 04 Crosby was drafted in 05
francis bibeau Crosby has played 150 less games than ovechkin and is only 15 points down. They aren’t even comparable
@@PittsburghFan Yes, Ovi's durability while playing a physical game has been impressive.
The best overall defensemen of all time is Larry Robinson, he has 10 Stanley Cup rings. He wasn't one dimensional like Bobby Orr.
Patrick Roy is the NHL's Greatest Player. He carried the whole team is why. His jock strap is by far the biggest the league equipment managers have ever seen.
I agree John Patrick Roy was a great goalie. That is my hockey # 33 in honor of Roy.
Wrong, Hasek was better, Roy couldn't drag that 99 Sabres team to almost a Cup like Hasek did
@@SabresGuy87 they're both great neither of them are greatest of all time player
Greg Malcomb Roy cane in as a 20 year old rookie and led the habs to Lord Stanley. He played on some good teams but make no mistake those teams aren’t winning without Patrick Roy in net. I think he could handle the pressure in Buffalo. Hasek is very close but, imo Roy has the edge in best goalie ever. I’d go Roy, Hasek, Sawchuck, Brodeur
Mike Bossy doesn't get a mention at least?
I think Mike Bossy and Ovi deserved at least mentions
Gretzky. it is. stop please. Lemieux could have been, we'll never know
We all know he was Gretzky's only peer, it took Lemieux one more game to score 600 goals, than it did Gretzky, Lemieux was the best player I ever saw, Paul Coffey played with both, he called Lemieux the most talented player he ever played with.
Ken Dryden probably gets the crown of best goalie of all time. 7 cups in 9 years isn’t easy. The guy was a absolute stud. There’s a reason the Habs dynasty with the best blue line in history and the brick wall in the net were so successful. Ask Boston they could barley score yet having a stacked offence. He retired too early leaving him out of the conversation
Speaking of Boston, imagine if Ken Dryden wasn't trade to Montreal (i.e. remained with Boston), one can imagine what Orr and Dryden could've accomplished along with Esposito
Felix Sopowera there’s a reason no more Boston/Montreal trades happen lol