Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
You have no idea how the rest of his career will go but I can go right off the top of my head.
1. Orr
2. Bourque
3. Lidstrom
4. S Niedermayer
5. Leetch
6. Coffey
7. Doughty
8. Pronger
9. Chelios
10. Chara
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I gotta say, these arguments lead nowhere.
There’s no way to know, definitively, which player is better. They played in different eras against different competition etc. Gretzky himself says the players today are better than they were when he played. How does that factor into the equation?
Really though, I find the underlying message of ‘I know more than you’ in these debates to be a little off putting and doesn’t really support the argument for either side. There’s no way you can guarantee 32 GM’s would take Chara over Makar. If you’re going to make that kind of claim, then prove it. Go out and get 32 emails from each GM. Somehow I don’t think you can. Your ‘guarantee’ doesn’t hold much water, respectfully.
Look, the 10 guys you name are all tremendous players, as is Makar. Makar has, probably, a decade left in his career, so let’s see how he stacks up when it’s all said and done. I think he’ll be on that list you’ve provided. Where he slides in? Well, I’d say that’s a matter of opinion but I believe we’ve heard the ‘best since Orr’ statements from a few people who get paid to cover the sport. Were they saying the same things about Leetch, Neidermeyer, or Chara? Not that I recall. I do think, though, that Lidstrom has. IMO, he and Orr are the gold standard at the moment. Can Makar get there, I think he has a shot at it.
Can Parekh? I’d be cautious about that. It was less than a year ago two other defence men and six forwards were picked ahead of him. Would the same happen today, probably not but that explains the nature of drafting 18 year olds. Hell, two guys named ‘who’ were picked before Michael Jordan in the NBA.
All this to say, these debates should be light hearted. There’s no way to prove anything and it’s a matter of opinion.