Like him or not, he is the best ever

And given all the shit I give you when I'm in a cranky mood......I clearly deserved that...

 

Because Gretzky's prime years were in the mid-1980's and Lemieux's prime was late 1980's to mid-1990's -- they had five years between when they started -- and the early 80's was even more wide open.

 

Look at defensemen goal and point totals before Orr came along. Then look at Orr's numbers. Then look at defensemen goal and point totals post Orr.

There's no comparison. Bobby Orr is the single greatest hockey player of all time.

 

That's not the question -- was he a better OFFENSIVE player than Gretzky or Lemieux? I think not.

 

There's more to hockey than scoring. It's the ultimate two-way game.

Orr was the precursor to Paul Coffey who beget Brian Leetch who predated Scott Niedermayer.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=4085

 

They may have changed the game because of Gretzky (and Im guessing the rise of Lemieux as well) but that doesn't change the fact that Gretzky had a lot more years without having to face the left wing locks and all of the other traps that threatened to ruin(ed) hockey and ensured it will always be a distant No. 4 among professional team sports in these United States of America.

 

You can argue who was a better hockey player: Orr, Gretky, Lemieux, Howe or Richard. I stand in the Orr camp.

What you cannot argue about is that Gretzky is the greatest offensive player in the history of the game. That's not even fucking debatable.

 

Hockey have you figured this out yet -- nobody is arguing with you about the two-way or all-around stuff. We are discussing the greatest offensive player.

It is sort of like arguing about who is the greatest hitter in baseball -- sure there are plenty of other parts of the game and the best hitter is likely not the best all-around player but we still like to discuss who the best hitter is because it is one big part of the game......

 

Per game numbers say otherwise.

 

Yes, because no teams were going out of their way to shut down Gretzky's Oilers. :

I don't understand what you're trying to argue here. Nobody in hockey comes close to Gretzky, offensively. At his peak, Gretzky > Lemieux. Over his career, Gretzky > Lemieux.

Outside of Gretzky, Lemieux > field. It's really that simple. But no way, no how, does Lemieux > Gretzky. Not in goal-scoring, and certainly not in any other offensive facet of the game.

 

Apples and Oranges and you know it.

When Kerry Wood plays 15 seasons let me know where he ranks.

And you still can't hide from the fact that Lemiuex averaged more goals per game and per 82 games than Gretzky for his career.

 

My apologies, you condescending prick. The title of the thread is "Like him or not, he is the best ever." To me, if we're going to discuss a player as the best ever, offense and defense have to be discussed.

Next time you want to talk hockey, actually know what the fuck you're posting. Unless you enjoy coming off as a know-nothing, arrogant amateur.