All time under-rated Superstars - Dionne

[mcphee]

Dionne was probably the most under rated forward I have ever seen.

I'd say Brad park the most under rated D-man.

Both HOF players that played in the shadows of the greatest to play the game.

Historically,you can say they were underrated but during their careers they were given their due, esp. Park. He was #2 to Orr for a period of time. Considering who Orr was,that's saying something. Dionne's numbers can't be challenged,but to me, there was always something that separated him from the best of the best. Maybe because he seemed to be a support player in int'l. competitions, or maybe unfairly because his teams lacked playoff success. I respect his accomplishments,but I agree that he ranks below the Lafleur's and Beliveau's. Dionne was the big fish in a small pond, a bad week would never cost him prime pp time,like it would have Mikita,Hull,Beliveau etc. Players on great teams share icetime and oppurtunity while Dionne was never in that situation.

 

[Sens Rule]

Historically,you can say they were underrated but during their careers they were given their due, esp. Park. He was #2 to Orr for a period of time. Considering who Orr was,that's saying something. Dionne's numbers can't be challenged,but to me, there was always something that separated him from the best of the best. Maybe because he seemed to be a support player in int'l. competitions, or maybe unfairly because his teams lacked playoff success. I respect his accomplishments,but I agree that he ranks below the Lafleur's and Beliveau's. Dionne was the big fish in a small pond, a bad week would never cost him prime pp time,like it would have Mikita,Hull,Beliveau etc. Players on great teams share icetime and oppurtunity while Dionne was never in that situation.

That's my point. In his time people respected him as among the best forwards with Clarke and Lafleur, etc even if he was a shade below them. but today he does not get the respect his career deserves. Like in comparision to Basketball he is similar to Karl Malone. No title and among the best players for well over a decade in an obscure market. And both are right among the all time leaders in offensive numbers. If there was an time top 50 list of players Malone is on everyone's list but Dionne may not be on some of those hockey lists and he deserves to be there. he is in the top 20-30 All-time but many would rate him out of the top 50.

 

[mcphee]

That's my point. In his time people respected him as among the best forwards with Clarke and Lafleur, etc even if he was a shade below them. but today he does not get the respect his career deserves. Like in comparision to Basketball he is similar to Karl Malone. No title and among the best players for well over a decade in an obscure market. And both are right among the all time leaders in offensive numbers. If there was an time top 50 list of players Malone is on everyone's list but Dionne may not be on some of those hockey lists and he deserves to be there. he is in the top 20-30 All-time but many would rate him out of the top 50.

Success is always partly due to circumstance though. The Oilers had to tinker with their lineup befor ethey won,the Isles added Goring, players reutations are built by their environments to an extent. Lafleur just may have scored as many if not more goals if he was the sole offensive option on the Kings, but not have gone down historically as the same player. The drama of playoff and cup wins helps build the legend, and Dionne had none of that. I've never been a huge fan of his to be honest, I've sort of considered him a great point getter,more than a great player, but I suspect I'm probably unfair with him.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

That's my point. In his time people respected him as among the best forwards with Clarke and Lafleur, etc even if he was a shade below them. but today he does not get the respect his career deserves. Like in comparision to Basketball he is similar to Karl Malone. No title and among the best players for well over a decade in an obscure market. And both are right among the all time leaders in offensive numbers. If there was an time top 50 list of players Malone is on everyone's list but Dionne may not be on some of those hockey lists and he deserves to be there. he is in the top 20-30 All-time but many would rate him out of the top 50.

Dionnne is not a top 30 player IMO. More like somewhere in the 40-55 range.

 

[Malefic74]

Even as a scorer I always thought Perreault was a touch ahead of Dioone to be honest. Is Dionne underrated? Depends where you put him. If you have him below #50-55 than, yes he's under-rated. I agree with JFF, somewhere in the 40-49 range is about right I think. Post Penguins Jagr has always reminded me of Dionne, still a fabulous player, capable of doing things no other player in the league can even dream of, but doing it on a team going nowhere, scoring both goals in 4-2 loss. Having said that I think Dionne had more heart than Jagr has been displaying in the last 3 seasons or so.

As to Park, he and Pierre Pilote are probably the two most under-rated defencemen out there. Park had the passing and shot of Harvey but was nowhere near the hitter Doug was. Harvey destroyed people in addition to being good with the puck.

My own pick for most under-rated is probably Marc Tardif, but the combination of playing in the WHA and a brain injury that changed his style of play really make people forget about him. But prior to that injury he was arguably better than all but a handful of forwards in the NHL.

 

[mcphee]

My own pick for most under-rated is probably Marc Tardif, but the combination of playing in the WHA and a brain injury that changed his style of play really make people forget about him. But prior to that injury he was arguably better than all but a handful of forwards in the NHL.

The memory I'll always have of Tardif is of his early years with Mtl. He showed absolutely no emotion,didn't celebrate goals,didn't raise his stick etc. I don't think I ever saw another player like that.