If you have to pick one for a healthy career: Orr or Lemieux?

Who would you of wanted to have a healthy career to see what they would of done?


  • Total voters
    320

AKL

Danila Yurov Fan Club President
Sponsor
Dec 10, 2012
39,500
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It's Mario and I didn't think twice about it.
 

wetcoast

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
22,246
10,125
Very good poll question. Robert Nestor Orr, but it's close. They both changed the way the game was played.


How did Mario change the way the game was played?

do you mean the wrongly named "dead puck era"?

Anyways the answer to the poll is clearly Orr, he titlted the ice like no one else.

His ESGF/ESGA is just completely off the charts and even in his limited time in Chicago when he was done he was still extremely tilting th ice when he was on it.

Mario led the NHL with 161 points and was 10th on his own team in plus/minus in 96 just go look it up.

1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins Roster and Statistics | Hockey-Reference.com
 

Star Ocean

Registered User
Dec 30, 2018
3,583
2,003
Orr. The guy won 8 Norris trophies in a row and was essentially done at 27. Had he never been hurt it's not crazy to think he could have won 12+ which would put him as a 1a/1b with Gretzky IMO.
Weak competition and not many NHL teams.

Orr most overrated player on Hfboards.
 
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Plural

Registered User
Mar 10, 2011
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He has more raw talent, and he certainly had it in him to beat some of Wayne's records in a perfect storm of a season - but Wayne had much greater drive, and his playoffs are legendary, always rising to the top as best player/scorer in every playoffs/tournament while at his best. I think for those reasons - even in the best of scenarios - Gretzky is still the "greater" player. But - it would certainly be closer.

I could see Mario challenging the goal record. But you're right, it probably is not enough to unseat Wayne.
 

Tasty Biscuits

with fancy sauce
Aug 8, 2011
12,157
3,414
Pittsburgh
That's the thing with Lemieux. He only really got one chance - in 1989, and fell short. 1988/89 is when he hit his "best" level, and had he been healthy, he would have gotten more "shots" at Gretzky in 1990, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95...but 1989 was his only full and healthy season during his true peak.

Eh, 92-93 was peak Mario. 101 points in his first 38 games, then soon after that the cancer news hits, two months off for radiation treatments, then comes back and pots 56 points in 20 games, including a goal and assist in his first game back after receiving his last treatment earlier that day. Still finishes with 69 goals, 160 points in only 60 games after going through all that. Otherwordly.

Heck, 88-89 wasn't even a fully healthy season either, but 92-93 he was on a completely other level.
 

JackSlater

Registered User
Apr 27, 2010
18,041
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Orr, and I think he would establish himself as clear the best player of all time. I do think that a fully healthy Lemieux has a chance of doing that as well though, but I don't think that he would ever be clearly better than Gretzky.
 

snipes

How cold? I’m ice cold.
Dec 28, 2015
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Orr. The guy won 8 Norris trophies in a row and was essentially done at 27. Had he never been hurt it's not crazy to think he could have won 12+ which would put him as a 1a/1b with Gretzky IMO.

His peak from 1969-75 is as close to Gretzky’s peak in the 80’s as we’ll likely ever see.
 
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WJCJ

Registered User
Sep 27, 2017
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Bobby Orr was the best player I ever saw. I lived in Pittsburgh for almost all of Mario's career and no disrespect to him at all but Orr was the best I ever saw.
 

Luigi Lemieux

Registered User
Sep 26, 2003
21,437
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Lemieux just so his fanboys wouldn't have the fantasy argument anymore. Gretzky beats Lemieux in literally everything. Raw totals, adjusted, playoffs, single season, half season, career, awards, peak, prime, international. Literally everything, but you still have these Lemieux fanboys crying like 5 year olds that he's better than Gretzky lol.
Lemieux is ahead of Gretzky in adjusted points per game.
If Orr had a healthy career, we have a legitimate argument for #1 player of all time.

Bobby and it's not close. Mario is #4 no matter what.
If Gretzky doesn't exist Mario is likely considered the best player of all time. He would have the top 4 offensive seasons ever at 199, 168, 161, and 160 points.
 
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snipes

How cold? I’m ice cold.
Dec 28, 2015
54,873
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Weak competition and not many NHL teams.

Orr most overrated player on Hfboards.

Blasphemy!!

Orr was still the best player at the Canada Cup in 1976 against the vaunted Soviets and the rest of the hockey world on one knee.

We didn’t have Orr in 1972 for the Summit Series due to injury but he most certainly would have been the best player there.
 

TheStroker

Registered User
Jun 13, 2012
1,767
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USA
Lemieux was more skilled. But IMO Orr impacted the game in a much more meaningful and bigger way. Even to this day I think an elite #1 D is a more important player for a team then an elite #1 C.

Can't go wrong with either, but Orr for me.
 

KoozNetsOff 92

Hala Madrid
Apr 6, 2016
8,567
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Lemieux is ahead of Gretzky in adjusted points per game.

If Gretzky doesn't exist Mario is likely considered the best player of all time. He would have the top 4 offensive seasons ever at 199, 168, 161, and 160 points.

Lol 1 stat, congrats. Don't forget to mention that Gretzky had 8+ seasons worth of extra wear and tear on his body. He didn't run away and retire like a baby when the game got tough like Lemieux did in 97.
 
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Luigi Lemieux

Registered User
Sep 26, 2003
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Is that only true because Gretzky played many more games in his 30’s?
Lemieux missed 250 games when he was averaging 2-2.5 points per game (1990-96, age 24-30). Even when he played he was in debilitating back pain. Lemieux's adjusted ppg would likely go up if he were fully healthy.
 
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Voight

#winning
Feb 8, 2012
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Lemieux is ahead of Gretzky in adjusted points per game.

If Gretzky doesn't exist Mario is likely considered the best player of all time. He would have the top 4 offensive seasons ever at 199, 168, 161, and 160 points.

Its possible, but he'd still have the same amount of scoring titles as Howe and 3 less MVPs (well maybe in this case Mario wins another 1 or 2 but the point still stands). Part of why Gretz is so great is his insane amount of trophies compared to everyone else and how much more he scored than everybody else.
 

KoozNetsOff 92

Hala Madrid
Apr 6, 2016
8,567
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Like a baby? You ever go thru chemo?

Chemo had nothing to do with 1997. Lemieux kept crying about how physical the league was getting. No one cared about his temper tantrums so he retired like a baby.

It's not surprising why Jagr and Crosby (early in his career) were such babies too because they learned from Lemieux.
 

Ms Maggie

Registered User
Apr 11, 2017
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Chemo had nothing to do with 1997. Lemieux kept crying about how physical the league was getting. No one cared about his temper tantrums so he retired like a baby.

It's not surprising why Jagr and Crosby (early in his career) were such babies too because they learned from Lemieux.
If Mario, Jagr and Crosby are "babies", I'll take a whole nursery full of them.
 
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