Dipsy Doodle
Rent A Barn
- May 28, 2006
- 76,592
- 21,132
Lindros was incredible. Malkin is a great player without a doubt, but at his best Lindros was unstoppable. He simply owned the ice.
Moreover, when I compare players at their peak, I think of it as "who would I want more for one game at their very best?", and in that regard, I take Lindros every time. As you extend the window of time considered "peak", Malkin becomes a better player, and it's more from injuries than anything else. It wasn't as if Lindros got "figured out" after his Hart season, he just couldn't stay on the ice game in and game out for seasons on end. There is, of course, something to be said for staying healthy, but comparing peaks is not the time to do so, IMO.
Worth noting here that in terms of peak and who you'd take for one game, Malkin literally scored the most playoff points in a single playoff run by any forward not named Gretzky or Lemieux.
And he did it with Fedotenko and Talbot on his wings at ES, who few would confuse with prime Leclair and Renberg...to put it diplomatically.