Hockey History: Who was better than Crosby?

[Say Hey Kid]

Please vote for the players who were better than Sidney Crosby.

Click to read more...

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Just the big four. Crosby is the 5th best player of all time

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Big four.

 

[Spirit of 67]

This is pretty well established at this point, no?

 

[dr robbie]

Obviously below the big 4. Ahead of Beliveau and Morenz and firmly in the top 10. I'd probably place him in the Hull/Richard/Roy mix right now. I'd have to dig deeper to actually rank him though. On first glance, not sure I'd have him before Richard or Hull yet.

 

[dr robbie]

This is pretty well established at this point, no?

I don't think any rankings like this are ever really established. People still disagree on the order of the top 4. I also think age plays a huge factor. Younger fans seem to place the newer players higher and older fans tend to place them lower (from what I've seen).

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosbys consistency is unmatched besides howe and bourque. There's a great chance he will be a hart finalist for the 8th time if he keeps his play up the remaining 10 games.

His hart finishes are 1 1,2,2,2,2,3,5,6 despite having his peak ruined. Special player

 

[Dominance]

Clearly the 5th best ever.

 

[SouthWest]

The big four are the only ones that have noticeable separation on Crosby. I could see arguments for hull, Beliveau, and Richard, even though I do not think they are justified at this point.

It really is too bad that he missed so much time from 10-13, if he would of stayed healthy, he for sure pulls in another two hard trophies in 10/11 and 12/13 without question (maybe 11/12 too but at only 22 games played it's too hard to call). If that was the case, 4 harts and 2 smyths in the modern era would sit him at #5 unanimously.

 

[95snipes]

Betters a subjective term. From players I've seen play in my lifetime, peak Ovechkin and McDavid were/are better, but if we are judging by overall body of work, then sure he's 5th.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I'd probably put him 5th.

 

[pcruz]

Outside of the 4, there is, in my opinion, a group of players.
Crosby is in that group.

Would I have him ahead of Bourque, Hull, etc..........I don't know, but I also don't know whether I would take any of them over Sid.

 

[Mitch nylander]

I think Ovechkin deserves to be in this poll. Also why is Roy there over Hasek? Hasek was superior.

Voted for the big 4.

 

[GMofOilers]

I think Bossy and Coffey should be part of any top 10 list

 

[centipede2233]

Overall body of work he’s 5th. Winning 3 cups in a cap era is no small feat. His international record is impeccable. He just doesn’t lose internationally, ever. I agree where’s hasek lol.

If ovie breaks Gretzky record, I have him 6th, might be regency bias but he’s a machine.

 

[GlitchMarner]

I think Ovechkin deserves to be in this poll. Also why is Roy there over Hasek? Hasek was superior.

Voted for the big 4.

Jagr should also at least be an option.

 

[Sweetpotato]

6th, Jagr 5th. Can't rank him above Jagr yet.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Big four. I also went with Roy for one reason: if I'm heading into a playoffs series and I had to pick one player from all time to be on my team, it's Roy.

 

[dortt]

any poll that lists Roy and not Hasek is highly, highly questionable

 

[Fataldogg]

I think Ovechkin deserves to be in this poll. Also why is Roy there over Hasek? Hasek was superior.

Voted for the big 4.

And Jagr is omitted from the poll for some reason.

Hasek being omitted is a head scratcher. I view Hasek as the greatest goaltender of all time and have him comfortably at #5 overall. What Crosby, Jagr, B. Hull, Ovechkin, etc did for forwards was not as impressive as what Hasek did for goaltenders. Its a "Big 4" and with Hasek I have always viewed that it should be the "Big 5."

Interesting choices in the poll.

 

[dr robbie]

Pretty sure the 10 listed are the Top 10 according to the HOH poll from a couple years ago - don't think the names were pulled randomly.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

No point of ovechkin in the poll as Crosby would destroy him per usual

 

[TopShelfYzerman]

Roughly the same as Jagr, and behind both Roy and Hasek, and obviously behind the big 4. Tied for 7th all time.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

The big 4 are obvious. After that, Crosby can be ranked anywhere from 5-15 depending on what you value the most. Bobby Hull, OV, Beliveau, Morenz, Jagr, Lafleur, Richard, Bourque, Harvey, Hasek, Roy. Crosby is in there somewhere.

 

[daver]

Among forwards, he is in the Hull/Beliveau tier; the two most popular picks for #5 player all-time.

Hull is there because he is, IMO, a Top 3 goalscorer, arguably #1, of all-time and an Art Ross contender for most of his prime. His playoff resume is lacking in Cups but he was a great playoff performer. He may have left another elite season or two on the table after jumping to the WHA at age 33/34.

Beliveau is the quintessential #1 C with elite goalscoring and playmaking, has one of the best playoff resumes in NHL history, and was still elite into his later 30's. Injuries kept him from winning more than one Art Ross.

Crosby is lacking nothing on his resume vs. these two to argue he doesn't deserve to be in their company. He also is the quintessential #1 C, it can be argued was the best offensive producer out of the three, and has the best playoff resume of his era. He is starting to create separation from them in longevity of prime with higher end point finishes and Hart nominations which, IMO, are enhanced by the fact that he is beating out more competition for these accolades. I.e. it is statistically more impressive to finish Top 3, 5, 10 in scoring, PPG, Hart voting etc.. in a 30 team league vs. a six team league.