Hockey's Biggest "What if"?

[daver]

What do you think is the biggest "what if" in hockey history?

What if Orr had healthier knees?

What if Mario could have played more full seasons in his prime?

What Bobby Hull doesn't go to the WHL?

What if Lindros could play with his head up?

What if Forsberg could have been more healthier?

What if Crosby didn't miss so much time at his peak?

Any other big ones?

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[Nick Hansen]

What if the Soviets played in the NHL from the get go?

 

[MXD]

What if Maurice Richard had successfully passed his Army physicals.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Lemieux 92-93. What numbers would he have finished with in 84 games.... 100 goals is not out of the question

 

[Nadal On Clay]

What if the Rangers would have signed Gordie Howe after his tryout?

 

[DannyGallivan]

If Orr and Bobby Hull (or even just one of them) were healthy enough to play against the Soviets in '72...

Canada wins by a minimum of 6 games to 2 (a sweep or 7 games to 1 isn't out of the question).

Maybe, just maybe, that leads to the following scenarios:

Paul Henderson remains totally forgotten by history
Esposito's legacy falls down a notch
The Canada/Soviet rivalry never takes hold
The Canada Cup never happens

 

[brachyrynchos]

With the 1st pick in the 1984 draft, out of Laval, the New Jersey Devils are proud to select Mario Lemieux.
Honorable mentions- Where Lindros ends up
-No lockout in 94-95
-Stevens stays in Washington
-Competition is a good thing, I've always been curious to how the WHA would've fared if half of the NHL
players drafted by the W went there, and I liked the IHL, too.
-How teams in the past would've benefitted from the modern playoff brackets...like the Whalers.
-Bossy's back holds up a little longer,

 

[Asheville]

What if Gretzky and Co. remained with the Oilers for the entirety of their careers? The damage Peter Pocklington did to hockey history....

 

[c9777666]

What if Quebec had drafted someone not named Eric Lindros in the 1991 draft?

 

[brachyrynchos]

What if Dean Youngblood did'nt have the off ice issues he did, the STD from his landlady Miss Mcgill and the whole thing with the daughter of his coach in junior, he was on his way to a good career.

 

[MXD]

What if Quebec had drafted someone not named Eric Lindros in the 1991 draft?

They pick Pat Falloon.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

What if Bryan Fogarty didn't drink?

 

[streitz]

What if Dean Youngblood did'nt have the off ice issues he did, the STD from his landlady Miss Mcgill and the whole thing with the daughter of his coach in junior, he was on his way to a good career.

A bigger question what if Carl Racki could skate? Would he of had a shot at the big leagues?

 

[FerrisRox]

If Orr and Bobby Hull (or even just one of them) were healthy enough to play against the Soviets in '72...

Canada wins by a minimum of 6 games to 2 (a sweep or 7 games to 1 isn't out of the question).

Maybe, just maybe, that leads to the following scenarios:

Paul Henderson remains totally forgotten by history
Esposito's legacy falls down a notch
The Canada/Soviet rivalry never takes hold
The Canada Cup never happens

I don't think adding Bobby Hull moves the needle much, if at all.

Bobby is the kind of guy that would have taken the Russians lightly and treated the series like a vacation to Russia.

 

[brachyrynchos]

A bigger question what if Carl Racki could skate? Would he of had a shot at the big leagues?

Racki actually wasn't that bad, the problem (I could be wrong) is that his coaches seemed to solely develop him as a goon. His talent was there, he just never got the chance to prove himself. Rumor had it he was set to train with Doug Dorsey at one point which I'd like to think would've helped Racki's mobility. Dorsey ended up with Kate Moseley as a pair in figure skating for the US in late 80's early '90s.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

If Orr and Bobby Hull (or even just one of them) were healthy enough to play against the Soviets in '72...Canada wins by a minimum of 6 games to 2 (a sweep or 7 games to 1 isn't out of the question). ...

Nope. Team Canada had enough skill. Matching the Soviet's fitness and conditioning was the problem.

 

[tony d]

For an Ottawa fan; What if Ottawa wins Game 7 vs. the Penguins in 2017?

 

[Kyle McMahon]

What if the Rangers would have signed Gordie Howe after his tryout?

Has to be the biggest one mentioned so far.

Stuff like Orr/Lemieux/Crosby being healthier doesn't really change history, per se. Maybe more career stats and an extra championship for the respective franchise, but it's not like they retired at age 22 or something and we never knew what they could have done.

