Cam Neely or Pavel Bure

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God Bless Canada

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Jul 11, 2004
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StickMang said:
I have been a long time lurker, and rarely post. Yet I came out of radio silence to post simply out of amazement at these results. This is absolutely no discredit to Bure, who has phenomenal numbers, incredible skill, and national exposure as one of the "most skilled hockey stars". However, Cam Neely was simply a better hockey player ito this Bruins "homer".

He was a clutch performer in games and in the playoffs, a game changing player with his physical presence and his scoring ability. He helped define, or at least portrayed perfectly the term, "power forward". His intensity and intimidation affected the play around him. He was the quintissential body checker and pugilist extraordinaire, whose fists carried reputation amongst even goonery, such that he didn't have to fight to win the edge. His leadership appeared to be the demonstrable, tenacious type, which seemed to complement Ray's subtlety.

Cam's skills were as great as his physical tools. He had enough touch to pass well, and he had excellent backhand and forehand shots; Cam had the ability to score from all over the ice. While his slapper was intense, his snap shot was so good that it would have been in the Johhny Peirson Top 3. While I wouldn't characterize him as fast, he had an incredibly powerful stride and the strength and leverage to obtain body position at full stride; some of his goals were strangely acrobatic for a big player. Cam was the definitive anchor in front of the net at even strength and on power play.

His determination to come back after so many injuries, and playing in pain, was a testament to his character. I think most amazing is his personal determination to overcome all of the difficulties with illness and death in his family. And to engender such altruistic endeavors as an ambassador to with charitable events, and of course, starting his own foundation, are simply amazing feats of a giving, caring person. He truly conveyed a bond with the hard-working purveyors of his craft, emulating them, endearing them, and thereby honoring them; we returned the same to him.

Maybe in my Bostonian myopia, I am missing the full picture on Bure; or perhaps there truly is no comparison, as I contend...

-Mang
There is no big picture on Bure. He scored goals. That's about it. No consistent physical or defensive play. No praise for his off-ice conduct, leadership or commitment to the team. Only one playoff (1995) where you sat back and said "Geez, he really took his play to the next level compared with what we saw in the regular season." (Yes, he put up points in 1994, but only in the Dallas series was he a consistent force on a game-by-game basis).

If goals and stats are the be all and end all in someone's hockey universe, without any regard for any of the other fine points that make hockey such a great game, then of course they'll pick Bure.

Someone made the point earlier that Bure put people in the seats. I'd much rather pay to watch Cam Neely bring his multi-faceted game, which included goals, then watch Bure. Again, that's personal preference, and a reflection of how subjective the word "exciting" really is.
 

stick9

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Aug 12, 2004
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As exciting as Bure was to watch it paled in comparsion to seeing Neely play. He didn't just score goals, he scored big goals. Cam's play set the tone. He never took a shift off and played just as hard in his own zone as he did in the opponents.

No disrespect to Bure. He was impressive to watch. Especially in his younger days with the Canucks.
 

YESSUH!

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Sep 17, 2005
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Neely. Complete package. Not to say Bure wasn't great. However, this is like being asked to choose between Filet Mignon and venison. Not easy.
 

Colt.45Orr

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Mar 23, 2003
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luongofan said:
Bure wins "by a landslide" for me because he puts fans in the seats.

Well that is a brilliant reason for picking the better player :sarcasm:

Well...it is true... Bure puts fans in the seats, but Neely put the opposition on the seat of their pants.
 

wilka91*

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May 5, 2004
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somebody went to some Boston forum to get all of the fanboys here and vote for Neely

until then it was clearly in favor of Bure, 60% to 40%
 

MaCam

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Oct 5, 2005
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roshiajin said:
somebody went to some Boston forum to get all of the fanboys here and vote for Neely

until then it was clearly in favor of Bure, 60% to 40%




Neely should win this poll anyway, I don't no how Bure was even leading at any time.
 

pblc

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Mar 8, 2002
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Two very talented, but dis-similiar, players.

Bure was more pure "flash"....but Neely was the complete package. And yes I am a Bruins fan...but all things being equal (no injuries..,etc) I think that if you give this choice to real hockey people (i.e. G.M's.. coaches..scouts..players..,etc) I would bet 9 times out of 10 Neely is chosen. :yo:
 

doubleminor138

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Jul 31, 2005
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Toughest vote ever for me. Bure is one of my favorite players and Neely is the hometown hero in my area (with good reason). I can see why the Bure fans vote as they do, because that is how I would vote if the question were "who was a batter goal scorer" or "who was more exciting" (a close one).

