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

[GreatGonzo]

Maybe, maybe not...Gretzky was way ahead of the times back then, but everyone was also stupid back then. Game is a lot faster and smarter today so hard to tell how he would have evolved with the game.

Really? That’s your insight? Everyone was just plain old stupid back then?

Were they stupid in the 90s as well? Perhaps everyone before 06 was pretty stupid.

 

[wabagee]

Being from Winnipeg and getting f***ed by Edmonton all the time, I was always peer pressured into believing Gretzky was a chump(for lack of a better word). After a couple seasons I couldn't deny he was the best and is still the best I've ever seen! Some of my friends and family still think like cavemen but most of them matured and finally agree with me. Without Gretzky, the talent today would not be as great#99

 

[Mbraunm]

Really? That’s your insight? Everyone was just plain old stupid back then?

Were they stupid in the 90s as well? Perhaps everyone before 06 was pretty stupid.

Very true-humanity has evolved so much in the last 30 years! (Lol - In actuality, it takes tens of thousands of years for even the slightest changes to the human genome to occur! The genetics of athletes from even 100 years ago is no different than the genomes of today’s athletes)

 

[GreatGonzo]

That's true. He would be as agile and fast as the best ones while still having that natural gift in scoring/playmaking. 99 would be retired league wide still.

BUT

In today's game star players are targeted by dirty play and huge hits. There's no enforcers to protect the star player. Would Gretzky be injured way often than his actual career?

That’s not true at all. If anything this era is perfect for him because of the lack of physicallity and clutching/grabbing.

Star players aren’t targeted. If players like Kane and even now, Gaudreau, who is 2nd in points, can excel, then he could.

 

[Future GOAT]

Tough to say actually. It's possible he would be, and it's also possible he wouldn't be.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

Not true. Walter taught Wayne to think about, and go to, where the puck was going.

Gretzky was in no way a savant (people who have a special skill, but also significant mental disability). He was a hockey prodigy. Like most prodigies (across all kinds of fields) Gretzky both had the requisite physical and mental characteristics for success, tied to the environmental luck of being born into a family with a father like Walter.

Not true. Wayne watched the NHL on TV and came to that conclusion himself. The story is well known. Not sure where you got your info from.

I do agree that he is not a savant (obviously) I'm sure that poster was just definition mistaken. However, if all you have to tell your eight year old is to go where the puck is going to be then there would be plenty of Gretzky's around.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I'd be surprised if he would've even made the NHL today, most stars from that era would be career AHL'ers if that
Back then many players smoked a pack a day, were drinking between periods and playing drunk and 90% of goals scored were going on a breakaway and taking a slapshot from the blueline that the drunk goalie dives for no reason and lets in

 

[Eisen]

it's amazing how humans keep getting smarter and smarter as evidenced by the technology we have today

but athletic ability and skill has some how gotten worse, it peaked in the 80's

it's even worse in baseball, Babe Ruth played 100 years ago those guys would work as roofers during the day and still outplay guys of today

They are not getting smarter. Academic standards are down in the last 30 years (at least in Germany)

 

[Mbraunm]

I'd be surprised if he would've even made the NHL today, most stars from that era would be career AHL'ers if that
Back then many players smoked a pack a day, were drinking between periods and playing drunk and 90% of goals scored were going on a breakaway and taking a slapshot from the blueline that the drunk goalie dives for no reason and lets in

Not sure if you are actually serious or kidding?

 

[EdJovanovski]

Not sure if you are actually serious or kidding?

I'm serious, if you google it or ask your dad I'm sure you'll hear about how all the players were drinking beer during intermissions and playing drunk. Smoking during intermissions, you name it. None of them could last a game in todays NHL
If you watch highlights of Gretzky most his goals were literally scored skating on a breakaway and slapping it from the blue line on a goalie who's falling down for no reason, 99% of his goals wouldn't have went in on todays goalies, let alone todays defensemen.

 

[biotk]

Not true. Wayne watched the NHL on TV and came to that conclusion himself. The story is well known. Not sure where you got your info from.

I do agree that he is not a savant (obviously) I'm sure that poster was just definition mistaken. However, if all you have to tell your eight year old is to go where the puck is going to be then there would be plenty of Gretzky's around.

No, what you are saying is a myth. The kinds of myths that develop around most elite performers.

Walter's advice to go where the puck is going, not to where it is, is among the most known quotes in hockey. Of course, it is true that such advice can't turn someone into a star, but that is not the case I am making - if it was his brother Brent would be just as great. The story about Wayne watching hockey and tracing the movement of the puck is true, but again, it was not Wayne's idea - it was Walter to got him to do that.

You can look at Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, Serena and Venus Williams, the Polgar sisters and so on. And what they have in common is being born and raised in a particular environment where one (or both) parents were completely dedicated to ensuring their child was successful in the chosen sport or activity. Where that parent came up with creative ideas to help the child see the game differently, and once the child had outgrown the parents ability they passed the further development off to others. Doesn't mean that any child would be as successful in the same environment, but the environment gives them a massive head start over their peers.

It's a combination of nature and nurture. Gretzky was blessed both it comes to genetics and with growing up in the environment he grew up in.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

No, what you are saying is a myth. The kinds of myths that develop around most elite performers.

Walter's advice to go where the puck is going, not to where it is, is among the most known quotes in hockey. Of course, it is true that such advice can't turn someone into a star, but that is not the case I am making - if it was his brother Brent would be just as great. The story about Wayne watching hockey and tracing the movement of the puck is true, but again, it was not Wayne's idea - it was Walter to got him to do that.