Gordie Howe on the Rangers legitimately alters the course of NHL history. Detroit is still a great team in the 1950's, but are they great enough to win multiple Cups? Does Montreal fill that vacuum and go Boston Celtics 8 or 9 in a row? Or is a Rangers team with Howe able to win Cups in the 50's? Do the Rangers become a complete disaster throughout the 60's? Probably not, but now there's a chance the Red Wings do. Could that post-expansion Rangers team with Ratelle and Park emerging have won a Cup with an old, but still elite Gordie Howe in the fold? Does hockey become a major sport in the US decades earlier if the game's greatest star was on Broadway?

 

[Cursed Lemon]

What if Malkin wasn't score?

 

[streitz]

Racki actually wasn't that bad, the problem (I could be wrong) is that his coaches seemed to solely develop him as a goon. His talent was there, he just never got the chance to prove himself. Rumor had it he was set to train with Doug Dorsey at one point which I'd like to think would've helped Racki's mobility. Dorsey ended up with Kate Moseley as a pair in figure skating for the US in late 80's early '90s.

I mean Derek Sutton had like 90 goals that year before he was taken out in the playoffs....Career over before it even began.

 

[crobro]

If Guy Lafleur trade to Edmonton in 84 was not sabotaged by Serge Savard

 

[brachyrynchos]

I mean Derek Sutton had like 90 goals that year before he was taken out in the playoffs....Career over before it even began.

Absolutely. I laugh when I hear people say Crosby, Ovechkin, and Mcdavid are generational, they never saw Sutton play, we did therefore we know,like how the refs were paid off to look the other way. No different than what happened with Denis Lemieux He would've posted better numbers if the Chief's privacy policy allowed him to know who owns the Chiefs.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Has to be the biggest one mentioned so far.

Stuff like Orr/Lemieux/Crosby being healthier doesn't really change history, per se. Maybe more career stats and an extra championship for the respective franchise, but it's not like they retired at age 22 or something and we never knew what they could have done.

Gordie Howe on the Rangers legitimately alters the course of NHL history. Detroit is still a great team in the 1950's, but are they great enough to win multiple Cups? Does Montreal fill that vacuum and go Boston Celtics 8 or 9 in a row? Or is a Rangers team with Howe able to win Cups in the 50's? Do the Rangers become a complete disaster throughout the 60's? Probably not, but now there's a chance the Red Wings do. Could that post-expansion Rangers team with Ratelle and Park emerging have won a Cup with an old, but still elite Gordie Howe in the fold? Does hockey become a major sport in the US decades earlier if the game's greatest star was on Broadway?

actually, Orr basically did...

Orr's final full season of hockey was age 26...for comparison, Karlsson is 27. After that he only plays in 36 games over the next 3 seasons combined.

By age 26 he already had:

8x Norris
3x Hart
2x Cup
2x Smythe
2x Ross
8x AS-1
Calder
915 pts in 657 games (1.39 ppg)

If they had simple arthroscopic knee surgery back then, Orr misses 6 months and is healthy after. If Orr gets to play until 35, that means he retires in 1985. So he gets to play in the high flying 80s AND play with Ray Bourque

Also, dont forget that Orr played his entire career with damaged knees. The injuries started his sophomore year (1968)...Orr played more than 75 games in a season only 4x

It is not unreasonable to think that the Orr/Gretzky debate is considered truly neck and neck if Orr has a full career. Youre looking at:

- at least 1,500 points
- 3-6 Harts
- 12-15 Norris
- 2-5 Ross
- 2-4 Cups (Boston for sure beats Montreal in 78 and 79 with him)
- 2-4 Smythe
- 12-15 AS-1

 

[Crosbyfan]

What if 17 year old Gretzky didn't outrun Nelson Skalbania?

 

[streitz]

Absolutely. I laugh when I hear people say Crosby, Ovechkin, and Mcdavid are generational, they never saw Sutton play, we did therefore we know,like how the refs were paid off to look the other way. No different than what happened with Denis Lemieux He would've posted better numbers if the Chief's privacy policy allowed him to know who owns the Chiefs.

Problem with Denis Lemieux was he was too mentally soft. When he was backstopping a goon team who could clear the crease he was serviceable but very mentally fragile. Sort of like Charlie Conway, just too mentally soft for the big leagues.