He's a transcending skater without question but that's it. He's not head and shoulders better than everybody else in the league. He's not a Wayne, Mario, Bobby.... Of course that's just my opinion.
Obviously he's not a Wayne, Mario or Orr. What kind of standard is that though? lol
Just by the eye-test it's obvious he's not in their league. He belongs in the Guy Lafleur tier of all-time players, and even then, let's wait for him to have one great playoff before putting him on this pedestal.
For Mario, thing with him is that ALL his skills were at 10/10 level. Slapshots, wristshots, snapshots, passes, stickhandling and dangling, cat and mouse game, breakaways, IQ, size, skating mobility and diversity of speed gears, creativity, clutchness and flair for the dramatic, he was maximally talented.
Bobby Orr controlled the entire game and is the most impactful player in hockey history when on the ice.
Wayne Gretzky is the only player whose passes take a few replays in slow-mo to even understand why he did the play where and when he did it. Even with the advantage of the overview camera, of multiple replay viewings, his plays seem to come from a strange mental land.
All of them were 2, 3 notches above McDavid and more talented than he ever will be. Mario and Wayne would never lose an Art Ross to a teammate, unless they missed *a lot* of games to injuries.
