Funny thread.
Mario should be #1. From 1991 to 1997, almost certainly the best forward in the world, with a peak that would embarrass any of the best players in the past dozen years.
Are we starting here from summer 1990? In 1990-91, Gretzky had (except for two Mario seasons) the most points by any player in history, was +30, and his team finished in 1st. He scored 41 goals in 78 games, and had 122 assists -- the most by anybody, ever (except of course, himself). For the 'Adjusted Stats' crowd, that's 146 points against League-historical scoring averages. (That's about 30 more points than Kane had this year vs. historical averages, and about 25 more than Crosby's best-ever season.) He then completely dominated the 1991 Canada Cup against the world's best players.
Having been 'Sutered' in September '91, and already with 13 pro-seasons behind him, Gretzky passed his prime as the 1991-92 season started. However, he did all right for a guy past his prime, putting up (Adjusted) point totals of 103 points at age 37. Let's also bear in mind that head-to-head from 1990 to 1999, Gretzky outscored Jagr. And in the playoffs in the '90s, Gretzky destroys Jagr.
But Jagr is clearly #2 or #3 here, I think, since he has his entire NHL career with great longevity on his side.
After that, it's the usual names: Crosby, Sakic, Ovechkin, Messier (1990 to 1997 was all-world), Forsberg, Sedins, Yzerman, etc.
