Jagr the 3rd best forward in NHL history

[powderjunkie]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7...id=DL|NHL|home

Of course this article then goes on to place the LA Kings at #1 in NHL power rankings...

It is an interesting topic though, especially when you consider his 3 missed seasons in the KHL (though it's unlikely he would still be going today if he played 82 game seasons). Always hard to compare wingers and centremen...even though Jagr is one of my favourites I'd rather have Sakic, Yzerman, Esposito, Beliveau or even Messier on my team. IMO Howe, Richard and Bossy edge him out on the wing too.

I struggle to include him in the top 10 all time for forwards, let alone top 3...

I think it would be fair to say he's had the best career of any winger since 1990...anyone come anywhere close to agreeing with this article?

I do hope he continues his tour for another season or 2 and racks up a few more goals, points and jerseys.

[BigTuna]

His stats are damn impressive.

[troutman]

Hard not to have him as third best forward ever, after Wayne and Mario.

[Jay Random]

I dunno. There's still a pretty good case to be made for Gordie Howe, who contributed to the game in far more ways than you can measure in goals and assists. Even if Jagr is the third greatest scorer in NHL history, that does not necessarily make him the third best forward.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by troutman

Hard not to have him as third best forward ever, after Wayne and Mario.

My list would have him 4th, Howe was unbelieveable, played his heart out every game was pretty much always the best player on his team. Jagr is/was great but a different era for scoring and he had Mario as well.

My list would be:

Gretzky
Lemieux
Howe
Jagr/Hull
Jagr/Hull

[doctajones428]

The thing with Jagr is he came back to the NHL as a 40 year old and has been able to compete and produce at a relatively high level in the fastest and most demanding era in NHL history for the past 3 years (Though he's starting to slow down this year). Not to mention nearly 1800 points in less than 1550 games

How many players could you drop into the current NHL at 42 and put up 67 points as a Devil? Not many

[Huntingwhale]

Gretzky, Lemieux and Howe as the top 3

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

The thing with Jagr is he came back to the NHL as a 40 year old and has been able to compete and produce at a relatively high level

(etc.)

Howe came back out of retirement at age 45 and scored 100 points for the Houston Aeros in his first year back. He followed that with 5 more years in the WHA, including another 100-point season and two 90-point seasons. Granted, that was an easier league than the NHL and a higher-scoring era, but those are still impressive numbers, probably comparable to a 60-point season in the modern NHL. Not many WHA players scored more than Howe –Hedberg, Nilsson, Hull, a few others – and most of those were twenty years younger.

To top it all off, he came back to the NHL for his farewell season at age 51, played all 80 games, and scored a respectable 41 points.

If Jagr keeps on playing a while longer, he may pass Howe in my books for the #3 forward of all time. If he retires at the end of this season, I think I'll still have to give the nod to Howe.

[Enoch Root]

As long as people don't do anything silly like claim top 2, I don't care where they rank him (though I would have Howe ahead of him personally - Messier too)

[GioforPM]

I find that after Mario and Gretzky, it gets hard for an old timer like me to rank forwards. It's hard to peg him against guys like the Rocket, Beliveau, Dionne, Trottier, Bossy, Perrault.

[gunnner]

Originally Posted by T@T

My list would have him 4th, Howe was unbelieveable, played his heart out every game was pretty much always the best player on his team. Jagr is/was great but a different era for scoring and he had Mario as well.

My list would be:

Gretzky
Lemieux
Howe
Jagr/Hull
Jagr/Hull

Brett Hull? Come on. People are trying to have a serious conversation here.

[kn]

If points, longevity, and championships count for something, I have a hard time placing him ahead of Messier. There were so many great forwards that it makes an interesting question. No doubt he's a first ballot HOFer.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by gunnner

Brett Hull? Come on. People are trying to have a serious conversation here.

I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're trying to make a clever joke with this post

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by T@T

...Jagr is/was great but a different era for scoring and he had Mario as well...

Not always. Jair was far and away the Penguins' best player after Mario retired. He was the best player in the NHL by a country mile during the dead-puck era, and single-handedly carried that Pittsburgh team into the playoffs year after year, and often into the next round.

[dissentowner]

My top list is...nobody. Different era's in the sport make it unrealistic to really decide who are the best players in history.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by gunnner

Brett Hull? Come on. People are trying to have a serious conversation here.

I thought he meant Bobby, not Brett.

[Rerun]

Jagr wouldn't even be ranked in my top six:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Mario Lemieux
3. Gordie Howe
4. Maurice Richard
5. Bobby Hull
6. Mark Messier

I have been fortunate to be able to watch all the above play except Richard. Would have loved to have watched him. From what I understand he was a force of nature out on the ice that could/would not be denied. He played with a passion and desire to win that few have seen since. Just look at those eyes...

[Da_Chief]

^How have you been watching hockey that long and not know how waivers work?



Ok I was just kidding. I'll stop.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

^How have you been watching hockey that long and not know how waivers work?



Ok I was just kidding. I'll stop.

Just never really paid attention to the intricacies and rules of it. Just because you don't know every rule in the business of hockey doesn't make a person less of a fan of the game or the team.

[Matty81]

For me Jagr is a damned good player but he would not be in my top 10 forwards. I think too much emphasis when people discuss greatest players ever is on scoring stats and offence. While I really admire players like Jagr, he is pretty much all offence, and also a little bit of a selfish player. Centres like Ron Francis, Yzerman, Messier, Beliveau etc were better players than him for me if I was building a team because they dominated the game in both ends of the rink and were leaders as well. I get that offence is the forwards primary role and I consider him a top player, just not top 10.

For me the bottom line in terms of how good of a player he was - what did he do as the lead dog. Jagr won his 2 cups playing third or fourth fiddle.