If Crosby played in the 80s, 90s

[Frosty415]

he would dominate the 80's and 90's more than he does now

He doesn't dominate now.

Domination implies way above his peers, McDavid outplayed him last year.


inb4 conn smythe

 

[B17 Apricots]

These threads comparing era's are no bueno it's like comparing modern baseball to pre-homerun era baseball. There is no comparison. That being said it's very clear if Gretzky played in this era based on my super duper serious credentials he would put up close to 3141 points a season and Crosby in the past would barely be a 4th liner, obviously.

 

[Felidae]

I think he'd be the 3rd best player. No other player during that time period has better point or PPG finishes even removing Gretzky and Lemieux from the equation. Consequently however, he likely wouldn't be viewed in as much regard as he deserved by many fans. His accolades and overall legacy would suffer as a result of playing in the same era as two of the best offensive producers the game has ever seen,

 

[Canucks1096]

Why don't you present some ****ing numbers then.

Winner

Trottier 2 Hart 1 Ross
Messier 3 Hart 1 Ross
Yzermen 2 Hart 1 Ross

Top 5 hart and Ross

Trottier 5 Hart 3 Ross
Yzermen 2 Hart 3 Ross
Messier 3 Hart 3 Ross

Top 10

Trottier ross 6 hart 5
Messier ross 8 hart 5
Yzermen ross 7 hart 7

 

[Canucks1096]

Let's start from the beginning.

Regardless of what era Crosby played in, he would still be rated the same as he is now. Most in the HOH forum have him in the #15 range and acknowledge that he arguably has the #5 best resume by age 30/after 12 seasons. He would be the clear cut 3rd best player of his era with Messier being the closest competitor.


Do you agree or disagree with this?

Don't agree with the first question. If Crosby played in the 80s he will only probably have maybe 1/3 of his trophies all star team he has right now and maybe less. Also playing behind 99 and 66 he won't get all the attention. He would be rated completely different. Do you really think people will remember a guy that finishes behind 99 and 66?

2nd question sure I agree he does have 5th best resume.

Yes he is clear cut 3rd best player but he is not on a different tier from Messier Yzermen Trottier. He is closer to those 3 players than Gretzky and Lemieux

 

[Albatros]

Sidney Crosby might be the best hockey player of all time objectively speaking, but of course if he would have played in the 1980s he would have played like they did in the 80s and trained so as well. That way his edge would be gone. The reason why he might be even better than Gretzky and Lemieux is because the game as a whole has grown and that elevates him. The reason why he is the best today is because this era fits him better than anyone else. A 1980s Crosby might be a very different story.

 

[boredmale]

I am guessing if a healthy Crosby played in the 1980s without Gretzky or Lemieux, he probably would be a consistent top 5 scorer with a few Art Rosses and Harts

 

[Canucks1096]

I am guessing if a healthy Crosby played in the 1980s without Gretzky or Lemieux, he probably would be a consistent top 5 scorer with a few Art Rosses and Harts

He has a few Rosses and Hart right now with no Gretzky and Lemieux ( 2 each to be exact)

If he has hard time winning hart and Ross now. He will have a harder time in the 80s and early 90s

 

[boredmale]

He has a few Rosses and Hart right now with no Gretzky and Lemieux ( 2 each to be exact)

If he has hard time winning hart and Ross now. He will have a harder time in the 80s and early 90s

I did preference my comment with "healthy"

 

[Son Goku]

He doesn't dominate now.

Domination implies way above his peers, McDavid outplayed him last year.


inb4 conn smythe

You know saying "inb4" doesn't make the truth irrelevant right?

 

[Son Goku]

Don't agree with the first question. If Crosby played in the 80s he will only probably have maybe 1/3 of his trophies all star team he has right now and maybe less. Also playing behind 99 and 66 he won't get all the attention. He would be rated completely different. Do you really think people will remember a guy that finishes behind 99 and 66?

2nd question sure I agree he does have 5th best resume.

Yes he is clear cut 3rd best player but he is not on a different tier from Messier Yzermen Trottier. He is closer to those 3 players than Gretzky and Lemieux

Nobody implies that he's on the level of 99 or 66, he's on the tier below and nobody has disputed that. There's a difference between being ranked #5 all time and being in the big four. If he's the THIRD best player of that generation then obviously it doesn't matter who he's "closer" to whether it's Lemieux or Yzerman this isn't a ****ing median, hockey isn't math.

