Paul Coffey - Has Anyone Played on Better Teams or With Better Players?

SCampo98

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Dec 24, 2015
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Sherbrooke, QC
Paul Coffey played on the three greatest teams of his era, and arguably three of the greatest teams of all time: the 1980s Oilers, the late 80s/early 90s Penguins, the early 90s Kings and the Mid-90s Red Wings. Is there anyone else in history who played on better teams? Here is a list of just some of the players he's played with:

Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier
Grant Fuhr
Glenn Anderson
Jari Kurri
Ron Francis
Jaromir Jagr
Mario Lemieux
Joe Mullen
Larry Murphy
Bryan Trottier
Mark Recchi
Luc Robataille
Rob Blake
Steve Yzerman
Dino Ciccarelli
Sergei Fedorov
Nicklas Lidstrom
Mark Howe
Slava Fetisov
Igor Larionov
Eric Lindros
Dale Hawerchuk
Doug Gilmour
Chris Chelios
Joe Thornton
 

brachyrynchos

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Apr 10, 2017
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Greg Gilbert.
He played for 3 NHL coaches who all had won or would go on to win a Cup, Arbour, Keenan (both of which won the Jack Adams), and Darryl Sutter.
Played w/ 8 players who had or would win the Conn Smythe: Trottier,Goring, Bossy, Smith, Messier, Gretzky, MacInnis, Leetch.
Played w/ 8 players who had won the Calder: Potvin, Trottier, Bossy, Stastny, Hawerchuk, Larmer, Leetch,Belfour.
Played w/6 players who had or would win the Hart: Trottier, Hasek, Messier, Gretzky, Hull, Pronger.
Played w/5 past or future Norris winners: Potvin, Chelios, Leetch, MacInnis, Pronger.
4 past or future Vezina winners: Smith, Fuhr, Belfour, Hasek.
4 Pearson winners: Gretzky, Hull, Messier, Hasek.
3 Selke winners: T. Murray, Carbonneau, Graham.
3 Masterton: Goring, Bourne, Lafontaine.
2 Art Ross: Trottier, Gretzky.
4 Clancy winners: Trottier, Lowe, Graves, C. Joseph.

NYI: Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, Bossy, Smith, Goring, Gillies, Lafontaine, etc.
CHI: Belfour, Hasek, Chelios, Savard, Larmer, Graham, Roenick, Goulet, etc. (Vaive, Secord, T. Murray)
NYR: Messier, Graves, Leetch, Lowe, Richter, Gartner, Zubov, Anderson, etc (Kovalev, Amonte, Tikkanen).
StL: Gretzky, Hull, Shanahan, Stastny, Hawerchuk, MacInnis, Pronger, Fuhr, Cujo, Carbonneau,etc. (Janney, G. Courtnall).

Gilbert played with alot of great players...Cup winners, trophy winners, and Hall of Famers on some pretty good teams that all made the playoffs. Went to the Finals with 3 different teams, 3 time Cup winner (NYI 2, and NYR).
 

vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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hm, let’s do a comparison btw coffey and robitaille


Wayne Gretzky same
Mark Messier same
Grant Fuhr same
Glenn Anderson / dionne
Jari Kurri same
Ron Francis same
Jaromir Jagr same
Mario Lemieux same
Joe Mullen same
Larry Murphy same
Bryan Trottier / robinson
Mark Recchi / leetch
Luc Robataille / coffey
Rob Blake same
Steve Yzerman same
Dino Ciccarelli / datsyuk
Sergei Fedorov same
Nicklas Lidstrom same
Mark Howe / hasek
Slava Fetisov / brett hull
Igor Larionov same
Eric Lindros / shanahan
Dale Hawerchuk / zetterberg
Doug Gilmour / cujo
Chris Chelios same
Joe Thornton / roenick

plus HOVG guys like nicholls, tonelli, taylor, barrasso, kevin stevens, markus naslund, richter, tikkanen, kovalev, verbeek, palffy, demitra
 
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vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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pit martin

howe
delvecchio
sawchuk
pronovost
gadsby
lindsay
bathgate
bucyk
boivin
cheevers
parent
orr
hull
mikita
pilote
tony o
smyl
 

The Panther

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Mar 25, 2014
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Tokyo, Japan
hm, let’s do a comparison btw coffey and robitaille

Grant Fuhr same
Glenn Anderson / dionne
Jari Kurri same
Mario Lemieux same
Joe Mullen same
Steve Yzerman same
Well, these kinds of guys are hardly the same, are they? When Coffey played with each one, they were at (or, in Yzerman alone's case, just past) their primes.

Whereas when Robitaille played with them, they were all past their primes, most notably Marcel Dionne. And Robitaille never played with Mario Lemieux (who didn't dress the entire season Luc was in Pittsburgh).
 
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Canadiens1958

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Nov 30, 2007
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Lake Memphremagog, QC.
Larry Hillman played with the most HHOFers(players), just north of 30.

O6 SC finals with Detroit, Boston, Toronto.

