Better goal scorer- lemieux vs bossy

[biotk]

Bossy retired early but Was fairly durable the time he was there. He also has a better goals per game.

The reason Bossy has higher career goals per game is because Lemieux played longer. Lemieux was ahead (usually well ahead) of Bossy in career goals per game until Lemieux's final 11 career games (during which time he scored only once) when he was 40.

At 30 years old Bossy had 573 goals in 752 games (0.762 goals per game). He didn't play a game past 30.

At 30 years old Mario had 563 goals in 669 games (0.842 goals per game).
From 31 to 35 Mario only played 119 games, but scored 85 goals (0.714)
From 36 to 40 he only scored 42 goals in 127 games (0.331)

 

[Devil Dancer]

Come on, I hate Lemieux and the Pens, but he wins this easily.

 

[KevinRedkey]

I took the top 100 adjusted goal scorers (career), and sorted it by goals per game.

Player	Games	Adj. Goals	Adj. GpG
Howie Morenz	550	501	0.911
Nels Stewart	650	587	0.903
Bill Cook	475	422	0.888
Aurele Joliat	655	489	0.747
*Alex Ovechkin	1102	802	0.728
Mario Lemieux	915	616	0.673
Maurice Richard	978	653	0.668
Pavel Bure	702	463	0.660
*Steven Stamkos	761	484	0.636
Mike Bossy	752	461	0.613
Bobby Hull	1063	644	0.606
Brett Hull	1269	738	0.582
*Ilya Kovalchuk	897	497	0.554
*Sidney Crosby	960	521	0.543
Bernie Geoffrion	883	464	0.525
Gordie Howe	1767	925	0.523
Phil Esposito	1282	671	0.523
*Evgeni Malkin	858	445	0.519
Jean Beliveau	1125	575	0.511
*Teemu Selanne	1451	741	0.511
Wayne Gretzky	1487	758	0.510
Peter Bondra	1081	549	0.508
Keith Tkachuk	1201	584	0.486
Jaromir Jagr	1733	841	0.485
Alexander Mogilny	990	480	0.485
*Patrick Kane	919	442	0.481
Pat LaFontaine	865	414	0.479
Dany Heatley	869	415	0.478
Rick Nash	1060	496	0.468
Joe Sakic	1378	643	0.467
Frank Mahovlich	1181	550	0.466
John LeClair	967	447	0.462
Luc Robitaille	1431	652	0.456
Jarome Iginla	1554	706	0.454
Marian Hossa	1309	594	0.454
Marcel Dionne	1348	610	0.453
Paul Kariya	989	445	0.450
Joe Nieuwendyk	1257	560	0.446
Mats Sundin	1346	599	0.445
*Marian Gaborik	1035	460	0.444
*Jeff Carter	997	441	0.442
*Zach Parise	963	425	0.441
Brendan Shanahan	1524	672	0.441
Ted Lindsay	1068	465	0.435
Theoren Fleury	1084	468	0.432
*Corey Perry	998	430	0.431
Dino Ciccarelli	1232	530	0.430
Guy Lafleur	1126	480	0.426
Steve Yzerman	1514	644	0.425
Mike Gartner*	1432	609	0.425
*Joe Pavelski	980	416	0.424
*Phil Kessel	1013	420	0.415
*Eric Staal	1191	493	0.414
Milan Hejduk	1020	418	0.410
Thomas Vanek	1029	420	0.408
Sergei Fedorov	1248	508	0.407
Michel Goulet	1089	443	0.407
Joe Mullen	1062	432	0.407
Jari Kurri	1251	503	0.402
Pierre Turgeon	1294	517	0.400
Daniel Alfredsson	1246	492	0.395
Martin St. Louis	1134	445	0.392
Vincent Lecavalier	1212	471	0.389
Markus Naslund	1117	434	0.389
Stan Mikita	1396	541	0.388
Mike Modano	1499	578	0.386
Owen Nolan	1200	458	0.382
*Patrick Marleau	1671	632	0.378
Tony Amonte	1174	443	0.377
Jeremy Roenick	1363	514	0.377
Patrik Elias	1240	464	0.374
Bernie Nicholls	1127	417	0.370
Bill Guerin	1263	467	0.370
Dave Andreychuk	1639	605	0.369
Glenn Anderson	1129	415	0.368
Norm Ullman	1410	517	0.367
Jason Arnott	1244	456	0.367
Dale Hawerchuk	1188	435	0.366
Rick Tocchet	1144	417	0.365
Gilbert Perreault	1191	434	0.364
John Bucyk	1540	557	0.362
Jean Ratelle	1280	458	0.358
Mark Messier	1756	628	0.358
Mark Recchi	1652	590	0.357
Brian Bellows	1188	423	0.356
Alex Kovalev	1316	468	0.356
Gary Roberts	1224	426	0.348
Pat Verbeek	1424	487	0.342
Daniel Sedin	1306	442	0.338
Bryan Trottier	1279	428	0.335
Ryan Smyth	1270	420	0.331
Ray Whitney	1330	435	0.327
Alex Delvecchio	1550	501	0.323
Rod Brind'Amour	1484	463	0.312
Dean Prentice	1378	424	0.308
Vincent Damphousse	1378	422	0.306
Ron Francis	1731	518	0.299
Shane Doan	1540	455	0.295
*Joe Thornton	1584	456	0.288
Doug Gilmour	1474	414	0.281