You can look at Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, Serena and Venus Williams, the Polgar sisters and so on. And what they have in common is being born and raised in a particular environment where one (or both) parents were completely dedicated to ensuring their child was successful in the chosen sport or activity. Where that parent came up with creative ideas to help the child see the game differently, and once the child had outgrown the parents ability they passed the further development off to others. Doesn't mean that any child would be as successful in the same environment, but the environment gives them a massive head start over their peers.

It's a combination of nature and nurture. Gretzky was blessed both it comes to genetics and with growing up in the environment he grew up in.

Where did I say it was his idea? Where did I say that his father had nothing to do with his success? You are making stuff up.

It was a well known antidote when he was a young Oiler. Makes me wonder if you watched him back then, which I doubt unless you were an Albertan (lack of programming back then), or just read a book. The rest is just grade ten nature vrs nurture stuff.

 

[GreatGonzo]

I'm serious, if you google it or ask your dad I'm sure you'll hear about how all the players were drinking beer during intermissions and playing drunk. Smoking during intermissions, you name it. None of them could last a game in todays NHL
If you watch highlights of Gretzky most his goals were literally scored skating on a breakaway and slapping it from the blue line on a goalie who's falling down for no reason, 99% of his goals wouldn't have went in on todays goalies, let alone todays defensemen.

So it’s safe to say Gretzky wasn’t that good?

I mean, if that’s the case, then every all time great that played in the 80s should have their credentials questioned, right?

What about the 90s? Was there a lot of that going on as well?

 

[EdJovanovski]

So it’s safe to say Gretzky wasn’t that good?

I mean, if that’s the case, then every all time great that played in the 80s should have their credentials questioned, right?

What about the 90s? Was there a lot of that going on as well?

Well players stats and accomplishments are all relative to the other players of their era, so I still consider Gretzky one of the legends
But players from his day would be absolutely destroyed today, and Gretzky isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things. Players from the 1940’s for instance would not even beat a bantom AAA team today

 

[Legionnaire]

I'm serious, if you google it or ask your dad I'm sure you'll hear about how all the players were drinking beer during intermissions and playing drunk. Smoking during intermissions, you name it. None of them could last a game in todays NHL
If you watch highlights of Gretzky most his goals were literally scored skating on a breakaway and slapping it from the blue line on a goalie who's falling down for no reason, 99% of his goals wouldn't have went in on todays goalies, let alone todays defensemen.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Well players stats and accomplishments are all relative to the other players of their era, so I still consider Gretzky one of the legends
But players from his day would be absolutely destroyed today, and Gretzky isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things. Players from the 1940’s for instance would not even beat a bantom AAA team today

So once again, Gretzky was just lucky to have been playing against slobs. Why do we call him the greatest of all time? Shouldn’t he simply be the greatest of the 80s? The king of the “inferior” league?

Would the players of the late 90s get destroyed as well?

 

[EdJovanovski]

So once again, Gretzky was just lucky to have been playing against slobs. Why do we call him the greatest of all time? Shouldn’t he simply be the greatest of the 80s? The king of the “inferior” league?

Would the players of the late 90s get destroyed as well?

Yea I wouldn’t say he’s anywhere near as good as the stars of today
And in the 90’s the game got a lot more defensive so that’s where the gap narrows, and I bet less than half the players in the mid-late 90’s were playing drunk. It was really bad in the 70s-80s when guys would be smoking pot and having 6 beer in a single intermission

 

[kaiser matias]

Yea I wouldn’t say he’s anywhere near as good as the stars of today
And in the 90’s the game got a lot more defensive so that’s where the gap narrows, and I bet less than half the players in the mid-late 90’s were playing drunk. It was really bad in the 70s-80s when guys would be smoking pot and having 6 beer in a single intermission

You are aware who the highest scoring player of the 1990s was right? Would someone who excelled then be able to transition to today's game?

 

[Howie Hodge]

Greztky would be too slow and too small to play in today's NHL............................

 

[JeremyTB]

Yes because his Hockey IQ would be far ahead of everybody else.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Obvious sarcasm...

 

[MikeyMike01]

I'm serious, if you google it or ask your dad I'm sure you'll hear about how all the players were drinking beer during intermissions and playing drunk. Smoking during intermissions, you name it. None of them could last a game in todays NHL
If you watch highlights of Gretzky most his goals were literally scored skating on a breakaway and slapping it from the blue line on a goalie who's falling down for no reason, 99% of his goals wouldn't have went in on todays goalies, let alone todays defensemen.

If drinking/smoking made such a huge difference, why didn’t some talentless bum simply not drink/smoke and dominate the league? Is it because you’re full of shit?

 

[EdJovanovski]

If drinking/smoking made such a huge difference, why didn’t some talentless bum simply not drink/smoke and dominate the league? Is it because you’re full of ****?

I’m sure there was a lot of peer pressure and guys in the lockerroom corner players and would beat them up if they don’t smoke pot, etc. if a player didn’t do it I’m sure they’d get chirped, etc. I bet the better players were better BECAUSE they didn’t smoke/drink, I don’t think Gretzky did much. But you’re kidding yourself if you don’t think players in the 70’s were high off their ass on weed, shrooms, LSD, etc and players in the 80’s weren’t absolutely drunk. It’s a different game today and I bet there’s not a single player who even has a beer on game day

 

[Legionnaire]

You do understand that their are players right now in the NHL that are functioning alcoholics and or drug addicts, right?

 

[Scott Malkinson]

No.

He would probably put up 80-90 points.