CH said:
True. So you normalize for that.
Daryl Shilling did
http://members.shaw.ca/hbtn/player_study/nor_points.htm Normailized Points.
Lemieux seasons come in 4th, 10th, 19th, 30th and 34th.
Howe seasons come in at 13th and 46th.
And the NHL talent level has improved since Howe's day. Lemieux scored more NORMALIZED points against better opposition.
First, saying that the NHL talent level has improved since Howe's day is fallacy. Societal Evolution makes every human being, on average, bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, more educated and better equipped than we were in the past. Saying that players were better in the 80s is not a fair comparison. If Gordie Howe's prime was during the 80s, he would have been equally bigger, faster, smarter and still have been incredibly dominant. Likewise, if Lemieux had peaked in the 50s, he would have been smaller, had more primitive equipment and dominated to the same extent he did in the 80s. Players will always be better from an evolutionary standpoint every year that passes. Are the players of the 80s bums becuase on 2050 we will be so much more advanced? You cannnot discount a player's accomplishments because of evolution. Players must be compared with how they dominated their era.
Normalized points are interesting but, they are also flawed. Were assists awarded the same way in the 60s as they were in the 80s? Were there different rules back then. Was the game played differently? Were coaching styles different? Normalizing the numbers does not account for those variables. If it was quite common to only give one assist in the 60s and in the 80s 2 assists was the norm, then we can't really compare the point totals, can we?
That is why we must look at the scoring race. Every player during any particular season plays with the same rules and variables as every other player in the league. Winning the scoring title means you are the best scorer with the same rules and era that every other player has during that season. So, the most accurate way to compare players across eras is to see how they dominated the peers that they played against.
Gordie Howe finished in the top 7 scorers in the league an amazing 20 times including 6 scoring titles with two of them by over 25% margin. Gordie finished in the top 7 goal scorers 18 times, winning 5 goal scoring crowns with 2 of them by over 50% margin and one more by over 25%. Gordie also finished in the top 7 in assists 19 times, winning the assist title twice, once by more than 25%.
That is amazing dominance!
Mario Lemieux finished in the top 7 scorers 10 times, winning six scoring titles with the biggest margin being 21%. Mario was a top 7 goal scorer 8 times, winning 3 titles and one by more than a 25% margin. Mario was a top 7 assist man 9 times, never winning a title outright but tying for the lead 3 times.
Very impressive numbers but, definitely not as impressive as what Howe accomplished.
Like I said, if Mario was healthier perhaps he could have been closer to Howe but, he wasn't. Unfortunate but that is how it played out.