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Gretzky should probably be a bit higher (because of his peak), but I think this is a pretty decent list of who the best goal scorers are/were, with the exception of the guys born literally over 100 years ago (the top 4 particularly).

 

[Kreator]

There is no one even in Mario*s realm on a break-aways.

 

[Sentinel]

Also 69 plus 91 assists in 60 games > 69 goals plus 57 assists in 80 games. It's literally not even close.

I don't know if you noticed the absence of the word "assists" anywhere in the thread's title. It's literally not there.

 

[Sentinel]

The part where you somehow think Mike Bossy is a better goal scorer than Mario Lemieux. 85 in 78 and 69 in 60 >>> 69 in 80.

Lemieux has the higher peak. Bossy -- everything else. Yes, Bossy was a better scorer than Lemieux.

 

[Sentinel]

I've been saying it for years now. There are a lot of people who actually stay adamant that Bossy was better goal-scorer than Wayne Gretzky. Which is sort of like saying Steven Stamkos is better goal-scorer than Alex Ovechkin.

Bossy was not a better goalscorer than Gretzky. He was a better scorer than Lemieux.

And in your really bizarre analogy, it's Stamkos, with a couple of awesome goalscoring seasons, who is closer to Lemieux than Ovechkin. Bossy is actually closer to Ovechkin, with his phenomenal consistency.

 

[Regal]

I took the top 100 adjusted goal scorers (career), and sorted it by goals per game.

