All-Time Dream Team

[joe_shannon_1983*]

Who would make your all-time dream team? A team that consists of the greatest players to ever play the game.

Here is what my team would look like:

Forwards:
Jean Beliveau
Mike Bossy
Phil Esposito
Wayne Gretzky
Gordie Howe
Bobby Hull
Guy Lafleur
Mario Lemieux
Ted Lindsay
Mark Messier
Stan Mikita
Howie Morenz
Maurice Richard

Defensemen:
Raymond Bourque
Doug Harvey
Red Kelly
Bobby Orr
Denis Potvin
Larry Robinson
Eddie Shore

Goaltenders:
Jacques Plante
Patrick Roy
Terry Sawchuk


Line Combinations:
Lindsay - Gretzky - Howe
Lemieux - Esposito - Richard
Hull - Mikita - Bossy
Messier - Beliveau - Lafleur
Spare/13th forward: Morenz

Potvin - Orr
Harvey - Bourque
Kelly - Shore
Spare/7th defenseman: Robinson

Roy
Sawchuk
Spare/3rd goaltender: Plante

Click to read more...

 

[Habsfan 32]

Forwards
Wayne Gretzky
Joe Sakic
Jean Beliveau
Mario Lemieux
Gordie Howe
Maurice Richard
Mike Bossy
Jarri Kurri
Bobby Hull
Mark Messier
Phil Esposito
Bryan Trottier
Steve Yzerman

Defenseman
Al MacInnis
Niklas Lidstrom
Doug Harvey
Bobby Orr
Ray Bourque
Chris Pronger
Serge Savard

Goalies
Patrick Roy
Terry Sawchuck
Ken Dryden

 

[russianrocket24]

Kharlamov-Gretzky-Lemieux
Bobrov-Howe-Richard
Krutov-Larionov-Makarov
Yzerman-Beliveau-Bossy

Orr-Bourque
Fetisov-Kasatonov
Ragulin-Harvey

Tretiak
Sawchuck
Hasek

 

[modestfwd]

agree with Russianrocket.

Hasek>Roy

Habsfan, how do you have Sakic on your list? Sure he's a great player, but there are so many players I would take above him for the top 12 forwards of ALL TIME. Same with Kurri, (Jagr>Kurri).

 

[Snap Wilson]

The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens with Bobby Orr thrown in.

 

[SpeakerForTheDead]

Kharlamov-Gretzky-Lemieux
Lafleur-Howe-Richard
Esposito-Beliveau-Bossy
Hull-Mikita-Lindsay

Orr-Harvey
Potvin-Bourque
Shore-Kelly

Hasek
Sawchuck
Roy

That first line would be a dream come true to watch

 

[c-carp]

I will Just do Line combo's

Bobby Hull-Gretzky-Br. Hull
B.Sutter-Federko-Bossy
Nystrom-J.Otto-K.Dineen
Gillies-D.Hunter-Probert

Orr-MacInnis
D.Wilson-R.Langway
Ramage-Gassoff

Fuhr
McClennan-Jamie was a good guy when I met him

Coach

Don Cherry

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

I'll only go with players I remember personally...

Goulet Gretzky Bossy
Messier Lemieux Kurri
Gainey Yzerman Neely
Robitaille Francis Hull (not one of my favorites but lethal on this pp)


Bourque Potvin
Robinson Coffey
Stevens Lidstrom

Fuhr
Brodeur

Spares: Gillies, Denis Savard, ,Dave Langevin, Al Macinnis

 

[mcphee]

If I could play Mario on LW with Beliveau in the middle and Gordie Howe on the right, and send out Orr and Harvey on defense, I wouldn't use a goalie, or I'd play Hardy Astrom or somebody. We'd never not have the puck. if Mario ever got abused ,Gordie or Doug would carve out an eye.

 

[pnep]

Hull Bobby -- Gretzky Wayne -- Howe Gordie
Lindsay Ted -- Lemieux Mario -- Richard Maurice
Mahovlich Frank -- Beliveau Jean -- Jagr Jaromir
Drillon Gordie -- Esposito Phil -- Lafleur Guy


Orr Bobby -- Harvey Doug
Bourque Ray -- Shore Eddie
Potvin Denis -- Kelly Red
Coffey Paul -- Lidstrom Nicklas


Hasek Dominik
Roy Patrick
Hall Glenn

 

[kruezer]

Hull - Mikita - Bossy

Man, that line just feels right, I really think that line would work brilliantly together.

 

[God Bless Canada]

If we're talking about just the top 15 forwards, 8 defencemen and three goalies of all time, without designation for checking lines and such, here are mine:

Forwards:

Gordie Howe
Wayne Gretzky
Mario Lemieux
Maurice Richard
Jean Beliveau
Phil Esposito
Bobby Clarke
Bryan Trottier
Stan Mikita
Ted Lindsay
Bobby Hull
Howie Morenz
Guy LaFleur
Mike Bossy
Mark Messier

Defence:

Bobby Orr
Ray Bourque
Doug Harvey
Eddie Shore
Denis Potvin
Larry Robinson
Red Kelly
Paul Coffey

Goalies:
Jacques Plante
Patrick Roy
Terry Sawchuk

Note: If selecting according to role, a guy like a Gainey would be on the team ahead of Messier, etc.

