Keon vs Gilbert
- Thread starter Ziostilon
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Canadiens1958
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Dave Keon
Dave Keon was one of the few centers who could dominate a game defensively.
Rod Gilbert was basically a scorer on RW who overcame a major back injury to have an excellent NHL career but he never dominated.
Dave Keon was one of the few centers who could dominate a game defensively.
Rod Gilbert was basically a scorer on RW who overcame a major back injury to have an excellent NHL career but he never dominated.
Ward Cornell
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Keon was one of the best two players ever in the game and was superb on the face-offs.
Gilbert is a tough answer for since there was very tv back in those days.
Gilbert is a tough answer for since there was very tv back in those days.
Big Phil
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- Nov 2, 2003
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Keon for sure. It has commonly been described that Keon never played a bad game in his career. While some HHOFers have had a much better peak than him, few have been as solid for as long as Keon was year after year. He was a guy you won with and was valuable without even having to score a point. Gilbert was a fine player and might just have the best year between the two (1972) but Keon was clearly the better player. He would be hard to pass up in this comparison
Axxellien
Registered User
Not a Good:
They were not of the same era...Ratelle & Rod the Mod had their best years in NY after expansion, even later...Keon had his best seasons early on, before 1967....When Toronto had all their success...Both Rod & Keon were very dynamic, but for quite different reasons....
They were not of the same era...Ratelle & Rod the Mod had their best years in NY after expansion, even later...Keon had his best seasons early on, before 1967....When Toronto had all their success...Both Rod & Keon were very dynamic, but for quite different reasons....
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
Not sure what the point is, Keon is known primarily for being one of the best defensive centers to ever play the game if not the best, Gilbert was a scoring winger who at his peak was maybe somewhere between 5th and 10th amongst players in the league.
seventieslord
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reckoning
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Another factor is that Keon was still an effective player late in his career. When he was in his late-30s the Islanders were trying to acquire him as the "missing piece" to their future dynasty.
Gilbert at a similar age, despite respectable offensive numbers, was more or less forced into retirement by Rangers GM John Ferguson.
Gilbert at a similar age, despite respectable offensive numbers, was more or less forced into retirement by Rangers GM John Ferguson.
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
I find those two practically interchangeable. Gilmour is clearly better offensively. Keon is clearly better defensively. But neither is lacking in either area. Gilmour was deemed more "valuable" by voters in a larger league. Keon "won" more but had the benefit of a smaller league. Both were excellent in the playoffs. Both would be between 90th and 100th on an all-time list for me.
Canadiens1958
Registered User
Oh Boy..........
Dave Keon and its not even close. Keon could play the elite centers - Beliveau,Henri Richard, Mikita,Phil Esposito, Ullman matching them defensively and offensively. Gilmour could not. Gilmour might have won the odd shoot-out against a post injury Gretzky or a post illness Lemieux but he never displayed the ability to go head to head with such centers over the course of a 7 game playoff or 14 games over the course of a season.
Dave Keon and its not even close. Keon could play the elite centers - Beliveau,Henri Richard, Mikita,Phil Esposito, Ullman matching them defensively and offensively. Gilmour could not. Gilmour might have won the odd shoot-out against a post injury Gretzky or a post illness Lemieux but he never displayed the ability to go head to head with such centers over the course of a 7 game playoff or 14 games over the course of a season.
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
Kind of easy to say that when Keon played in a 6-team league where every game was against such centers and every series would be against one of them as well.
Relatively speaking, they are the same.
And that's not what this thread is about.
Big Phil
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Gretzky in 1993? Maybe I still pick Keon against Gilmour, but it certainly merits a better argument than Keon vs. Gilbert
