Lebrun: If Crosby wins another Stanley Cup, he will then become better than Toews

[NeedleInTheHay]

Crosby has messier in his rear view easily at this point . The only players clearly ahead of crosby at this point are lemieux, gretzky, Orr and howe.

There's no argument for Howe.

Hasek, Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr, and Jagr are the only other players in contention.

 

[Individual 1]

Pretty sure Lebrun was talking about their accomplishments, not who is (finger quotes) "better" than the other.

Toews captained his team to 3 cups. That's the biggest accomplishment for any active player.

So individual trophies are not accomplishments

Or are Kunitz and Lowe some of the most accomplished players lol.

 

[XanderCrews34]

Actually feel bad for Toews. He has no business in this conversation and that's not his fault at all. A really good player with unfair comps.

 

[LMFAO]

Superman has a Jonathan Toews Pyjama

 

[LeHab]

Pens have a better record when Sid is not in the lineup. Kid is lucky to still be in NHL.

 

[TorstenFrings]

So individual trophies are not accomplishments

I am sure he captained Keith to the Norris.

 

[Passchendaele]

There's no argument for Howe.

Hasek, Lemieux, Gretzky, Orr, and Jagr are the only other players in contention.

What.

Crosby's career is filled with could've, would've, should'ves (if not for injuries).

Howe won six scoring championships, some of them by a larger margin than Crosby ever will.

He finished top-5 in scoring for twenty straight seasons for god's sake.

 

[harmonica]

Comparing across eras is always a silly thing. The game has changed and evolved too much for that sort of exercise. The thing that can be said about Crosby is that he is the greatest cap era player.

 

[lastcupever75]

crosby's toes are better then toews

 

[Johnnybegood13]

Toews is a great player but easily the most overrated player of this age...

And making $13.8m in real money the last few years easily one the most overpaid player as well. I get the "reward" for winning thing but if every player who wins starts getting close to double their worth, that team wouldn't win again for a long time.

 

[MikeK]

And making $13.8m in real money the last few years easily one the most overpaid player as well. I get the "reward" for winning thing but if every player who wins starts getting close to double their worth, that team wouldn't win again for a long time.

I agree. I really like Toews, but that contract is atrocious and an anchor for CHI. They would have been better off trading him than paying that type of money. He's literally making double what he should be and what makes it even worse is that history has proven he's likely already played his best games. Terrible contract.

 

[Kranix]

I am sure he captained Keith to the Norris.

Lol

 

[pheasant]

Yup, just like Dustin Brown = Sidney Crosby. Again... if your analysis requires nothing more than being able to count to 3, then it's not really analysis and it's not even worth stating.

If a thousand monkeys on typewriters manage type out Hamlet, then they accomplished the same thing as Shakespeare. They both did it. One was done with blind stupid luck, the other took time and brilliance.

The monkeys are not as good at writing as Shakespeare is. But, in this one instance, they accomplished the same thing.

Brown and Toews are not as good at hockey as Crosby is.
Crosby > Brown.
Crosby > Toews.

Toews accomplished something no other active player has: Captained his team to 3 Cups. If Crosby does the same, adding in that two of them are sequential, then his accomplishment will surpass Toews'.

 

[pheasant]

So individual trophies are not accomplishments

Or are Kunitz and Lowe some of the most accomplished players lol.

In what context? Is Doan a better goal scorer than Ovie because he won his episode of the reality show Mantracker? No.

Are the individual trophies you're referring to relevant in what Lebrun was trying to say? No.

Lebrun wasn't talking about the most decorated player, the most talented player, the "best" player. He was just saying that, up til now, Toews' 3 Cups are a bigger accomplishment than Crosby's 2. But if Sid wins this one it isn't just a tie, he will move ahead.

 

[JaegerDice]

I agree. I really like Toews, but that contract is atrocious and an anchor for CHI. They would have been better off trading him than paying that type of money. He's literally making double what he should be and what makes it even worse is that history has proven he's likely already played his best games. Terrible contract.

LOL, no, the Chicago Blackhawks would not be better off without a 1C.

 

[MikeK]

LOL, no, the Chicago Blackhawks would not be better off without a 1C.

Sure.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

At first i thought Lebron James said this. I was pretty impressed he cared so much about hockey.

 

[Community]

Now I'm curious as to where knowledgeable hockey fans would rank Crosby on an alltime list. Top 10? Top 15??

Top 10 no problem (assuming a typical trend throughout the rest of his career). He currently has a top 5ppg of all time while being a competent-good player defensively.

While his ppg will likely decrease as his career continues, he will have at least 2 Stanley cups (probably more), a bunch of individual hardware, and lots of international success.

Doing all this in a cap era where scoring is down and there aren't any dynasties anymore is nothing short of spectacular.

Even if he retired after this year he would still have a good resume as to why he deserves to be top 10 all time. I'm not a big fan of Crosby's, but he is one of the best that's ever played the game despite losing significant amounts of his prime due to injuries.

 

[I am not exposed]

At first i thought Lebron James said this. I was pretty impressed he cared so much about hockey.

It briefly crossed my mind!

Even he knows that Crosby is head and shoulders above Toews!

 

[Harvey Birdman]

What.

Crosby's career is filled with could've, would've, should'ves (if not for injuries).

Howe won six scoring championships, some of them by a larger margin than Crosby ever will.

He finished top-5 in scoring for twenty straight seasons for god's sake.

You can not fully compare scoring across eras, it's completely objective.

 

[Zilo44]

You can not fully compare scoring across eras, it's completely objective.

He is not comparing the number of points. That stat just shows Howe was top 5 among his peers for 20 years. No matter the era, this is highly impressive

 

[powelladam02*]

He is not comparing the number of points. That stat just shows Howe was top 5 among his peers for 20 years. No matter the era, this is highly impressive

Era absolutely does matter when you're talking about comparing a guy who played the majority of his career in a league with six teams, players playing part time, and against goalies who were basically skaters who stood in front of the net versus a guy playing in a league with 30 teams, professional players who are now significantly easier to find and develop, and goalies basically wearing pillows all over their body.

And yes he did compare the points when he said Howe had a significantly higher lead on his scoring trophies than Crosby did. Convenient that he did not mention that players today are significantly better than players in the 50's and 60's.

 

[BobCole]

When it comes to longevity, it's not as though Crosby is a slouch:

No other player of this era comes even close to this.

 

[KingBilly]

Apparently there is a backlash against Toews he did absolutely nothing to invite.

Of course he isn't as good as Crosby. But he's a great player, and name me one thing he has done to encourage these "best ever", "top 100" conversations. It's like people are mad at him for things other people said.

Let's tar and feather Toews because a bunch of Canadian writers said ridiculous things. That jerk. Where does he get off?

 

[CokenoPepsi]

it is official

crosby > toews