Player	Games	Adj. Goals	Adj. GpG
Howie Morenz	550	501	0.911
Nels Stewart	650	587	0.903
Bill Cook	475	422	0.888
Aurele Joliat	655	489	0.747
*Alex Ovechkin	1102	802	0.728
Mario Lemieux	915	616	0.673
Maurice Richard	978	653	0.668
Pavel Bure	702	463	0.660
*Steven Stamkos	761	484	0.636
Mike Bossy	752	461	0.613
Bobby Hull	1063	644	0.606
Brett Hull	1269	738	0.582
*Ilya Kovalchuk	897	497	0.554
*Sidney Crosby	960	521	0.543
Bernie Geoffrion	883	464	0.525
Gordie Howe	1767	925	0.523
Phil Esposito	1282	671	0.523
*Evgeni Malkin	858	445	0.519
Jean Beliveau	1125	575	0.511
*Teemu Selanne	1451	741	0.511
Wayne Gretzky	1487	758	0.510
Peter Bondra	1081	549	0.508
Keith Tkachuk	1201	584	0.486
Jaromir Jagr	1733	841	0.485
Alexander Mogilny	990	480	0.485
*Patrick Kane	919	442	0.481
Pat LaFontaine	865	414	0.479
Dany Heatley	869	415	0.478
Rick Nash	1060	496	0.468
Joe Sakic	1378	643	0.467
Frank Mahovlich	1181	550	0.466
John LeClair	967	447	0.462
Luc Robitaille	1431	652	0.456
Jarome Iginla	1554	706	0.454
Marian Hossa	1309	594	0.454
Marcel Dionne	1348	610	0.453
Paul Kariya	989	445	0.450
Joe Nieuwendyk	1257	560	0.446
Mats Sundin	1346	599	0.445
*Marian Gaborik	1035	460	0.444
*Jeff Carter	997	441	0.442
*Zach Parise	963	425	0.441
Brendan Shanahan	1524	672	0.441
Ted Lindsay	1068	465	0.435
Theoren Fleury	1084	468	0.432
*Corey Perry	998	430	0.431
Dino Ciccarelli	1232	530	0.430
Guy Lafleur	1126	480	0.426
Steve Yzerman	1514	644	0.425
Mike Gartner*	1432	609	0.425
*Joe Pavelski	980	416	0.424
*Phil Kessel	1013	420	0.415
*Eric Staal	1191	493	0.414
Milan Hejduk	1020	418	0.410
Thomas Vanek	1029	420	0.408
Sergei Fedorov	1248	508	0.407
Michel Goulet	1089	443	0.407
Joe Mullen	1062	432	0.407
Jari Kurri	1251	503	0.402
Pierre Turgeon	1294	517	0.400
Daniel Alfredsson	1246	492	0.395
Martin St. Louis	1134	445	0.392
Vincent Lecavalier	1212	471	0.389
Markus Naslund	1117	434	0.389
Stan Mikita	1396	541	0.388
Mike Modano	1499	578	0.386
Owen Nolan	1200	458	0.382
*Patrick Marleau	1671	632	0.378
Tony Amonte	1174	443	0.377
Jeremy Roenick	1363	514	0.377
Patrik Elias	1240	464	0.374
Bernie Nicholls	1127	417	0.370
Bill Guerin	1263	467	0.370
Dave Andreychuk	1639	605	0.369
Glenn Anderson	1129	415	0.368
Norm Ullman	1410	517	0.367
Jason Arnott	1244	456	0.367
Dale Hawerchuk	1188	435	0.366
Rick Tocchet	1144	417	0.365
Gilbert Perreault	1191	434	0.364
John Bucyk	1540	557	0.362
Jean Ratelle	1280	458	0.358
Mark Messier	1756	628	0.358
Mark Recchi	1652	590	0.357
Brian Bellows	1188	423	0.356
Alex Kovalev	1316	468	0.356
Gary Roberts	1224	426	0.348
Pat Verbeek	1424	487	0.342
Daniel Sedin	1306	442	0.338
Bryan Trottier	1279	428	0.335
Ryan Smyth	1270	420	0.331
Ray Whitney	1330	435	0.327
Alex Delvecchio	1550	501	0.323
Rod Brind'Amour	1484	463	0.312
Dean Prentice	1378	424	0.308
Vincent Damphousse	1378	422	0.306
Ron Francis	1731	518	0.299
Shane Doan	1540	455	0.295
*Joe Thornton	1584	456	0.288
Doug Gilmour	1474	414	0.281

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Gretzky should probably be a bit higher (because of his peak), but I think this is a pretty decent list of who the best goal scorers are/were, with the exception of the guys born literally over 100 years ago (the top 4 particularly).

Good info, but I think this might be more useful if using the same number of seasons for everyone. Say, best 5 then best 10 or just best 7 or 8, just to get a better sense of each in their prime.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Good info, but I think this might be more useful if using the same number of seasons for everyone. Say, best 5 then best 10 or just best 7 or 8, just to get a better sense of each in their prime.