 

[God Bless Canada]

agree with Russianrocket.

Hasek>Roy

Habsfan, how do you have Sakic on your list? Sure he's a great player, but there are so many players I would take above him for the top 12 forwards of ALL TIME. Same with Kurri, (Jagr>Kurri).

Here's why I take Roy over Hasek: Roy 3 Conn Smythe trophies, Hasek 0. You can talk about the team that Roy had in front of him, but let's remember this: those Habs teams in 1986 and 1993 were less than spectacular, and not as good as some of the Buffalo teams that Hasek played on.

Take all your regular season accolades all you want. I'll take the guys who get it done when it actually means something. That's not to say the Conn Smythe is the be all and end all. If it was, that would put Ron Hextall and JS Giguere ahead of Hasek, and that would be wrong. But Roy's three Conns, to me, are just too much to ignore.

 

[Magnus Fulgur]

Nash Thornton Igilna
Kovalchuk Forsberg Hossa
Ruutu Datsyuk Heatley
Zetteberg Bergeron Ryder

Pronger Lidstrom
Blake Chara
Gonchar Redden

Khabibulin
Theodore
Turco

This line up, put into a time machine, beats all of the old school lineups. Better conditioning, better skills. Although I would give space for Brett Hull and Mario: they were/are just sick and translated their skills well into the contemporary age despite the trap.

Yes, what Orr did is ten thousand times more important than Pronger. The point is that these guys today could beat any ghosts of yesteryear. I look at old film of Esposito and laugh at the shoddiness of his game. He had immense perserverance, but I think Andreychuk could have gone in a time machine and scored more goals than him. I'm trying to appreciate the talent around today and not fall into the "the old days were the best days" fallacy.

Although I do think that Mike Bossy would be tremendous in today's game, and I like that Shore got a nod.

 

[God Bless Canada]

Nash Thornton Igilna
Kovalchuk Forsberg Hossa
Ruutu Datsyuk Heatley
Zetteberg Bergeron Ryder

Pronger Lidstrom
Blake Chara
Gonchar Redden

Khabibulin
Theodore
Turco

This line up, put into a time machine, beats all of the old school lineups. Better conditioning, better skills. Although I would give space for Brett Hull and Mario: they were/are just sick and translated their skills well into the contemporary age despite the trap.

Yes, what Orr did is ten thousand times more important than Pronger. The point is that these guys today could beat any ghosts of yesteryear. I look at old film of Esposito and laugh at the shoddiness of his game. He had immense perserverance, but I think Andreychuk could have gone in a time machine and scored more goals than him. I'm trying to appreciate the talent around today and not fall into the "the old days were the best days" fallacy.

Although I do think that Mike Bossy would be tremendous in today's game, and I like that Shore got a nod.

I'm trying to figure out where comments like this come from, and the only thing I can think of is "Ignorance is bliss." History lesson time: look at Lidstrom's three Norris seasons. Look who the runners-up were in each year: Ray Bourque in 2001, Chris Chelios (who got more first place votes than Nik in 2002) and Al MacInnis in 2003. Stevens was third in voting in 2001. Not Pronger, Blake, Chara and Niedermayer. Lidstrom beat 40 year olds. Bourque, Chelios and MacInnis weren't Norris finalists at 40-ish because they are three of the 15 best defencemen ever, they were finalists because the elite defencemen today aren't as good as the elite defencemen 15 years ago.

Adam Oates led the league in assists twice in his late 30s. Ron Francis was a 77-point player at age 40. Joe Sakic was tied for second in league scoring in the last NHL season at age 35! Mario Lemieux put up a 120-point pace in his last somewhat healthy season.

Your line-up is a joke. How are the three 2003-04 finalists for the Vezina left off? How is Niedermayer left off? How is Sakic left off?

Andreychuk would score more than Espo? I have the greatest respect for Andreychuk, but if you want to talk about shoddy skaters, there's one of the worst. Espo had better hands than Andreychuk in tight and better goal scoring instincts, not to mention better playmaking abilities.

Watch Bobby Orr play in the 1976 Canada Cup. Watch Espo carry Canada on his back at the 1972 Summit Series. Then you'll see what those "ghosts of yesteryear" were capable of.

 

[arrbez]

Bossy - Gretzky - Richard
Howe - Lemieux - Esposito
Hull - Beliveau - Mikita
Messier - Trottier - Lafleur

Orr - Bourque
Harvey - Shore
Kelly - Potvin

Hasek
Roy
Sawchuk

 

[arrbez]

Nash Thornton Igilna
Kovalchuk Forsberg Hossa
Ruutu Datsyuk Heatley
Zetteberg Bergeron Ryder

Pronger Lidstrom
Blake Chara
Gonchar Redden

Khabibulin
Theodore
Turco

This line up, put into a time machine, beats all of the old school lineups. Better conditioning, better skills. Although I would give space for Brett Hull and Mario: they were/are just sick and translated their skills well into the contemporary age despite the trap.

