Here's a long discussion about Trottier vs Bossy from late 1994:
"Lung Cancer" - Bossy wasn't just overshadowed by Gretzky - he was overshadowed by both Trottier and Potvin, two members of his own team. Potvin should be considered one of the greatest defenceman of all time, right up there with Orr and Harvey and more of a complete player than either of them... Trottier for a short time was the best player in the league. Bossy never was
"Alex A Goddard" - Your right that Potvin was a great defenceman and much underrated in history, but your contention that Trottier was better than Bossy is silly. That is a statement which is neither supported by observation or statistic. Trottier was a star player, granted, but Bossy is in another league with only a handful of players to ever play the game.... B.T.W. who scored all those goals that Trottier got assists on?
"Tom Holly" - Trottier? I have respect for him for sticking around the league so long, but his performance has dropped off so much, it's hard for me to think of him as the best player of all time. Bossy was a consistent goal scorer who epitomized the ideal sniper. I think this makes him one of the best players of all time. Bossy was the best player in the league at one time. He *did* set the standard for rookies getting more than 50 goals.
"Cordial Boy" - If you read what I said I didn't say that Trottier was one of the best players of all time. But he was more important to the dynasty than Bossy was and that means that Bossy could hardly be described as one of the greatest. I think that if you think Bossy was that good it is because you are looking at stats and you don't remember him playing. If you remembered him you wouldn't make such a rediculous statement.
"Alex A Goddard" - You've got that backwards, my friend. It's Trottier's stats that inflate his value. From watching the team play, you'd see that Bossy was the star. Goals mean a lot more than assists, and no one was better at scoring the big goal than Bossy. Bossy was a complete 2 way player as well, not to mention a sportsman and gentleman. Without Bossy on his line, Trottier would likely never have made an all star team.
"Tom Holly" - You're the only person I know of that thinks Trottier was more important to the Islander dynasty than Bossy. Potvin may have been more important than Bossy, but even that is debatable... Do you remember Mike Bossy playing? You must have shut the TV off after Trottier made the passes because you obviously didn't see who scored the goals.
"Gerry Warner" - I know you value Bossy highly, Alex, but that's no reason to put Trottier down. After all, didn't he win the Calder trophy and set a rookie scoring record in '75-76, two years before Bossy joined him? And I'm sure Bossy didn't contribute to Trottier's scoring achievements in the WHL. Both were fantastic players in their own way, and each made the other better when they played together. Unquestionably, Bossy was the more talented from a purely offensive viewpoint, but Trottier's leadership and willingness to get involved physically made him at least as valuable.
"Cordial Boy" - Bossy a complete player? Are you insane? Did you ever watch the teams play? Trottier was probably the hardest hitting forward in the game. In 78-79 Trottier won the Art Ross, the Hart, and led the league in +/- and none of those feats were ever duplicated by Bossy.
"Alex A Goddard" - REALITY is where we come from. I'll say no more about this except that you'll be hard pressed to find an intelligent hockey fan ANYWHERE who'd agree with you that Trottier was more valueable than Bossy.
"Cordial Boy" - I see. In other words the folks that elected Trottier for the Hart Trophy (that's MVP for those like yourself) can hardly be considered intelligent hockey fans. He won it in 1979. He finished second in 1978. Of course Bossy won the Lady Byng... How old are you? 21? I am willing to bet that you don't remember either Trottier or Bossy at their peaks and your opinions are probably derived almost entirely from goal-scoring statistics. Among knowledgeable fans EVERYWHERE Trottier MADE Bossy.
"Alex A Goddard" - That's the second time you've asked my age. Are you looking for a date?
"usg" - I saw both Trottier and Bossy from the beginning of their careers to the end (that is, unless Trots decides to skate yet again). Trottier was the better all-around player. Bossy had a wonderful shot and developed into a great player. But I would pick Trottier over Bossy--although both are great players. Islander fans (and intelligent fans from the Isles and elsewhere) will divide over this one for some time to come, so there's no use calling each other names.
"Frstbk" - STOP!!!! YOU'RE BOTH RIGHT!! (No this is not a Certs commercial) They were both great players who had great chemistry. I have always been a huge Trottier fan because of how hard he worked and the leadership he provided the Islanders during the dynasty but without one of the greatest trigger men the game has ever seen, I'm not sure if he would have been nearly as great.
"Paul Botts" - I'd take Trottier over Bossy (in their primes) in a second. I think Trottier's rep has suffered because he has hung on through the inevitable aging process and career decline, which Bossy didn't. Trottier at his peak was the top forward in the game, and arguably the top *player* for at least a couple of seasons.
"Josh Millard" - For the first part, Trottier and Bossy had an enormous amount of chemistry between them...sometimes they'd do things on the ice which would just make you shake your head and wonder whether they were in telepathic contact during the play, or what. Trots' success was so much a part of Bossy, and vice-versa. Try and seperate that.
"Josh Millard" - What is it with both of you? Both of these guys have been successful without the other...I get the feeling you're just arguing over what sort of play you like to watch, what makes you think a player excels. Goal-scoring, hitting and playmaking. Trottier was more well rounded as a traditional hockey player, taking care of business when Gillies would go on those 5-game naps, or when Gilbert did something stupid (again!). Bossy was probably the sharper puck-handler, scorer and playmaker. Neither MADE the other. They were two disparate players who really clicked in company with each other. What's the point of arguing which one is more important, or the better all-around player? They needed each other to be at their very best.
"Public Health Advocate" - Trottier won the Hart once and finished second the year before. Bossy never finished even second. What this means is that for at least one year Trottier was considered by quite a few to be the best player in the league. The same cannot be said about Bossy... If you consider either Bossy or Trottier to be one of the "greatest" your list must be very long indeed. I would rank Potvin ahead of either.
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