But the vague "who was better"? To do that ou have to dissect the players and the games they played.

Bure came back from injuries as much as Neely did. But Neely brought a physical game Bure never did. Bure was a lot better on his skates (hello? Russian rocket!) and had more skill. But Neely played with more guts, he amped up his game when the physical play increased. Hence his best games were in the playoffs.

I really want to vote Bure because I am actually more familiar with his play and his games and appreciate the work he had to put into his formative years in order to develop the skills he has. But "better" also takes into account the off ice things, and Bure has zero to huis resume except for soem alleged dealings with questionable Russian characters (and banging Anna Kournikova :clap: , which is about the peak of his off ice acheivements). For this reason I vote Neely.
 

wilka91*

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May 5, 2004
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kevin1927 said:
Neely should win this poll anyway, I don't no how Bure was even leading at any time.

no actually Bure won this until somebody did what I said, and all of a sudden about 150 new people cast their vote, 95% of which voted for Neely
 

Vic Rattlehead*

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roshiajin said:
no actually Bure won this until somebody did what I said, and all of a sudden about 150 new people cast their vote, 95% of which voted for Neely
Who the hell cares? This is just an internet poll and will have no effect on your life.
 

doubleminor138

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Jul 31, 2005
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roshiajin said:
no actually Bure won this until somebody did what I said, and all of a sudden about 150 new people cast their vote, 95% of which voted for Neely


Two things:

1. Neely just got inducted into the Hall. Bad timing for this poll to get an accurate result.

2. Go find some NHL boards (not Russian hockey boards!) to see how many fans come to vote for Bure. Florida? Vancouver? Rangers?
 

pblc

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roshiajin said:
I can't believe that some people actually voted for Neely! It's a joke!


What exactly about believing Neely was a more complete (read better) player than Bure, makes it a joke. Please elaborate.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion...and it appears (from some of the avatars) that many non-Bruin fans have also voted for Neely.
 

dafoomie

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Jul 22, 2005
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Neely scored 50 goals in 44 games. Only Gretzky has scored 50 in fewer games, and only Lemieux has matched it. Neely did this while suffering through major injuries which would force him to retire 2 years later, and dealing with the death of his father.

I think roshiajin is simply a homer for Russian players, his name means Russian. He also probably isn't old enough to have seen Neely play, or at least not in his prime.

Pavel Bure, though a great goal scorer and an electrifying player, was a soft, selfish player who never used his linemates, and who never even attempted to backcheck or play defense. Cam Neely was all about heart, grit, and determination. He was one of the league's best goal scorers, hardest hitters, toughest fighters, and one of the best teammates anyone could have.

This is a meaningless debate anyway. Why would you compare the two? They're opposite types of players.
 

hockeyfan125

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Jul 10, 2004
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dafoomie said:
Pavel Bure, though a great goal scorer and an electrifying player, was a soft, selfish player who never used his linemates, and who never even attempted to backcheck or play defense. Cam Neely was all about heart, grit, and determination. He was one of the league's best goal scorers, hardest hitters, toughest fighters, and one of the best teammates anyone could have.

This is a meaningless debate anyway. Why would you compare the two? They're opposite types of players.
not true at all. Bure was selfish in the later half of his career, but he was never a soft player.
 

dafoomie

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Jul 22, 2005
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jtuzzi said:
not true at all. Bure was selfish in the later half of his career, but he was never a soft player.
He still played like his own blue line was where the rink ended.

Maybe not soft in the sense that you could smack him around and he'd disappear, but he played a soft style. Nothing wrong with that, but being physical can be beneficial to your team.

I didn't want to turn this into bashing Bure, he is probably going to be in the Hall of Fame eventually (when he's eligible), but this other guy makes no sense trying to say that Neely isn't in the same league as Bure.
 

JaymzB

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Apr 8, 2003
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roshiajin said:
no actually Bure won this until somebody did what I said, and all of a sudden about 150 new people cast their vote, 95% of which voted for Neely

Really? Well, I just stopped by here, and placed my vote. I am a Habs fan who hates the Bruins with a passion. I despised Cam Neely during his days as a Bruin. I don't know how many different names I called him, but you can be sure that I couldn't post any of them here on HF Boards.

By the way, I voted for Neely in this poll.
 
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