If Gretzky played in this era, would he still be considered the GOAT?

[EdmFlyersfan]

Someone with a 190 IQ is not going to fail Physics.

There are two important differences between the science of 1905 and the science of 2018.

First, physics has gotten immensely more complex. An average modern student with a major in physics accumulates all knowledge necessary to understand Einstein's 1905 article in the second or third year as an undergraduate (you don't really need much beyond Maxwell's equations of electrodynamics). Einstein's achievement was mainly conceptual (a unique way of looking at known facts and formulas) rather than technical, and, as such, remarkably simple.

If Einstein was teleported instantly into a Modern Physics graduate class exam today, he would fail.

Core physics published annually increased roughly from 250 papers/year to 100,000 papers/year between 1910 and 2010; the amount of knowledge and advancements since his time would put him at a huge disadvantage.

Gretzky wouldn't have the huge time gap difference like Einstein; so his chances of failure would be significantly less.

But, if both were born in today's era with all the training, education and money; then no doubt they would be in a better position to succeed.

 

[Jaleel619]

I don't know I don't think I could handle it. I get woozy just from the praise Joe Thornton gets. Turn on Crosby and I'm blowing chunks. If I had to hear about Wayne Gretzky in todays social media tv analyst ridden age playing I think id off myself. At some point I get it ya know?

 

[AvatarAang]

Somehow I don't even think Gretzky in his prime could save Chiarelli's Oilers.

 

[Helistin]

Yes.

 

[Puck Dogg]

Gretzky says in his autobiography that players get bigger, faster and better each year. I'd say Gretzky would be one of the league greats, but he wouldn't be ahead of other players like he was in the past. Think about level something like when he played for the Rangers, meaning between 90-100 pts per season today maybe.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Gretzky says in his autobiography that players get bigger, faster and better each year. I'd say Gretzky would be one of the league greats, but he wouldn't be ahead of other players like he was in the past. Think about level something like when he played for the Rangers, meaning between 90-100 pts per season today maybe.

Except he was 37 with a bad back and past his prime. Your really saying prime Gretzky with the latest equipment and physical advances of this era, would put up similar numbers in his late 30s, past his prime, during the DPE, and in a league not so different than ours....

Sure, makes perfect sense....

Gretzky is as humble as humble gets. He has always been that way. He’s said countless times about this or that player being the best or breaking his records, it’s just his nature.

The two too scorers right now in the league are small, and very similar to the size Gretzky was.....and I hardly doubt they are anywhere close to as skilled as Gretzky.

 

[Siludin]

If Gretzky played in today's game, he would be Elias Pettersson

 

[discobob]

Top 3 player year in and year old, but he wouldn't outpace the field the way he did. League depth, goalie equipment, and team defensive strategy have made it too difficult to separate yourself the way he did, in spite of superior talent...

 

[LaP]

no

it amazes me how so many here think the best of everything all happened 30+ years ago and humans are getting worse

Maybe it's because Gretzky was significantly better than Jagr and an old Jagr barely able to skate was able to finish 22th in scoring in the league at 44 years old.

 

[Mbraunm]

Gretzky could never dominate today tot the extent he did then. However, his brain was his weapon which overcame all coaching strategies and systems designed against him. Conservatively, I would guess he would put up 120-130 points a year in today’s NHL throughout a 10-12 year long prime.

 

[Fear the Wushu]

He would probably still lead the league in assists every season but I can think of a ton of guys who have a much better arsenal of shots and are much better goal scorers than Wayne. If he was just dropped off in this era (magically transported) without modern training/fitness I really think anyone from that era would struggle.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Wouldn't be near the goal scorer. The rest of his game would translate well.

 

[overg]

He would probably still lead the league in assists every season but I can think of a ton of guys who have a much better arsenal of shots and are much better goal scorers than Wayne. If he was just dropped off in this era (magically transported) without modern training/fitness I really think anyone from that era would struggle.

You can make the argument with Ovechkin, but if you think anyone else in today's game is close to the goal scorer that Gretzky was, you simply don't understand how he scored his goals. Gretzky's shot was not about velocity, it was about placement. If any player of the past's goalscoring would translate to today's era, where you have to pick your spot to beat the behemoth's in giant pads with perfect positioning, it would be Gretzky.

Gretzky's goalscoring, just like his passing, was based entirely around putting the puck exactly where it needed to be. That particular skillset would only be more apparent against today's goalies.

 

[Mbraunm]

Overall, no one currently has the offensive arsenal that Gretzky did. Again, 120-130 points for 10-12 years would be reasonable. Players like Kucherov and Gaudreau, as amazing as they are, are not even in Gretzky’s stratosphere. If you dropped Lemieux into the league, him and Gretzky would easily run away from everyone else and it would be a two horse race for many years!