Post 1967 expansion, Montreal, Philadelphia, LA, Buffalo.

And if you wish WHA Cleveland, Winnipeg.
 

Peter Tosh

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Dec 19, 2007
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Coffey was fortunate enough to play with Gretzky, Mario and Fedorov during their prime, and actually played most of his career with these elite centers. It makes me wonder how much of their success that can be credited to Coffey, and how much of Coffeys success that can be credited to them.
 

scott clam

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Sep 12, 2018
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Coffey probably takes the cake but lets take a look at Roy:

Chelios*
Carbonneau*
Robinson*
Gainey*
D. Savard*
LeClair
B. Smith
Muller
Damphousse
Recchi*
Turgeon
Sakic*
Forsberg*
C. Lemieux
Foote
T. Fleury
Dale Hunter
Andreychuk*
Bourque*
Blake*

*HHOF

And there's a whole lot more who may not have been hall of famers or borderline hall of famers but were definitely rock solid "hall of good" players.
 

VanIslander

A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Sep 4, 2004
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4 cups on a dynasty in Detroit,
4 cups on a dynasty in Toronto,
20 HHOFers,

RED KELLY! :)

Gordie Howe
Ted Lindsay
Sid Abel
Alex Delvecchio
Jack Stewart
Marcel Pronovost
Harry Lumley
Terry Sawchuk

Dave Keon
Frank Mahovlich
Andy Bathgate
Bob Pulford
Bert Olmstead
George Armstrong
Tim Horton
Marcel Pronovost
Allan Stanley
Johnny Bower
 

Big Phil

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Nov 2, 2003
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I remember a thread like this and it was discussing who played with the most HHOFers. I believe Larry Hillman was the winner here but until he popped up I believe Frank Mahovlich was the winner. That being said, Coffey did play with 26 HHOFers, which surprises me. That has got to be the post-expansion record. (I know Mahovlich played post expansion but not all of his career of course).
 

ShelbyZ

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Apr 8, 2015
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Kris Draper has to be up there for post expansion definitive non-HOFer that played with the most HOFer's, right? He played with 17, and could hit 20 or more eventually...

In Winnipeg:
Housley
Selanne

In Detroit:
Fedorov
Yzerman
Coffey
Ciccarelli
Lidstrom
Howe
Fetisov
Larionov
Shanahan
Murphy
Chelios
Hull
Robitaille
Hasek
Modano

And then you have guys that aren't eligible yet like Hossa, Datsyuk and Zetterberg, or guys that come up in HOF arguments like Tkachuk, Osgood and Joseph.
 
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vadim sharifijanov

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Oct 10, 2007
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I remember a thread like this and it was discussing who played with the most HHOFers. I believe Larry Hillman was the winner here but until he popped up I believe Frank Mahovlich was the winner. That being said, Coffey did play with 26 HHOFers, which surprises me. That has got to be the post-expansion record. (I know Mahovlich played post expansion but not all of his career of course).

this was mahovlich's list—Kennedy, Duff, Armstrong, Pulford, Horton, Olmstead, Bower, Stanley, Kelly, Keon, Cheevers, Bathgate, Moore, Sawchuk, Pronovost, Howe, Delvecchio, Beliveau, Cournoyer, Lemaire, Richard, LaPointe, Savard, Dryden, Lafleur, Laperriere, Shutt, Robinson, Gainey

if you count WHA, which i don't know why you wouldn't, you also (now) add nedomansky on the toronto toros and langway on birmingham. you could also count al arbour, who played with him in toronto.

and since that list was made, vachon also made the HHOF.

so 33.
 

Hockey Outsider

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Jan 16, 2005
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For a definite non Hall of Famer, how about Steve Duchesne? In roughly chronological order:
  1. Luc Robitaille
  2. Marcel Dionne
  3. Wayne Gretzky
  4. Rob Blake
  5. Larry Robinson
  6. Mark Recchi
  7. Mark Howe
  8. Joe Sakic
  9. Mats Sundin
  10. Brett Hull
  11. Brendan Shanahan
  12. Peter Stastny
  13. Phil Housley
  14. Glenn Anderson
  15. Guy Carbonneau
  16. Al MacInnis
  17. Chris Pronger
  18. Grant Fuhr
  19. Eric Lindros
  20. Nicklas Lidstrom
  21. Steve Yzerman
  22. Sergei Fedorov
  23. Chris Chelios
  24. Larry Murphy
  25. Igor Larionov
  26. Dominik Hasek
This doesn't include highly likely future HOFers like Alfredsson, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or borderline cases like Brind'Amour, Turgeon and LeClair.

If I counted correctly, Duchesne ties Coffey with 26.
 