 

[Son Goku]

He has a few Rosses and Hart right now with no Gretzky and Lemieux ( 2 each to be exact)

If he has hard time winning hart and Ross now. He will have a harder time in the 80s and early 90s

Who would finish above a healthy dominant Crosby in a league WITHOUT Mario or Wayne? What player besides those two in the 80's would realistically challenge Crosby besides Yzerman once or twice?

 

[pi314]

In the 1987-88 season, Grant Fuhr won the Vezina with a 3.43 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Of top 20 goalies all time in save percentage, 16 of them are still active and playing today. Sixteen!

If Crosby had a time machine to the 1980's, he just might have put up 300 points in a season.

I get that people have nostalgia and love Gretzky. He was great.

The reality is that players have gotten better, not worse.

For example, take sprinting. There are only 1 or 2 guys from the 1980's who could compete today. None of them are fast enough to catch a peak Usain Bolt.

If Crosby is the best player today, he would be the best player in the 1980's too. The margin would only get wider. It would be like watching Bolt blow past a 1980's sprinters all stars.

If anything, Gretzky and Lemieux are few of the players who are blessed enough that they transcended eras and could still compete today.

 

[boredmale]

Who would finish above a healthy dominant Crosby in a league WITHOUT Mario or Wayne? What player besides those two in the 80's would realistically challenge Crosby besides Yzerman once or twice?

Stastny? Bossy and Dionne in the early 80s

 

[Canucks1096]

Who would finish above a healthy dominant Crosby in a league WITHOUT Mario or Wayne? What player besides those two in the 80's would realistically challenge Crosby besides Yzerman once or twice?

Before I answer that. I just want to remind you that this nhl.

2006 JT Jagr Ovechkin
2009 Malkin Ovechkin
2010 H Sedin
2015 Taveres Benn
2016 Kane
2017 Mcdavid

Had 9 players actual had a better regular season than Crosby.

Yzermen Trottier Messier Dionne Stasney Bossy Savard Hawerchuk all can challenge Crosby at some point.

Some of those players can't challenge Crosby career but but can challenge for a few seasons here and there

 

[I am not exposed]

It's hard to compare today's players to others/style of play in different decades.

Crosby would not survive the tough style of play... especially early in his career. He may get cross checked and slashed, but he rarely gets a big hit or a dirty hit (here come all the pens fan about BUF, WSH, and the most recent WSH hit).

Goalies weren't as quick and as talented 20 years ago. Crosby would be quicker and probably have a higher hockey IQ than most.

I'd still take Gretzky over Crosby, but idk about Lemeiux.

For me: 1) Gretzky 2) Crosby 3) Lemieux 4) Messier

Crosby over Lemieux.

 

[Canucks1096]

In the 1987-88 season, Grant Fuhr won the Vezina with a 3.43 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Of top 20 goalies all time in save percentage, 16 of them are still active and playing today. Sixteen!

If Crosby had a time machine to the 1980's, he just might have put up 300 points in a season.

I get that people have nostalgia and love Gretzky. He was great.

The reality is that players have gotten better, not worse.

For example, take sprinting. There are only 1 or 2 guys from the 1980's who could compete today. None of them are fast enough to catch a peak Usain Bolt.

If Crosby is the best player today, he would be the best player in the 1980's too. The margin would only get wider. It would be like watching Bolt blow past a 1980's sprinters all stars.

If anything, Gretzky and Lemieux are few of the players who are blessed enough that they transcended eras and could still compete today.

The average goals in the 80s were 3.80. That's about 310 goals a season. So you pretty much telling me he will get a goal and assist on almost all of his team goals. So I guess 2nd to 4th line and 2nd pp unit won't really score at all.

I am not even going to comment on your goalie save percentage.

But the peoblem with your analogy is that training and the nutritious are completely different from today vs 80s. He won't be the same player if he played in the 80s

 

[Laineux]

In the 1987-88 season, Grant Fuhr won the Vezina with a 3.43 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Of top 20 goalies all time in save percentage, 16 of them are still active and playing today. Sixteen!

