KingDeathMetal
Registered User
This point has already been made, but I'll emphasize: the 3rd and 4th liners in the 80s and most of the 3rd and 4th liners in the 90s would have a tough time breaking into today's NHL.
But make no mistake, the star power of that era, especially the 90s, was incredible. Arguably, 15 of the best 20-25 d-men of all time, all played in the league during the 90s and were mostly in their primes together. Two of the three best players of all-time (Wayne and Mario) were in their primes at once in the late 80s. The two best goaltenders to ever live IMO (Roy and Hasek) were also in their primes.
That's...unreal, when you think about it. I don't know if there was ever a collection of that many great players at one time in any sport, let alone hockey (maybe baseball in the 1950s?).
We already know what a player of that era would do in the modern era, because Jagr deep into his 40s was playing at a first-line level not too long ago. What would the Jagr of 1998 do? Let alone the Gretzky of 85, or the Mario of 93. So arguments like "Those guys would be 3rd liners today!" don't hold water.
Also: while it's true that the average talent level is much higher today, consider some of the advantages that yesterday's players would have if they stepped through a portal into today:
-No more clutch and grab BS
-Game is not nearly as physical, their talent could shine through much more easily
-Top line players don't play the type of minutes they used to, because there are more matchup options on the third and fourth lines
-Many of the top players were much larger, grittier players than today. There's nothing in the NHL today that's like a prime Lindros - a human freight train on skates with the speed and skill of a modern day star.
-Put today's pads on Roy, Hasek, Belfour, Cujo, Richter, Moog, Vernon, Fuhr, Beezer, Brodeur (already happened and he won two Vezinas). Those guys would have a field day.
With all that said, the league was in a golden era for talent in the late 80s and 90s (NHL was never as young on avg as that 80s period), and similarly, I think we're in another golden era right now. There wasn't a whole lot of ALL-TIME great talent drafted in the late 90s and 00s other than the handful of obvious ones, but right now there's probably more GREAT talent than at any time since the 90s. And you're seeing scoring way up from just 5 or 6 years ago.
It's a great time to be a fan.
But make no mistake, the star power of that era, especially the 90s, was incredible. Arguably, 15 of the best 20-25 d-men of all time, all played in the league during the 90s and were mostly in their primes together. Two of the three best players of all-time (Wayne and Mario) were in their primes at once in the late 80s. The two best goaltenders to ever live IMO (Roy and Hasek) were also in their primes.
That's...unreal, when you think about it. I don't know if there was ever a collection of that many great players at one time in any sport, let alone hockey (maybe baseball in the 1950s?).
We already know what a player of that era would do in the modern era, because Jagr deep into his 40s was playing at a first-line level not too long ago. What would the Jagr of 1998 do? Let alone the Gretzky of 85, or the Mario of 93. So arguments like "Those guys would be 3rd liners today!" don't hold water.
Also: while it's true that the average talent level is much higher today, consider some of the advantages that yesterday's players would have if they stepped through a portal into today:
-No more clutch and grab BS
-Game is not nearly as physical, their talent could shine through much more easily
-Top line players don't play the type of minutes they used to, because there are more matchup options on the third and fourth lines
-Many of the top players were much larger, grittier players than today. There's nothing in the NHL today that's like a prime Lindros - a human freight train on skates with the speed and skill of a modern day star.
-Put today's pads on Roy, Hasek, Belfour, Cujo, Richter, Moog, Vernon, Fuhr, Beezer, Brodeur (already happened and he won two Vezinas). Those guys would have a field day.
With all that said, the league was in a golden era for talent in the late 80s and 90s (NHL was never as young on avg as that 80s period), and similarly, I think we're in another golden era right now. There wasn't a whole lot of ALL-TIME great talent drafted in the late 90s and 00s other than the handful of obvious ones, but right now there's probably more GREAT talent than at any time since the 90s. And you're seeing scoring way up from just 5 or 6 years ago.
It's a great time to be a fan.