Hockey Outsider

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Jan 16, 2005
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Another non HOFer who played with 20 members - Marty McSorley:
  1. Mario Lemieux
  2. Wayne Gretzky
  3. Mark Messier
  4. Paul Coffey
  5. Jari Kurri
  6. Glenn Anderson
  7. Grant Fuhr
  8. Luc Robitaille
  9. Larry Robinson
  10. Rob Blake
  11. Ron Francis
  12. Jaromir Jagr (virtually guaranteed)
  13. Larry Murphy
  14. Joe Mullen
  15. Bryan Trottier
  16. Brian Leetch
  17. Ed Belfour
  18. Ray Bourque
  19. Dave Andreychuk
  20. Joe Thornton (virtually guaranteed)
 

Hockey Outsider

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Jan 16, 2005
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Last one for now - Mathieu Schneider:
  1. Patrick Roy
  2. Chris Chelios
  3. Guy Carbonneau
  4. Denis Savard
  5. Mark Recchi
  6. Mats Sundin
  7. Doug Gilmour
  8. Larry Murphy
  9. Mike Gartner
  10. Dave Andreychuk
  11. Wayne Gretzky
  12. Brian Leetch
  13. Luc Robitaille
  14. Rob Blake
  15. Nicklas Lidstrom
  16. Steve Yzerman
  17. Sergei Fedorov
  18. Chris Chelios
  19. Brett Hull
  20. Brendan Shanahan
  21. Igor Larionov
  22. Dominik Hasek
  23. Teemu Selanne
  24. Chris Pronger
  25. Scott Niedermayer
Highly probables - Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin
Possible but unlikely - John LeClair, Pierre Turgeon, Theo Fleury
Potential future HOFers (too soon to tell) - Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo
 

Albatros

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Aug 19, 2017
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Ostsee
Robert Lang has a nice list too, not as long but rather elite:

Rob Blake
Ray Bourque
Chris Chelios
Paul Coffey
Ron Francis
Grant Fuhr
Wayne Gretzky
Dominik Hašek
Brett Hull
Jari Kurri
Mario Lemieux
Nicklas Lidström
Luc Robitaille
Brendan Shanahan
Steve Yzerman

And top tier players like Jágr, Kane, Price, Thornton coming up among others.
 

pappyline

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Jul 3, 2005
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Mass/formerly Ont
I count 32 for Eddie Litzenberger

1 Rocket Richard
2,Bert Olmstead
3.Elmer Lach
4 Bernie Geoffrion
5 Doug Harvey
6 Tom Johnson
7 Butch Bouchard
8 Dickie Moore
9 Jean Beliveau
10 Jacques Plante
11 Harry Watson
12 Allan Stanley
13Pierre Pilote
14 Bobby Hull
15 Ted Lindsay
16 Glen hall
17 Stan Mikita
18 Gordie Howe
19 Alex Delvecchio
20 Norm ullman
21 Bill Gadsby
22 Marcel Pronovost
23 Terry Sawchuk
24 Frank Mahovlich
25 Dave Keon
26 George Armstrong
27 Red Kelly
28 Bob Pulford
29 Tim Horton
30 Dick Duff
31 john Bower
32 Andy Bathgate
 
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Hockey Outsider

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Jan 16, 2005
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I lied - one more. How about Brett Hull? I think he has the post-expansion record:
  1. Al MacInnis
  2. Joe Mullen
  3. Lanny McDonald
  4. Joe Nieuwendyk
  5. Doug Gilmour
  6. Bernie Federko
  7. Adam Oates
  8. Scott Stevens
  9. Brendan Shanahan
  10. Peter Stastny
  11. Phil Housley
  12. Guy Carbonneau
  13. Glenn Anderson
  14. Wayne Gretzky
  15. Dale Hawerchuk
  16. Chris Pronger
  17. Mike Modano
  18. Sergei Zubov
  19. Ed Belfour
  20. Nicklas Lidstrom
  21. Steve Yzerman
  22. Sergei Fedorov
  23. Chris Chelios
  24. Luc Robitaille
  25. Igor Larionov
  26. Dominik Hasek
Datsyuk and Zetterberg are both likely to make the Hall, so that would bring Hull up to 28.

The 2002 Red Wings are a goldmine for this type of trivia question.
 
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Staniowski

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Jan 13, 2018
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The Maritimes
Henri Richard played on better teams. Two dynasties as well as the 1970s pre-dynasty teams. Not quite as many HHOF teammates I imagine, but then again he played with most of them when they were in their primes and he never became a hockey nomad.
Yes, Henri - has anyone who only played with one team played with as many HHOFers? He played with 9 in his rookie year, and with 9 in his final year, with several more in between.
 

JackSlater

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Apr 27, 2010
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Yes, Henri - has anyone who only played with one team played with as many HHOFers? He played with 9 in his rookie year, and with 9 in his final year, with several more in between.

Yzerman has 20 (Park, Sittler, Oates, Salming, Federko, Fedorov, Lidstrom, Ciccarelli, Howe, Coffey, Fetisov, Larionov, Shanahan, Murphy, Chelios, Hull, Robitaille, Hasek, Datsyuk, Zetterberg) and other than Lidstrom I'm doubtful that anyone who stuck with a single team from the last few decades is close.
 
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