Howe or Lemieux

pitseleh

Registered User
Jul 30, 2005
19,164
2,612
Vancouver
I take Gordie personally. Both were dominant offensive players for long periods of time, but Gordie brought a physical edge that few skill players have ever brought that puts him ahead of Lemieux in my eyes.
 

Puckclektr

Registered User
Jul 15, 2004
6,235
2,183
GTA
I don't see how people under 40 can vote in some of these polls. If you never see a guy play, how can you judge.
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
You look at what Howe did between 1950-1953 and you will have your answer. That was his best 4 year stretch of a DOMINANT 26 years in the league. Only Gretzky ever put together a stretch better than that.

Howe is my choice.
 

farzamk*

Guest
howe.. to me and the hockey news, and experts, howe remains as the 3rd greatest ever.

lemieux 4th.
 

jiggs 10

Registered User
Dec 5, 2002
3,541
2
Hockeytown, ND
Visit site
Depends on what you want in a player. Howe was a dominant offensive force in a slower age, and he was a tough, take-no-guff physical player (some say dirty). Mario is a one-way offensive powerhouse with super-soft hands, but no inclination for the rougher stuff (or even being touched, to be perfectly frank). If I wanted to win a series, I'd take Howe easily. If I needed a shootout goal, I'd take Mario. And if a scrum broke out around me, I'd certainly want Gordie and his elbows and fists on the ice!
 

Nalyd Psycho

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
24,415
14
No Bandwagon
Visit site
Right. Never mind that Mario's career was stopped by CANCER. Longevity is entirely a matter of skill.
Actually, it was a cheapshot before then that started the process. But.

1. We can only judge careers on what actually happened.
2. Howe's longevity, being a star player for 30 years, is amazingly unprecidented and to write it off so simply is just silly. What Howe accomplished is increadible.
3. At their peaks, there was minimal difference in overall skill level.
 

God Bless Canada

Registered User
Jul 11, 2004
11,793
17
Bentley reunion
I know I'm in the minority here, but I would take Howe ahead of Gretzky. I think Gordie was the better hockey player than Gretzky or Mario. Nothing against either of those two players, but Howe is in their class offensively, and he was better defensively, and much more physical. Obviously I wouldn't take a guy like a Mikita or a Trottier ahead of Gretzky or Lemieux, despite what Mikita and Trotts bring to a team. But when you have a player who is comparable to Gretzky and Lemieux offensively, and capable of dominating a game in other ways, I'll take the all-round force.

Those blinded by numbers will question how I can put Gordie in the class of Gretzky or Mario offensively, even though Gordie never scored 50 goals and had one 100-point season. Well, give Gordie an 80-game schedule, a chance to have Red Kelly fully involved in the offence, and a chance to face a non-HHOF goalie on a regular basis, and Gordie's point totals skyrocket.
 

pitseleh

Registered User
Jul 30, 2005
19,164
2,612
Vancouver
But when you have a player who is comparable to Gretzky and Lemieux offensively, and capable of dominating a game in other ways, I'll take the all-round force.

Personally, I think Gretzky was on another level offensively than Howe or Lemieux, but I can definitely see the rationale for taking Howe over him.

Honestly, I really think you could rank any of the top 4 in any order and have some valid justification for it.
 

Nalyd Psycho

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
24,415
14
No Bandwagon
Visit site
Personally, I think Gretzky was on another level offensively than Howe or Lemieux, but I can definitely see the rationale for taking Howe over him.

Honestly, I really think you could rank any of the top 4 in any order and have some valid justification for it.

To me, Lemieux is a clear #4. The top 3 though...
 

Masao

Registered User
Nov 24, 2002
11,052
401
masaohf.atspace.com
To me, Lemieux is a clear #4. The top 3 though...

I don't think it's as clear as some make it out to be. Neither Gretzky nor Howe had to go through half the health problems Mario had, yet he finished his career with a ppg of like 1.9 despite that. What he did in 93 after returning from cancer ranks way up there in terms of all time greatest achievements.
 

slade

Registered User
Jan 4, 2007
2,515
2
18 Winspear Ltd.
mario IMO is the most talented player to ever play the game...(i really think sid is close)


but the longevity of howes career alone ranks him up there with the alltime greatest athletes- let alone hockey players.
 

Mario66

Registered User
Sep 5, 2006
57
0
Mario was the best player ever to play the game. Others had better careers thanks to better teams and health.

I'm not biased either. :dunno:
 

Nalyd Psycho

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
24,415
14
No Bandwagon
Visit site
I don't think it's as clear as some make it out to be. Neither Gretzky nor Howe had to go through half the health problems Mario had, yet he finished his career with a ppg of like 1.9 despite that. What he did in 93 after returning from cancer ranks way up there in terms of all time greatest achievements.
'93 may be the greatest season ever in pro sports. But, you can't judge a player by what they could have done. It's about what they did. And Lemieux's accomplishments are a step back.
 

Wetcoaster

Guest
I don't think it's as clear as some make it out to be. Neither Gretzky nor Howe had to go through half the health problems Mario had, yet he finished his career with a ppg of like 1.9 despite that. What he did in 93 after returning from cancer ranks way up there in terms of all time greatest achievements.
Howe nearly died from head injury in 1950 and suffered permanenent neurological damage - hence the nickname Blinky.
In the playoffs, in the first game of an acrimonious series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the club that had dispatched the Red Wings in the teams' previous 11 playoff games, Howe was involved in an on-ice accident that almost ended his career and his life. The Leafs' Ted "Teeder" Kennedy was moving with the puck toward the Detroit goal, skating down the left wing about six feet from the boards. He had just passed the center line when Howe attempted to bodycheck him. Kennedy stopped abruptly and Howe went crashing into the boards head first. He lay unconscious on the ice, blood covering his face, until emergency staff removed him on a stretcher.

For the next few hours, many thought the worst. His mother was called in case his condition worsened and an operation was performed to relieve the pressure on his brain. Howe had fractured his skull and was out for the rest of the playoffs, but he did make a remarkable recovery. The Wings, stirred by Howe's injury, defeated the Leafs in overtime of the seventh game, ending Toronto's three-year reign as Stanley Cup champions. When Detroit won the Cup with a victory over the New York Rangers, again in overtime of the seventh game, Howe was cheered when he gingerly walked onto the Olympia ice to touch the trophy.

Howe also had an arthritic wrist that had him playing on a number of occasions with one hand.

Howe was selected to 21 NHL All-Star squads, 12 times to the First Team. Six times he led the NHL in scoring to capture the Art Ross Trophy and six times he won the Hart as the league's most valuable player. His Detroit teams won the Stanley Cup four times.

When Howe was 40 years old he topped 100 points for the first time, scoring 44 goals and adding a career-high 59 assists.

Sorry not even close - Howe, Orr and Gretzky are 1, 1a and 1b - depending on what criteria you use to judge the greatest player.

All others are a big step down, including Lemieux.
 

Masao

Registered User
Nov 24, 2002
11,052
401
masaohf.atspace.com
From 1946 to 1971, the Red Wings played 1744 games. Howe played in 1687 of them, or 96.7%. In terms of health, I'd say that's quite a difference from Lemieux who was never able to play a complete season.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->