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

[someguy44]

Seriously, people? You can compare recent era's players. Just look at Lemieux. He dominated this league in the early 2000's after coming back from cancer, in the middle of the dead puck era and in his mid to late 30's (way past his prime). 91 points in 67 games for Lemieux is well past his prime.

There's no question that guys like Crosby, Oveckin or McDavid would not even be comparable to Mario in his prime. You know who was comparable to Lemieux in his prime? Take a guess.

Guys like Gretzky or Lemieux outscored their closest peers by a wide margin. Only truly special players are capable of this. Sakic, Forsberg, Selanne, Jagr, Bure, etc.. were around in the 90s and 2000's yet they still got outscored by 2 old guys in Gretzky/Lemieux.

You kids don't think Gretzky in his prime (the guy who was touted as a phenom in his kid years) would not dominate this present NHL? I agree that he wouldn't get 200 points, but 150-170 is definitely doable.

 

[daver]

Has the discussion moved to how toasters are so much better today than in the '50s yet?

 

[ottawah]

Perhaps just a pertinent question is how much better would Gretzky be today if he had the younger age development model that exists now, the new training techniques, the new equipment (sticks are much better), the emphasis on nutrition and off ice training, much less physical game, etc etc etc.

Comparing players across eras is highly difficult because so much has changed.

 

[LeafGrief]

The guy isn't the goat because of his physical tools or his training, it's because of his hockey IQ. He'd annihilate the league and some lucky bastard like Jake DeBrusk would score 65 goals as his winger.

 

[NoMessi]

For those millemials: 66 came out of retirement at the age of 35 after missing 3 seasons, and in 43 games put up 76 pts.

P/G Leaders:
Lemieux: 1.77
Prime Jagr: 1.49
Peak Sakic: 1.44
Prime Forsberg: 1.22

To answer the OP, yes. Yes, Gretzky would still be the GOAT.

Also for the basketball guys, LeBron is well on his way to #2 and is probably closer to Jordan than you'd want to believe.

And he came back overweight, in the middle of the season with barely a months preparation and in the middle of the dead puck era.

 

[Dey so soff*]

No way. His intangibles were good but there is no way that he would outintangible Mr Intagibles himself, Jon Toews...

 

[Dolemite]

Gretzky’s brilliance on the ice was in part to a deep and talented team that gave him the room to operate.

 

[Asheville]

The notion of Gretzky being the greatest hockey player ever seems to really bother some.

 

[GreatGonzo]

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

Anywhere near as good? That’s a bold statement. So why do we call him the GOAT if the stars of today are so much better?

Would love to hear where you get your inside information from...

 

[GreatGonzo]

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?

Everyone was so drunk and stoned back then though, so it doesn’t matter.

 

[3rdLiner]

I honestly think Mario has a better chance transitioning to today's game because of his crazy physical gifts. Gretzky was the perfect storm of talent and smarts at just the right point in time though.

 

[GreatGonzo]

No.

He would probably put up 80-90 points.

So Gretzky would get out produced by guys like Marchand and Backstrom? Interesting?

You are aware he put up 90+ points twice in his late 30s in the late 90s, beating out many of the young guns of that time, right?

 

[SenzZen]

Players are even more predictable now than they were then, and his greatest skill was anticipating the play.

Can't see the improved athleticism and speed changing much, as it would apply to him, too.

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Yeah let’s discuss this topic. It’s entirely new and nobody has yet to talk about it

True, but of all the rehashed thread topics, this is a very compelling question for sure.

 

[skillhockey]

Let's say he was brought back same time as Crosby and Ovechkin joined the league. He'd have 10+ art ross trophies now. GOAT just the same. Only exception for the art rosses is if they brought Lemieux back too.

 

[Lenerdosy]

Would he be putting up 200+ points? I doubt it, defenders, goaltenders and even forwards backchecking are far superior now than when he played. But he would have advanced training compared to his time and his IQ is unmatched. I compare his IQ to someone like Steve Nash, who was so ridiculously smart that he could see things others couldn't and revolutionized how people played the game. Gretzky did that and I am sure his IQ would still be unmatched and he would be making saucer passes all along the ice that would make Thorton, Sedin, McDavid, etc. all marvel at. Hard to compare eras, so many things change but up until his retirement he was by far the best player to ever play the game. Its too bad you can't somehow take a time machine, get all the best players from their eras and have them play head to head, man would that ever be fun to watch.

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

Pffft not even close.

Not with that skating.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

40-50 goals, 130-150 points, consistently per year. Sweeps the awards throughout his entire 20's and into his 30's.

Yeah, I'd say that "GOAT" would still apply.

 

[blundluntman]

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

This is elite level trolling. Gretzky level if I must say so. Well done

 

[blundluntman]

In all seriousness, Gretzky with a terrible back at age 37 (in the DEAD PUCK ERA) had a better statistical season than Tavares and Stamkos (and 90% of active star players for that matter) have ever had. This shouldn't even be a discussion if he was in his prime.

 

[GreatGonzo]

It’s silly how people talk about 80s Gretzky as if after scoring started to drop, defenses for tighter, and goaltending back better, that he totally fell off in terms of production. His reign lasted lasted for nearly 20 years, that’s through the 80s AND 90s, and all the way to the DPE. The main thing that slowed Gretzky down was injuries, especially the Suter hit in the early 90s. It messed up his back and it was something he had to deal with for the remainder of his career.

If you want to look at how Gretzky would fair in this era, look for further than ‘97 and ‘98. Scoring was actually lower, the star power was stronger, defenses were just as great, while that time frame saw some of the best goaltenders to ever play. And he led the league in assists both years, finished 4th and 3rd in points, and was a 2nd Team AS center both years, losing to Lemieux and Forsberg, all in his late 30s. You really think it was his physical shape that made that happen? No, it was his mind, his hockey IQ.

Hockey hasn’t changed much since then. I would say the star power isn’t as strong, and the game is played more within systems rather than free flowing creativity. The players haven’t gotten much bigger, and the rule changes allowed the play to become much faster, but why would that be a negative for Gretzky? If anything that would help him. The game is much more open, much easier to get around.

The interesting thing to think about is everyone playing around him. Many, and I mean MANY top stars in the game today saw Gretzky as a hero, and modeled themselves after guys like him and Lemieux. Take that sense of inspiration, maybe Crosby wouldn’t be the same Crosby. It might be history being made all over again.

 

[trader997]

Gretzky got nailed only once in his career by a guy name Mccreary and after this incident nobody dared touching him. Totally different game these days since no one gets a free pass. If you played the game, it's easy to understand that playing fearless of getting hit any time you are on the ice is so much easier.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Gretzky got nailed only once in his career by a guy name Mccreary and after this incident nobody dared touching him. Totally different game these days since no one gets a free pass. If you played the game, it's easy to understand that playing fearless of getting hit any time you are on the ice is so much easier.

People tried hitting him all the time. You under estimate his abilities to dodge hits and physical play.

 

[Prettyisland]

Give that guy a pair of composite skates and stick he’d be unreal. That and modern training would make him the goat. His vision and hockey sense will transcend any era until the sport ends.

 

[Sentinel]

Gretzky got nailed only once in his career by a guy name Mccreary and after this incident nobody dared touching him. Totally different game these days since no one gets a free pass. If you played the game, it's easy to understand that playing fearless of getting hit any time you are on the ice is so much easier.

You don't know who Gary Suter is, do you?

People tried hitting Gretzky all the time. It was just very hard to do. "It was like trying to hit a wet towel" was the common saying. Oh, and Semenko and McSorley had something to say about trying to hit Wayne.