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Gretzky could never dominate today tot the extent he did then. However, his brain was his weapon which overcame all coaching strategies and systems designed against him. Conservatively, I would guess he would put up 120-130 points a year in today’s NHL throughout a 10-12 year long prime.

That’s still pretty dominant when 2nd place is 90 to 100.

 

[Mr Positive]

if he were transported from the 1980s, he might reach his past greatness, but if his talent and ability were transported to today, and he got the benefit of modern sports science, training and nutrition he'd be a much better player than he was in the 80s. His point totals would be less, just because of the era, but he'd still be a phenom

 

[dr robbie]

Players overlap eras and dominate consistantly (Lemieux, Jagr, etc). To think Gretzky couldn't do the same is ridiculous. No, he wouldn't be scoring 200+ due to the league we currently have, but he would definitely separate himself from the pack.

 

[Passchendaele]

Players from the 2010s aren't better than players from the 1980s (well, skaters anyway). That's a silly notion.

The upper hand they have is advanced technology to deal with injuries, sharper diets and are generally in better shape.
Oh yeah, they're more fluent in Xs and Os.

By saying players from the 1980s "couldn't keep up" with players of today, you're essentially saying that they would be unable to follow diets, workout regularly and follow systems.

 

[mja]

Players from the 2010s aren't better than players from the 1980s (well, skaters anyway). That's a silly notion.

The upper hand they have is advanced technology to deal with injuries, sharper diets and are generally in better shape.
Oh yeah, they're more fluent in Xs and Os.

By saying players from the 1980s "couldn't keep up" with players of today, you're essentially saying that they would be unable to follow diets, workout regularly and follow systems.

It's not even the 80's. It's almost as if people don't remember the Gretzky scored a shit ton in the 90's. I'll just repost this:

List of some recent & current NHLers whose careers overlapped with Gretzky:

1) Joe Thornton (Gretzky outscored him by 104 points during 2 seasons)
2) Patrick Marleau (Gretzky outscored him by 75 points during 2 seasons)
3) Marian Hossa (Gretzky outscored him by 121 points during 1+ seasons)
4) Olli Jokinen (Gretzky outscored him by 131 points during 1+ seasons)
5) Vincent Lecavalier (Gretzky outscored him by 34 points during 1 season)
6) Dainus Zubrus (Gretkzy outscored him by 189 points during 3 seasons)
7) Danny Briere (Gretzky outscored him by 129 points during 1+ seasons)
8) Matt Cullen (Gretzky outscored him by 100 points during 2 seasons)
9) Shane Doan (Gretzky outscored him by 204 points during 2+ seasons)
10) Jarome Iginla (Gretzky outscored him by 116 points during 3 seasons)
11) Daniel Alfredsson (Gretzky outscored him by 141 points during 4 seasons)
12) Alexi Kovalev (Gretzky outscored him by 273 points during 7 seasons)
13) Jaromir Jagr (Gretzky outscored him by 16 points during 9 seasons)

I actually got curious to see whether or not ANY player whose career overlapped Gretzky's outscored him during the time they played simultaneously. Only found two so far: Forsberg & Selanne.

 

[shazariahl]

He would still be the best player by a decent margin, but that may not be enough to consider him the GOAT for many, simply because the point totals would be so much less than Lemieux's 199 pts. We'd be talking about how he was the only guy to even come close to 200, etc. He'd look a lot better offensively in comparison. Ironically, I think a lot of the younger posters would be supporting Wayne, claiming that Lemieux had the benefit of shooting against bad goalies, etc.

I am curious though about those who think Lemieux would dominate but not Gretzky. That seems very counter-intuitive to me, since Gretzky outscored Lemieux back when enforcers were the norm, clutching and grabbing were allowed, and slashing and hooking were a part of every play. Lemieux's superior size and strength were a big advantage in that time, yet Gretzky still put up superior numbers. I can't really see any reason Gretzky's game wouldn't translate extremely well into today's game; today's game more than any other era I've seen favors quick decision making and accuracy over size and power. This is in large part due to the players being faster and better schooled in the defensive systems of play. I can't help but feel that this era would be tailored very well to Gretzky's game.

 

[Pancakes]

He would still be the best player, yeah. Whenever people ask how Gretzky/Mario would fare in today's era, I'd say consider this:

36 year old Gretzky in 1997-98 put up 90 points on a not very good Rangers team. That's dead puck era, old Gretzky, still almost 100 points.

36 year old Mario in 2002-2003 put up 91 points in just 67 games on a pretty bad Penguins team. Dead puck era, old Mario, still almost 100 points.


Now try and imagine those guys in today's game where if you hook them it's actually a penalty. Sure they wouldn't up 200 point seasons, but they'd still be the best players. Better than Sid/OV etc. They were that good, and still would be today.