Who said he wasn't? He's the best player in the league. I simply don't think he's nearly as dominant now as Gretzky and Lemieux were in their careers.
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Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Yeah but athletes didn't condition themselves the same then so that statement doesn't have merit IMO. If players kept themselves in the condition in the 80's the way they do today you can argue Gretzky and Lemieux would have been even better.
Yup that's what I'm saying. But Crosby's dedication is such a huge part if what makes him the player he is so tossing that aspect out completely also isn't fair.
You are always going to see differing opinions but I don't hear a large group of people saying Crosby isn't a special player. Lafleur was a really, really good player in his time. I was fortunate enough to see Gretzky, Lemieux, and Crosby play their entire careers from beginning to end and I appreciate Crosby's talent and drive but talent wise I don't think he's quite where Lemieux and Gretzky were as far as talent goes. Lemieux in particular was so big and dominating that he could just beat multiple players on route to goals. Just amazing and not even fair as he was that good.
Yup that's what I'm saying. But Crosby's dedication is such a huge part if what makes him the player he is so tossing that aspect out completely also isn't fair.
Yeah I think that's why he's so good. He has less god given talent than Lemieux and Gretzky but he's easily the most dedicated superstar. Players in general now though are so much more dedicated and Lemieux as good as he was could have been even better had he been a work out warrior and didn't get cancer.
Yup that's what I'm saying. But Crosby's dedication is such a huge part if what makes him the player he is so tossing that aspect out completely also isn't fair.
I think Gretzky's conditioning would be far better than it was if he was a player today. Off-season training simply wasn't part of the culture back then.
__________________ FU, Jim Benning
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GMs around the campfire tell a story that if you say Sbisa 5 times in the mirror, he appears on your team with a 3.6 million cap hit.
He has a habit of disappearing in big games. Aside from the golden goal, he was pretty invisible for the whole 2010 Olympics. And the Pens in the playoffs the last few years have been a joke
Comparing players across different eras is silly. I think Lemieux is the greatest player to ever play followed by Gretzky and Orr, but I don't think it's fair to draw any comparisons with Crosby as it's different times. The poster who said Crosby is good but not great is especially hilarious. What is greatness to you? Look at how Crosby dominates season in and season out. He's obviously on a different level than any of his peers in today's NHL just like Lemieux and Gretzky were back then. Isn't that enough? Let's just enjoy the Crosby show while we can.
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If Crosby played in the 80s with his current level of conditioning he likely would have been at the Gretzky level. But that's what make these comparisons hard
Heh.. if Crosby played in the 80s with his current level of conditioning he'd skate circles around Gretzky.
He has a habit of disappearing in big games. Aside from the golden goal, he was pretty invisible for the whole 2010 Olympics.
Oh that little thing. Gold medal winning goal on Canadian soil for the home team, we may never see that again in our lifetime. But other than that, the guy just doesn't show up when it matters the most.
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And the Pens in the playoffs the last few years have been a joke
Are you talking about Crosby or the Pens? MAF turned into a sieve, Crosby put in the effort and played his brains out but got little help. He didn't produce, but he left nothing on the ice.
Crosby isn't at the level of Gretzky or Lemieux (or Orr) at this point but he is getting close and certainly should be in the conversation for the next group of guys.
He is certainly better than the group of Sakic, Esposito, Yzerman and much, much better than LaFleur.
I would say he should be in conversation (have to wait until career over) with Howe, Richard for the 3rd best forward ever.
Top 5 Greatest players ever... (list order is in order of greatness)
1. W Gretzky (nobody before or since has been close to Gretzky)
2. B Orr (greatest d-man ever and 2nd best player... revolutionized the way the game was played)
3. M Lemieux (playing with Gretzky in the '87 Canada Cup made him into the player he was)
4. G Howe (what can you say about Mr Hockey that hasn't been said before)
5. M Richard (nobody since has played the game with the same intensity. He would kill to win)
The jury is still out on Crosby. Too soon in his career to tell.