Find me era adjusted single season stats and I'd do it. Not for the top 100, but maybe the top 20 + a few current guys. I've only been able to find era-adjusted career stats.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

HF wiped the actual data, but this was some data mining I did comparing the best 10-year consecutive goal-scoring performances of the best goal scorers in modern history.

 

[Regal]

HF wiped the actual data, but this was some data mining I did comparing the best 10-year consecutive goal-scoring performances of the best goal scorers in modern history.

Obviously adjusted stats can have their issues, but it's pretty impressive how Lemieux stands out from the pack here.

 

[thadd]

If I was born 10 years younger I'd actually know. A lot of older people tell me that Bossy was the more pure goal scorer to ever play the game. I'll go with Bossy.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I took the top 100 adjusted goal scorers (career), and sorted it by goals per game.

Player	Games	Adj. Goals	Adj. GpG
Howie Morenz	550	501	0.911
Nels Stewart	650	587	0.903
Bill Cook	475	422	0.888
Aurele Joliat	655	489	0.747
*Alex Ovechkin	1102	802	0.728
Mario Lemieux	915	616	0.673
Maurice Richard	978	653	0.668
Pavel Bure	702	463	0.660
*Steven Stamkos	761	484	0.636
Mike Bossy	752	461	0.613
Bobby Hull	1063	644	0.606
Brett Hull	1269	738	0.582
*Ilya Kovalchuk	897	497	0.554
*Sidney Crosby	960	521	0.543
Bernie Geoffrion	883	464	0.525
Gordie Howe	1767	925	0.523
Phil Esposito	1282	671	0.523
*Evgeni Malkin	858	445	0.519
Jean Beliveau	1125	575	0.511
*Teemu Selanne	1451	741	0.511
Wayne Gretzky	1487	758	0.510
Peter Bondra	1081	549	0.508
Keith Tkachuk	1201	584	0.486
Jaromir Jagr	1733	841	0.485
Alexander Mogilny	990	480	0.485
*Patrick Kane	919	442	0.481
Pat LaFontaine	865	414	0.479
Dany Heatley	869	415	0.478
Rick Nash	1060	496	0.468
Joe Sakic	1378	643	0.467
Frank Mahovlich	1181	550	0.466
John LeClair	967	447	0.462
Luc Robitaille	1431	652	0.456
Jarome Iginla	1554	706	0.454
Marian Hossa	1309	594	0.454
Marcel Dionne	1348	610	0.453
Paul Kariya	989	445	0.450
Joe Nieuwendyk	1257	560	0.446
Mats Sundin	1346	599	0.445
*Marian Gaborik	1035	460	0.444
*Jeff Carter	997	441	0.442
*Zach Parise	963	425	0.441
Brendan Shanahan	1524	672	0.441
Ted Lindsay	1068	465	0.435
Theoren Fleury	1084	468	0.432
*Corey Perry	998	430	0.431
Dino Ciccarelli	1232	530	0.430
Guy Lafleur	1126	480	0.426
Steve Yzerman	1514	644	0.425
Mike Gartner*	1432	609	0.425
*Joe Pavelski	980	416	0.424
*Phil Kessel	1013	420	0.415
*Eric Staal	1191	493	0.414
Milan Hejduk	1020	418	0.410
Thomas Vanek	1029	420	0.408
Sergei Fedorov	1248	508	0.407
Michel Goulet	1089	443	0.407
Joe Mullen	1062	432	0.407
Jari Kurri	1251	503	0.402
Pierre Turgeon	1294	517	0.400
Daniel Alfredsson	1246	492	0.395
Martin St. Louis	1134	445	0.392
Vincent Lecavalier	1212	471	0.389
Markus Naslund	1117	434	0.389
Stan Mikita	1396	541	0.388
Mike Modano	1499	578	0.386
Owen Nolan	1200	458	0.382
*Patrick Marleau	1671	632	0.378
Tony Amonte	1174	443	0.377
Jeremy Roenick	1363	514	0.377
Patrik Elias	1240	464	0.374
Bernie Nicholls	1127	417	0.370
Bill Guerin	1263	467	0.370
Dave Andreychuk	1639	605	0.369
Glenn Anderson	1129	415	0.368
Norm Ullman	1410	517	0.367
Jason Arnott	1244	456	0.367
Dale Hawerchuk	1188	435	0.366
Rick Tocchet	1144	417	0.365
Gilbert Perreault	1191	434	0.364
John Bucyk	1540	557	0.362
Jean Ratelle	1280	458	0.358
Mark Messier	1756	628	0.358
Mark Recchi	1652	590	0.357
Brian Bellows	1188	423	0.356
Alex Kovalev	1316	468	0.356
Gary Roberts	1224	426	0.348
Pat Verbeek	1424	487	0.342
Daniel Sedin	1306	442	0.338
Bryan Trottier	1279	428	0.335
Ryan Smyth	1270	420	0.331
Ray Whitney	1330	435	0.327
Alex Delvecchio	1550	501	0.323
Rod Brind'Amour	1484	463	0.312
Dean Prentice	1378	424	0.308
Vincent Damphousse	1378	422	0.306
Ron Francis	1731	518	0.299
Shane Doan	1540	455	0.295
*Joe Thornton	1584	456	0.288
Doug Gilmour	1474	414	0.281

