Quote:
Originally Posted by bossy22
You can't compare generations. They're so different. Put Kipper in those small pads, and goalie equipment, his style no longer works. Move Lemieux or Orr to today. Better conditioning for Mario, successful knee surgery for Orr, what could they have done? Give Mike Bossy a composite hockey stick, what could he do? Or Bobby Hull for that matter. He had a 100 + mph slap shot with a 2x4. It's apples to oranges.
Sure, you put Crosby back then, and he'd dominate, but give him the 80's training, and equipment, and the rules, he'd still be one of the best, but he wouldn't be head and shoulders above Mario.
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The difference to me isn't really the superstars - Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr - but rather the plugs. Training, diet, etc has helped even fourth line guys become pretty incredible athletes. That narrows the gap immensely and means that utter domination is way more difficult in this day.
I do actually think Crosby is almost as good as Gretzky and Lemieux, and that he was getting right up there during the season where he was first concussed during the winter classic, with his ~2p/game pace and the amount by which he was outscoring the rest of the league. I think he may get back to that.
Regardless, he's the best player in the game right now by a large margin, and when his career is all said and done, he will probably have been the best player for more than ten years. That's pretty incredible and on par with the greatest of all time.