Who Had More Pure Ability: Gretzky Or Lemieux?

[c4rdsh4rk]

Sure, if Gretzky never existed.

Unfortunately, that never happened.

How unfortunate..

 

[c4rdsh4rk]

Lemieux ability wise because of his combination of dominant skill and size. But Gretzky had enough skill unlike any other that he remains the #1 all time hockey player the world has witnessed.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

LEmieux easily

 

[tony d]

Mario. If not for injury he would have been the best player ever.

 

[Thenameless]

I don't know what pure ability is but everything Lemieux did, Gretzky did better. So I guess that includes pure ability.

Lemieux was better at finishing breakaways. This is well known.

 

[Eisen]

Lemieux was better at finishing breakaways. This is well known.

Fair enough.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Lemieux was better at finishing breakaways. This is well known.

Lemieux was hooked and held and still scored goals.

 

[McVespa99]

Lemieux had better size and raw skill.

Gretzky was better at playing hockey

This

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

People say Lemieux because he had the flash and dekes. But the answer is easily Gretzky.

 

[Kaapo Takko]

Gretzky had the better career but in terms of actual talent, they're pretty close.

Here's an era-adjusted PPG list someone(forgot who) made a couple of years ago.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

I dont understand the qualifiers people use like "raw skill"

Wtf does that mean

Gretzky did things no one else could, Lemieux included.

No one will ever repeat them.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Unrelated to hockey sense & compete level, Lemieux.

 

[BackToTheBasics]

Gretzky achieved things that Lemieux was never able to. He outproduced him in every category. Higher single season goal, assist, and point totals while playing in relatively the same era. Lemieux was the sexier player with a height advantage and that's about it. Shouldn't durability be taken into account when measuring "pure ability"? Obviously battling cancer was beyond Lemieux's control but his injuries were already building up at that point with all of his back injuries.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

I dont understand the qualifiers people use like "raw skill"

Wtf does that mean

Gretzky did things no one else could, Lemieux included.

No one will ever repeat them.

There is nothing Gretzky did that Lemieux couldn’t. However things Lemieux did Gretzky can’t.

Lemieux is much more skilled

 

[Mickey Marner]

Gretzky had the better career but in terms of actual talent, they're pretty close.

Here's an era-adjusted PPG list someone(forgot who) made a couple of years ago.

The adjusted PPG for this entire data set is incorrect for every player who didn't play exclusively between 1995-96 & 2011-12. The scoring leader exclusive to said time period is Miro Satan, who I doubt made the cut. The issue being hockey-reference adjusts pts to 82 game seasons, but not the GP themselves.

For example, Gordie Howe played 2060.57 adjusted (pro-rated) games. Bringing his Adj. PPG down to 1.06.

 

[Cats2TheCup]

Mario was more noticeable but Wayne was always the winner.

 

[Leafidelity]

Lemieux had more god-given talent than Gretzky and I'm not even sure you can debate it.

Wayne was a chess player, not the best of a specific ability.

 

[DitchMarner]

Lemieux had more god-given talent than Gretzky and I'm not even sure you can debate it.

Wayne was a chess player, not the best of a specific ability.

I'm not just asking about physical ability, though... I specified that the mental aspects should be considered, too.

 

[DitchMarner]

There is nothing Gretzky did that Lemieux couldn’t. However things Lemieux did Gretzky can’t.

Lemieux is much more skilled

Physically, Lemieux definitely could do things he couldn't.

However, even though Lemieux had elite vision, it wasn't on par with Wayne's. The guy saw things no one else did. A lot of his ability was in his own mind, which makes it harder to quantify

 

[CartographerNo611]

Gretz had the better brain, the most important ability of all when its all said and done.

 

[SotasicA]

Mario probably had more physical ability. Gretzky was more a mental player, incl. vision.

 

[Tarmore]

Lemieux had way more talent, Gretzky had way more hockey IQ than anyone.

Gretzky probably has had more hockey IQ than anyone ever

 

[Albatros]

Lemieux had way more talent, Gretzky had way more hockey IQ than anyone.

Gretzky probably has had more hockey IQ than anyone ever

Of his contemporaries Adam Oates was up there, just didn't have quite the same skills otherwise.

 

[Tarmore]

Of his contemporaries Adam Oates was up there, just didn't have quite the same skills otherwise.

I just can't agree neither can the great one's 92 goal season that Oats never came close to either.

 

[Albatros]

Oates was a weak skater that didn't have the size or much of a shot either, but had a sublime vision and could build great success on it.