reckoning
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2005
- 7,022
- 1,268
For some reason, it seems like he`s never mentioned when people talk about the great forwards of the 70s. Sure, he`s in the Hall of Fame, but his name is rarely mentioned anymore. Take the Hockey News Top 100 list: Ratelle is nowhere on it to be seen. Now people may claim it`s because he never won a Cup, then please explain how Sittler made the list or how Dionne and Perreault made the top 50? Ratelle came closer to a Cup than they ever did.
Ratelle may not have had Dionne`s point totals, Perreault`s flashiness or Sittler`s single game records; but overall I`d rate him above those three guys. He was a consistent point-a-game scorer, sound defensively (never had a minus season), played well in the playoffs, and was well-liked by everyone. Can someone please explain why he`s forgotten while other centres from that era are remembered?
My memories of him are mostly from his Bruin days, even then in his late-30s he was always a standout. Just a magnificent talent to watch, the definition of the hard-working finesse player.
One other question: let`s say Montreal managed to snag his rights instead of the Rangers. He has the exact same career, but being on Montreal gets 8 Cup rings to go with it. How much higher would he be rated then?
Ratelle may not have had Dionne`s point totals, Perreault`s flashiness or Sittler`s single game records; but overall I`d rate him above those three guys. He was a consistent point-a-game scorer, sound defensively (never had a minus season), played well in the playoffs, and was well-liked by everyone. Can someone please explain why he`s forgotten while other centres from that era are remembered?
My memories of him are mostly from his Bruin days, even then in his late-30s he was always a standout. Just a magnificent talent to watch, the definition of the hard-working finesse player.
One other question: let`s say Montreal managed to snag his rights instead of the Rangers. He has the exact same career, but being on Montreal gets 8 Cup rings to go with it. How much higher would he be rated then?