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Gretzky should probably be a bit higher (because of his peak), but I think this is a pretty decent list of who the best goal scorers are/were, with the exception of the guys born literally over 100 years ago (the top 4 particularly).

Where are those numbers from? There's no way Morenz, Stewart, Cook and Joliat (as great as they were - and sadly forgotten by most modern fans) scored more (adjusted) goals per game than Ovechkin or Lemieux.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Here are the top 50 goal-scorers, based on seven year prime. The number represents average era-adjusted goals scored during their best seven years (not necessarily consecutive). The data is from 1927 to 2019.

Link to method (and other similar tables) - Reference - VsX comprehensive summary (1927 to 2019)

Player	TOTAL
Bobby Hull	70.2
Maurice Richard	67.2
Gordie Howe	65.5
Phil Esposito	62.1
Alex Ovechkin	59.5
Wayne Gretzky	59
Brett Hull	56.3
Mario Lemieux	54.5
Jean Beliveau	54.4
Charlie Conacher	54.3
Mike Bossy	52.9
Bill Cook	52.7
Steven Stamkos	52.6
Bernie Geoffrion	51.2
Frank Mahovlich	50.8
Nels Stewart	50.7
Jaromir Jagr	50.4
Pavel Bure	50.3
Stan Mikita	50
Roy Conacher	49.6
Ted Lindsay	48.4
Howie Morenz	48.3
Teemu Selanne	48.3
Guy Lafleur	47.2
Peter Bondra	47.2
Marcel Dionne	47.2
Steve Yzerman	47
Gordie Drillon	46.9
Norm Ullman	46.7
Ilya Kovalchuk	46.6
Jarome Iginla	46.5
Bryan Hextall	46.3
Marty Barry	45.6
Busher Jackson	45.6
Jari Kurri	45.4
John LeClair	45.2
Luc Robitaille	44.7
Sweeney Schriner	44.3
Andy Bathgate	44.2
Joe Sakic	43.8
Cecil Dillon	43.6
Keith Tkachuk	43.4
Camille Henry	43.2
Michel Goulet	43.1
John Bucyk	42.8
Sidney Crosby	42.7
Evgeni Malkin	42.7
Rick Martin	42.6
Brendan Shanahan	42.5
Dickie Moore	42.5

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The numbers above are not adjusted for time missed, so Lemieux is lower than expected.

