[grawk]

Sure, in almost every game he ever played in.

 

[freakydrew]

Crosby was double teamed and rendered useless pretty much for most of the Olympics but did what he had to do when it counted and that is what makes him special. He is not now, nor ever will be a Gretzky for many reasons.

The game has changed too much since Gretzky's era to really ever allow anyone to have as much freedom and ability to make plays as Gretzky did. Goalie equipment, and technique has changed considerably, the pads are riduculously huge now, as are the goalies.

The era of the enforcer is gone now too...Crosby will never have a Dave Semenko or Marty McSorley to protect him, the fear of hitting Gretzky was huge, not anymore, look at the hit on Sidney in the first period yesterday!

I can go on and on... too many changes to effectively compare these two, of course, Gretzky's resume is based on many years of playing, Crosby is still young and developing his resume. He is exciting to watch and I wish him th ebest (except when he plays against my beloved Senators) but I don't think, like an earlier post said, he is a "generational Player".

Ovechkin is much better anyway!

 

[craiglester]

^
this

The game has changed hugely since Gretsky's day, games are far less open, and scoring is way harder these days. That said, it was a very well taken goal, and certainly no fluke.

 

[oqvist]

Mario Lemieux had more talent. To bad about all his injuries though.

 

[grawk]

Lindros had more talent. Too bad about the parents and head down through the neutral zone things.

 

[frozenice]

1. Bobby Orr
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Wayne Gretzky

 

[Canuck57]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ this The game has changed hugely since Gretzky's day, games are far less open, and scoring is way harder these days. That said, it was a very well taken goal, and certainly no fluke.

Actually it's the reverse, the game is far more wide open now, although I agree scoring goals are more difficult due to the size of goalie equipment. After the strike-lockout the NHL clamped down on obstruction (clutching & grabbing, hooking, slashing, impeding a player's progress). Gretzky & Lemieux had to deal with that during their careers.

Yes there was no enforcer rule, however Gretzky was still hooked, slashed & obstructed.

 

[Andrew H]

In the 80's, you had the open freewheeling style, at least in the Smythe. (I certainly went to plenty of Kings games where scoring 4 goals seemed to mean about a 50/50 chance of winning.)

I think clutch & grab developed more in the 90's. Then the Devils perfected it with the center ice trap. That's when the league had to really clamp down on clutch & grab. The play was just getting too boring!

 

[d3adeyes]

cluch and grab were the way the game was played until the late 80's

 

[Happy Camper]

Yes and good riddance to it. If you couldn't beat em, beat em about the head. Today, there are much bigger players that can skate. The game shows off skill vs fighting. I like a good one but the day of bench clearing brawls aren't missed. (Although Hawks/Blues games at the barn sure were memorable).

 

[islewind]

Crosby certainly has the potential to rival if not eclipse Gretzky, but it will not be easy to bring that potential to fruition. Consider Brian Berard, Eric Lindros, Alexandre Daigle, Brian Lawton... it takes more than potential.

As for Orr, he is the greatest player of all time in terms of his skill and impact versus those he was playing with and against. His knees kept him far from having a career that measured up to Gretzky or Howe, but put five Orrs on the ice against five of any other player and it would be no contest.

I do have high hopes for Crosby, we'll just have to see. He's certainly more likable than Ovechkin.

 

[grawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by islewind /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do have high hopes for Crosby, we'll just have to see. He's certainly more likable than Ovechkin.

You're crazy

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lindros had more talent. Too bad about the parents and head down through the neutral zone things.

Yep, those were bad times, especially with a team chock full of talent.

 

[grawk]

I wonder what his career would have been like with modern concussion treatments. Of course, the same could be said about Bobby Orr and arthroscopic surgery.

 

[craiglester]

Hmm.. I guess the old replays they show of Gretzky are somewhat biased.. I only ever seem to see ones of him sailing up the ice and scoring.. I moved here in 2002 so I never saw him play in person.. I suppose the selective use of the more free flowing moves has perhaps given a skewed perception of how the game was played back in the 80's. I was under the impression that clutch and grab or whatever was a later style, more 90's than 80's.

One of the things that has changed I think is the general level of fitness and players basic skating skill has improved. Theres no room on teams for make weights or brawlers these days. No more Peter Worrell or Scott Parker types, one hopes.

And yeah Goalie Equipment is absurd these days...but better than when Garth Snow was playing.. That guy took the biscuit for absurd gear.