Yes, what Orr did is ten thousand times more important than Pronger. The point is that these guys today could beat any ghosts of yesteryear. I look at old film of Esposito and laugh at the shoddiness of his game. He had immense perserverance, but I think Andreychuk could have gone in a time machine and scored more goals than him. I'm trying to appreciate the talent around today and not fall into the "the old days were the best days" fallacy.

Although I do think that Mike Bossy would be tremendous in today's game, and I like that Shore got a nod.

Even if your argument were valid...you still made a pretty weak team compared to what the current all-world team SHOULD look like. Your bottom 6 forwards are a bit of a joke, wouldn't you say?

 

[Marcus-74]

Forward lines

Anatoli Firsov - Wayne Gretzky - Mike Bossy
Valeri Kharlamov - Mario Lemieux - Guy Lafleur
Vladimir Krutov - Jean Beliveau - Sergei Makarov
Bobby Hull - Gilbert Perreault - Vladimir Martinec

Defense pairings

Orr - Savard
Robinson - Bourque
Salming - Potvin
Vasiliev - Fetisov

Goalie(s)

Hasek and/or Roy

This team would kick some serious butt!

 

[revolverjgw]

Mario Lemieux- Wayne Gretzky- Jari Kurri
Bobby Hull- Bryan Trottier- Mike Bossy
Ted Lindsay- Bobby Clarke- Gordie Howe
Bob Gainey- Guy Carbonneau- Jere Lehtinen

Bobby Orr- Denis Potvin
Doug Harvey- Al MacInnis
Rod Langway- Scott Stevens

Roy
Brodeur

My team isn't the best possible players or anything, and there's some glaring omissions. It's just a team I'd like to see iced, with a few shutdown players instead of all-timers. I don't want guys like Lafleur or Richard or Dionne manning the third or fourth line so ''inferior'' scorers (plus Howe) are on in lieu of them.

I like the idea of Mario and Wayne playing together for, like, obvious reasons, and Kurri there to keep up with them offensively AND cover their asses! Second line is basic stuff... third line is skilled guys with defensive abilities and/or insane grit, they'll be accepting a decreased role (HOPEFULLY they'll accept it!) but still chip in some points... fourth line, well, nobody's scoring against us while they're on the ice.

Defensively, pretty simple. I want the second best hockey player ever on there, duh. I want Potvin on there because he could do it all. I want Harvey because... well, why not, he was a thinking man's defenseman and he'd have plenty of time to think and plenty of moves to make on THIS team. I want Stevens on there to keep people honest (hopefully he won't mind less icetime). I wanted a huge shot and MacInnis is good-enough all-around to not look out of place anyway. I want Langway because he's airtight and money in his own zone, no need for any more offense than we have.

 

[Sonny Lamateena]

An unstoppable dream line...

Leclair Lindros Neely

Imagine The Legion of Doom minus Renberg, add Cam Neely, everyone in their primes and completely healthy.

 

[Jo]

Lemieux Gretzky Dionne
Believeau Howe Richard
Br.Hull Lafleur Bo.Hull
G.Perreault Bossy Yzerman


Orr Harvey
Robinson Lowe(best defensive defenceman ever)
Savard Stevens


Roy
Brodeur
Tretiak

 

[KOVALEV10*]

Forwards:
Centers:
Lemieux
Gretzky
Beliveau
Yzerman

Left Wingers:
Bobby Hull
Frank Mahovlich
Cam Neely
Luc Robitaille

Right Wingers:
Maurice Richard
Guy Lafleur
Gordie Howe
Mike Bossy

Defenseman:
Bobby Orr
Ray Bourque
Doug Harvey
Eddie Shore
Larry Robinson
Denis Potvin

Goalies:
Hasek
Roy
Sawchuk

Coach:
Scotty Bowman
Toe Blake

 

[lemieux32*]

If you are creating the best team to win then I have two comments:

1) If you put Kurri with Gretzky then you take him over Jagr. Just look at the stats.

2) If you are using Krutov and Makarov then you have to put Larionov with them for the great KLM line.

 

[revolverjgw]

1) If you put Kurri with Gretzky then you take him over Jagr. Just look at the stats.

I put Kurri on my first line with Wayne and Mario because Jagr isn't needed. I wanted someone that could, y'know, cover Wayne and Mario's butts! He'd bury pretty much every pass he got anyway, no need for Jagr.

 

[bigd]

1) If you put Kurri with Gretzky then you take him over Jagr. Just look at the stats.

I put Kurri on my first line with Wayne and Mario because Jagr isn't needed. I wanted someone that could, y'know, cover Wayne and Mario's butts! He'd bury pretty much every pass he got anyway, no need for Jagr.

I'm a Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque but right now the best defenseman in the league has to be Lidstrom.