 

[ESH]

Call me crazy but Bossy. Lemieux was a much better player, so that gave him more opportunity to score. But given a same opportunity : who is more likely to score? Bossy for sure.

But it really depends on how you view the question. Lemieux can score more goals, but Bossy knows better how to capitalize on opportunities. He sometimes scored goals before you even notice he has the puck.

This is the most nonsensical thing I’ve seen today.

“Bossy would’ve scored more if he was as good a player as Lemieux”

 

[ESH]

I took the top 100 adjusted goal scorers (career), and sorted it by goals per game.

Player	Games	Adj. Goals	Adj. GpG
Howie Morenz	550	501	0.911
Nels Stewart	650	587	0.903
Bill Cook	475	422	0.888
Aurele Joliat	655	489	0.747
*Alex Ovechkin	1102	802	0.728
Mario Lemieux	915	616	0.673
Maurice Richard	978	653	0.668
Pavel Bure	702	463	0.660
*Steven Stamkos	761	484	0.636
Mike Bossy	752	461	0.613
Bobby Hull	1063	644	0.606
Brett Hull	1269	738	0.582
*Ilya Kovalchuk	897	497	0.554
*Sidney Crosby	960	521	0.543
Bernie Geoffrion	883	464	0.525
Gordie Howe	1767	925	0.523
Phil Esposito	1282	671	0.523
*Evgeni Malkin	858	445	0.519
Jean Beliveau	1125	575	0.511
*Teemu Selanne	1451	741	0.511
Wayne Gretzky	1487	758	0.510
Peter Bondra	1081	549	0.508
Keith Tkachuk	1201	584	0.486
Jaromir Jagr	1733	841	0.485
Alexander Mogilny	990	480	0.485
*Patrick Kane	919	442	0.481
Pat LaFontaine	865	414	0.479
Dany Heatley	869	415	0.478
Rick Nash	1060	496	0.468
Joe Sakic	1378	643	0.467
Frank Mahovlich	1181	550	0.466
John LeClair	967	447	0.462
Luc Robitaille	1431	652	0.456
Jarome Iginla	1554	706	0.454
Marian Hossa	1309	594	0.454
Marcel Dionne	1348	610	0.453
Paul Kariya	989	445	0.450
Joe Nieuwendyk	1257	560	0.446
Mats Sundin	1346	599	0.445
*Marian Gaborik	1035	460	0.444
*Jeff Carter	997	441	0.442
*Zach Parise	963	425	0.441
Brendan Shanahan	1524	672	0.441
Ted Lindsay	1068	465	0.435
Theoren Fleury	1084	468	0.432
*Corey Perry	998	430	0.431
Dino Ciccarelli	1232	530	0.430
Guy Lafleur	1126	480	0.426
Steve Yzerman	1514	644	0.425
Mike Gartner*	1432	609	0.425
*Joe Pavelski	980	416	0.424
*Phil Kessel	1013	420	0.415
*Eric Staal	1191	493	0.414
Milan Hejduk	1020	418	0.410
Thomas Vanek	1029	420	0.408
Sergei Fedorov	1248	508	0.407
Michel Goulet	1089	443	0.407
Joe Mullen	1062	432	0.407
Jari Kurri	1251	503	0.402
Pierre Turgeon	1294	517	0.400
Daniel Alfredsson	1246	492	0.395
Martin St. Louis	1134	445	0.392
Vincent Lecavalier	1212	471	0.389
Markus Naslund	1117	434	0.389
Stan Mikita	1396	541	0.388
Mike Modano	1499	578	0.386
Owen Nolan	1200	458	0.382
*Patrick Marleau	1671	632	0.378
Tony Amonte	1174	443	0.377
Jeremy Roenick	1363	514	0.377
Patrik Elias	1240	464	0.374
Bernie Nicholls	1127	417	0.370
Bill Guerin	1263	467	0.370
Dave Andreychuk	1639	605	0.369
Glenn Anderson	1129	415	0.368
Norm Ullman	1410	517	0.367
Jason Arnott	1244	456	0.367
Dale Hawerchuk	1188	435	0.366
Rick Tocchet	1144	417	0.365
Gilbert Perreault	1191	434	0.364
John Bucyk	1540	557	0.362
Jean Ratelle	1280	458	0.358
Mark Messier	1756	628	0.358
Mark Recchi	1652	590	0.357
Brian Bellows	1188	423	0.356
Alex Kovalev	1316	468	0.356
Gary Roberts	1224	426	0.348
Pat Verbeek	1424	487	0.342
Daniel Sedin	1306	442	0.338
Bryan Trottier	1279	428	0.335
Ryan Smyth	1270	420	0.331
Ray Whitney	1330	435	0.327
Alex Delvecchio	1550	501	0.323
Rod Brind'Amour	1484	463	0.312
Dean Prentice	1378	424	0.308
Vincent Damphousse	1378	422	0.306
Ron Francis	1731	518	0.299
Shane Doan	1540	455	0.295
*Joe Thornton	1584	456	0.288
Doug Gilmour	1474	414	0.281