If Crosby had a time machine to the 1980's, he just might have put up 300 points in a season.

I get that people have nostalgia and love Gretzky. He was great.

The reality is that players have gotten better, not worse.

For example, take sprinting. There are only 1 or 2 guys from the 1980's who could compete today. None of them are fast enough to catch a peak Usain Bolt.

If Crosby is the best player today, he would be the best player in the 1980's too. The margin would only get wider. It would be like watching Bolt blow past a 1980's sprinters all stars.

If anything, Gretzky and Lemieux are few of the players who are blessed enough that they transcended eras and could still compete today.

I definitely agree with this, but the OP asked how Crosby would do if he was born in 1960s.

He wouldn't have those advantages if he was born in that time. How good he would be is a guessing game, but only way to compare is performance relative to peers.

 

[rynryn]

if Crosby played in the 80's, 90's he'd be the second best player in the world next to the 80's, 90's McDavid. always a bridesmaid.

 

[Frosty415]

You know saying "inb4" doesn't make the truth irrelevant right?

What truth?

He didn't win the cup alone.

Let me guess, you thought toews was the best in 2013?

You have no counter argument

Crosby does not dominate above his peers

McDavid outplayed him last year, plain and simple.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Jagr isn't set in the top 10 all time. And that's the point, everyone knows Lemieux was way better than Jagr so no one even tries to argue it. With Crosby there's a slight argument that's building because he plays at a different time. If he played at the same time as Lemieux he'd be an after thought.

There is 0 arguement building for crosby being better than lemieux.

 

[vancityluongo]

In the 1987-88 season, Grant Fuhr won the Vezina with a 3.43 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Of top 20 goalies all time in save percentage, 16 of them are still active and playing today. Sixteen!

If Crosby had a time machine to the 1980's, he just might have put up 300 points in a season.

I get that people have nostalgia and love Gretzky. He was great.

The reality is that players have gotten better, not worse.

For example, take sprinting. There are only 1 or 2 guys from the 1980's who could compete today. None of them are fast enough to catch a peak Usain Bolt.

If Crosby is the best player today, he would be the best player in the 1980's too. The margin would only get wider. It would be like watching Bolt blow past a 1980's sprinters all stars.

If anything, Gretzky and Lemieux are few of the players who are blessed enough that they transcended eras and could still compete today.

And among those 16 are luminaries such as Jaro Halak and Jimmy Howard. James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier and Jonas Hiller are in the next 5.

Sorry, but if someone brought Patrick Roy to 2017 in a time machine without advancements in training and equipment, he'd hands down be a better goalie than those names.

Of course players have gotten better, but that's not the point. Albert Einstein would have no ****ing clue how to use a smart phone today.

Anyways, Crosby would be a clear #3 behind Gretzky and Lemieux as everyone else has said. His legacy would not change. Only thing that would change is Malkin has an award or two more and is probably now considered a top-100 player.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

There is 0 arguement building for crosby being better than lemieux.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but there have been many threads discussing it on here and it's been brought up in the media recently too.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

In the 1987-88 season, Grant Fuhr won the Vezina with a 3.43 GAA and an .881 save percentage.

Of top 20 goalies all time in save percentage, 16 of them are still active and playing today. Sixteen!

If Crosby had a time machine to the 1980's, he just might have put up 300 points in a season.

I get that people have nostalgia and love Gretzky. He was great.

The reality is that players have gotten better, not worse.

For example, take sprinting. There are only 1 or 2 guys from the 1980's who could compete today. None of them are fast enough to catch a peak Usain Bolt.

If Crosby is the best player today, he would be the best player in the 1980's too. The margin would only get wider. It would be like watching Bolt blow past a 1980's sprinters all stars.

If anything, Gretzky and Lemieux are few of the players who are blessed enough that they transcended eras and could still compete today.

Any star player from today would score 300pts in the 80s if they took a time machine. That's not the point.

 

[#66]

I always thought he reminded me of 80s Yzerman more than anyone. Potvin had a good one too... Trottier with Lafontaine speed.

He would be a different player. More offensive and play more than the 20 mins a game he does now.