Of course I wasn't being serious but to take guys like Shore and before, guys with little film and no one here saw and compare them with present or recent players with alot more info is very problem some as well.
The term "best in the world" means very different things in 1900, 30, 70, 92 and 2010.
My list got rejected for no pre expansion Europena guys, although I did have no NHL guys form the early 70's.
Someone is going to bring up later in the other thread some pre expansion Europen who has as much business being discussed as Tony Hand does in the Center discusion.
But at the end of the day the " final list" will have major shortcomings given the paremeters that was given to it, without notice on a nudge nudge wink wink this is the history section type of arguemnt and excludes others that put forward rejected lists (or those that knew the paraemters would lead to a narrow focus and didn't bother).
I suggest that for the next project that everryone know clearly that the criteria be spelled out clearly and that the "history bias" be out in the open.
Hockey has been the most popular participation and spectator sport in Canada going back to 1920 or earlier. The best players in Canada have played in the NHL since 1926, and have for the most part played in one of two or three major leagues since 1910 or so. Ever since that time, the NHL has had continuity in terms of drawing the best talent from across Canada. The best players have had 10, 15, or 20 year careers, excelling through rule changes, equipment changes, and the resulting changes in tactics.
The addition of European and American talent has expanded the talent pool. Changes in player development and the randomness of the distribution of great players may have strengthened or weakened the player talent pool at various times. But that's a change in player quantity, not quality.
There is no reason to believe that the top talent of earlier eras was qualitatively different from today. Yes, there may have been fewer top players in quantity because there were fewer countries producing talent. But there is no reason that players who excelled in a highly competitive environment with the existing rules and equipment are automatically inferior to today's players who excel in a highly competitive environment with existing rules and equipment.
You say the term "best in the world" is very different from 1930 vs 1970. Over that time the game changed in terms of rules, equipment, transportation, team locations, etc. But how exactly were the best players in the world very different from 1930 to 1970?
Regarding the procedure for the project, the participants of the project want to recognize the best players of all eras. (Judging by the lists we have received, I think I'm safe in speaking for others and saying that.) This list has always been intended for participants who are interested in the history of the game. Including history before we were born, and history before there is existing video. If you aren't interested in the entire history of the game, that's fine. A lot of excellent posters in the history section stick to their areas of expertise when posting and don't post about all eras. But while the participants here may not all be hockey history experts, we're interested in the history of the game and we intend to do our best to fairly consider players from all eras.