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Gretzky should probably be a bit higher (because of his peak), but I think this is a pretty decent list of who the best goal scorers are/were, with the exception of the guys born literally over 100 years ago (the top 4 particularly).

Did you pull these from hockey-reference? Because they actually adjusted games played too for these stats, so your numbers aren’t right.

 

[ole ole]

What part makes you "lol"? 3 x 17 > 2 x 16.

LOL
.71 GPG > .65 GPG

 

[Bouboumaster]

Lemieux

 

[ole ole]

If I was born 10 years younger I'd actually know. A lot of older people tell me that Bossy was the more pure goal scorer to ever play the game. I'll go with Bossy.

Thing is ,what do people mean by better pure scorer.
If you mean by the only thing he could do than yes.
but do we penalize a player that is a better goal scorer just because he is also a much better hockey player.
Lemieux was the best,greatest goal scorer in the history of the NHL. I'm not going to penalize him just because he was also one of the best playmakers on top of that.

 

[Craig Button]

The poll should read Lemieux 100%.

 

[wetcoast]

I rank OV as the greatest, Lemieux as the best.

Best and greatest always seems like a distinction without a difference to me.

 

[authentic]

I'm not sure if he really would have. I think this might have some merit for some guys who leaned heavily on passing like Forsberg, but I think for someone like Lemieux it was all about taking what the defense gives you. The fact that he needed to be feared as a passer opened up room for him as a scorer and vice versa. If he focused on just scoring as many goals as possible, defenses would adjust and he probably ends up with similar goal totals and just fewer assists.

Well, I don't think he could've scored like 120 goals and 80 assists, but maybe 100 + 100 could've been possible in 1988-89.

 

[authentic]

Best and greatest always seems like a distinction without a difference to me.

Greatest is career best is prime is how it's usually viewed I think. Like Gretzky undeniably had the best career in hockey but some think Lemieux and Orr in their primes were actually better. Ovechkin has a case for greatest due to the longevity of his goal scoring on top of his prime as well as the fact that he's now led the NHL in goals more than anyone in history, but it's tough to say he was better because Lemieux would easily hold that distinction if not for injuries as well as having the better peak in goal scoring even after adjusting for era.

 

[wetcoast]

HF wiped the actual data, but this was some data mining I did comparing the best 10-year consecutive goal-scoring performances of the best goal scorers in modern history.

Surprised to see how well Dionne does here.

Marcel is criminally under rated.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Islanders fan voting Lemieux. Bossy was more consistent (only due to Lemieux's health), and might be the most consistent goal scorer out of the top 5ish goal scorers in history. He's also overshadowed by playing at the same time as Gretzky (costing him 3 goal scoring titles). With that said Lemieux was easily the better goal scorer (and I'd argue that goat).

Bossy's in this weird situation where half the people overrate him as an all time goal scorer...then the other half underrate him.