Howe is 1st in adjusted goals, second in adjusted assists and 2nd in adjusted points. He's undeniably more well rounded than Gretzky and Mario.
In a lot more games. Gretzkys numbers are just untouchable and he did it for long enough, its a homerish idea that Howe should be above him.
Cannot take Howe over super Mario. I think he is in that next forward spot probably after Orr and maybe Hasek go. So 4 or 5 on Howe.
My real contention in this exercise will be after we exit that top five, a team building block that brings excellence in Lidstrom should then enter that picture but watch on the mains as other d-man and guys pass him. Hardly any guys if any have ever controlled the tempo of the game like Lidstrom. I understand him maybe not being a fixture in top 10 arguments, but when building a team he should absolutely be a top 10 all-time player as a building block.
You absolutely can and theres really well reasoned posts on the history of hockey section why. At his offensive peak, Howe was outscoring his competition comparable to what Lemieux did over people not named Gretzky when you adjust for scoring. There might be an edge to Lemeux in peak scoring but its a small edge in reality and part of it is made up for in defensive play and physicality. But with Howe you get toughness, defensive play and the best longevity a career has ever seen. Theyre close enough that Howes slightly lower peak is blown away by the fact that he was elite for 20 years. There is a better argument for Howe over Mario than there is for Mario over Howe when you get past the big numbers Lemieux put up due to the era he played in. Howes prime was in a lower scoring era than the dead puck era so raw numbers dont help at all. I would say a single season peak, theyre close (53 for Howe was insane). Lemeiux probably has the best 3 year peak and after that its all Howe.
The number one reason to pick Howe? During his peak he basically missed 0 games, pretty sure he didnt miss a game during 6 years where he won the art ross. Lemeiux was sitting out back to back games because he didnt train.
Wayne has a better offensive peak than both and more than enough longevity to make him a clear number one. Mario doesnt have that. And no, Howe is clearly ahead of Hasek as well.