When all are retired the 6 best careers will be ...

[bobholly39]

When all are retired the 6 best careers will be ... Edit: Bedard has almost 25%!

Not that surprising on Bedard tbh. Half the people have him as a generational prospect on the level of a Crosby/McDavid, half a bit less. If he ends up on their level (or close) - it means he'd be in contention to reach that high.

 

[JoeSakic13]

No Toews? Reported.

 

[bobholly39]

Obvious names for me are:

Gretzky, Lemieux, Beliveau, Morenz and McDavid. That's your definite top 5 in some order.

Matthews, MacKinnon and Thompson definitely don't make the cut. Draisaitl is peaking high enough that I suppose its not completely out of the realm of possibilities he could surpass a Mikita/Messier level player if he keeps his level long enough. Still - super unlikely on Drai, so not voting him.

Mikita and Messier are close to me - but ill actually go Bedard #6. Super early/super optimistic prediction - but Ill say he surpasses both Messier/Mikita for career

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Not won anything so far, not very much individual hardware either and McDavid factor yes.

He is certainly close in capability but we are talking about likely career outcomes here, I am not very convinced he will win any more scoring title, rocket(most possible I suppose but it's lower ranked than Hart/Art Ross for me anyway) or cup.

RIP, you took the bait.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Smart not to use Jagr, this way we won't need to wait another 35 years to answer the question.

Or the fact that Jagr wasn’t a center.

Feel like Crosby shoulda been over TT

Let the new fans have fun on here…

 

[Mitch nylander]

Went with Keith Gretzky, Brendan Lemieux, Isaac Beliveau, Mikita and that Mcdavid fella

 

[wetcoast]

The first 4 are pretty clear: Gretz, Mario, JB and McDavid. The 5th and 6th are very, very fuzzy.

Morenz is a pretty solid 5th but part of that is the mythical status around his untimely death.

For 6th I took Bedard on potential and some of the other have missed too much time and TT is unlikely to be a top 100 player never mind a top 6 one.

 

[Fig]

Or the fact that Jagr wasn’t a center.


Let the new fans have fun on here…

I had no clue that was the criteria until pointed out. OP didn't mention it.

That makes a heck of a lot more sense as to why there are certain players "missing".

 

[blundluntman]

Tage Thompson?? Lmfao

In all seriousness though, the first 4 are pretty obvious: Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid, Beliveau. But the final 2 slots are very difficult for me.

You obviously have the 3 M's: Mikita, Messier, and Morenz. While I think as a player, Messier may be 3rd out of them, his career to me seems to have been the best. He doesn't have the art rosses but he has 2 harts just like the other 2, 2 conn smythes, and 6 cups. I'd say he had the most successful career. I'd also say Mikita had a better career than Morenz simply because he played longer and racked up more awards/honors. Honestly, Idk how to contextualize Morenz's career so I can't say for sure but I likely take Messier and Mikita here if I don't think about it too hard.

Then there's Bedard. Obviously, he's still a question mark since he hasn't played a game, but as far as his prospect career's concerned, projecting him to be in the Crosby/McDavid tier is a fair assessment. If he ends up close to that, I think he'll finish as high as 4 on this list. My gut tells me he'll pan out, but I'd feel kinda crazy slotting him in there right now.

So I guess for now it's: Gretzky, Lemiuex, McDavid, Beliveau, Messier, Mikita. With Morenz as an HM and Bedard as a dark horse.

 

[bobholly39]

Tage Thompson?? Lmfao

In all seriousness though, the first 4 are pretty obvious: Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid, Beliveau. But the final 2 slots are very difficult for me.

You obviously have the 3 M's: Mikita, Messier, and Morenz. While I think as a player, Messier may be 3rd out of them, his career to me seems to have been the best. He doesn't have the art rosses but he has 2 harts just like the other 2, 2 conn smythes, and 6 cups. I'd say he had the most successful career. I'd also say Mikita had a better career than Morenz simply because he played longer and racked up more awards/honors. Honestly, Idk how to contextualize Morenz's career so I can't say for sure but I likely take Messier and Mikita here if I don't think about it too hard.

Then there's Bedard. Obviously, he's still a question mark since he hasn't played a game, but as far as his prospect career's concerned, projecting him to be in the Crosby/McDavid tier is a fair assessment. If he ends up close to that, I think he'll finish as high as 4 on this list. My gut tells me he'll pan out, but I'd feel kinda crazy slotting him in there right now.

So I guess for now it's: Gretzky, Lemiuex, McDavid, Beliveau, Messier, Mikita. With Morenz as an HM and Bedard as a dark horse.

I think Messier's playoff record is absolutely outstanding - so I'm not exactly criticizing his performances or record - but just to correct you he doesn't have 2 Conn Smythes, he has only 1. And his 1 smythe - he also probably didn't deserve it, as Gretzky was better/should have won.

 

[blundluntman]

I think Messier's playoff record is absolutely outstanding - so I'm not exactly criticizing his performances or record - but just to correct you he doesn't have 2 Conn Smythes, he has only 1. And his 1 smythe - he also probably didn't deserve it, as Gretzky was better/should have won.

Oh yeah that’s right, Leetch won it in 94. Good catch. Yeah I agree Gretzky should’ve won it, probably should’ve won the hart over him in 1990 as well. Either way, he had some great seasons and playoff campaigns with the hardware to show for it

 

[jigglysquishy]

Messier has the unique distinction in that you can argue he was a top 3 player on 6 Cup winners, functionally comprising 3 different cores.

 

[Three On Zero]

No Crosby of Ovechkin? Interesting choices

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Morenz should have more votes. Best player of the first half of the 20th century. Only Shore comes close.

Bedard is still unproven so I went with Messier there.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Yes, the history board has Stan ranked higher.

Hmmm very debatable.. they both have two Hart wins.

Mikita has scoring titles, but Messier has more cups and a Conn Smythe..hmm

 

[Malaka]

Just rewatched his first preseason game. How do I use my other 5 votes on bedard

 

[Connor McConnor]

Why even include Gretz and Mario? Just ask for top 3

 

[loosemoose]

It's disrespectful to have other names beside Tage Thompson on the list.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Beliveau but no Orr or Howe? Wut? Is this supposed to be centers only?

I picked Bedard just to jump on the hype train like it was 1991. CHOO-CHOO!

 

[BraveCanadian]

Morenz should have more votes. Best player of the first half of the 20th century. Only Shore comes close.

Bedard is still unproven so I went with Messier there.

Yeah but a lot of the kids don't consider hockey to be hockey until 2010(?).. except when you talk about Lemieux or Hasek or Forsberg or Fedorov etc.. who for some reason get a pass.

 

[akapidots]

Gotta go Tage Thompson here

 

[wetcoast]

How does Messier have double the votes of Howie Morenz?

It's the main boards and Morenz has a weird career and his legacy doesn't always match the stats.

 

[Hippasus]

It's the main boards and Morenz has a weird career and his legacy doesn't always match the stats.

He had the all-time points and single-season points (?) records at the time of his death. The guy was totally dedicated to the Habs even though the fans booed him post-injuries.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Fun fact for the day...

After 638 regular season games played:
Draisaitl: 306 goals and 744 points
Messier: 300 goals and 736 points