Team 1990’s vs Team 2020’s

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Crosby, who debuted in 2005-2006, on the 2020s team seems a bit... bad.

 

[Bouboumaster]

That defensive corps on the 1990's is OP as f***

That 3rd pairing would be a pain to play against (litteraly)

 

[BraveCanadian]

That guy doesn’t realize 43 year old Jagr was just outside the top 20 in scoring and 7th in Hart voting the same year McDavid came onto the scene.

Players with great longevity really do shoot a bunch of holes into the "today's players are bionic superheroes" argument, don't they?

 

[Video Nasty]

Players with great longevity really do shoot a bunch of holes into the "today's players are bionic superheroes" argument, don't they?

At the very least, it should convince people that the absolute best would do just fine in any era.

P.S. Just fine doesn’t mean Howe would finish top 5 twenty years in a row.

 

[Regal]

Players with great longevity really do shoot a bunch of holes into the "today's players are bionic superheroes" argument, don't they?

Some of the people making those arguments just end up saying that players in the league are improving every year, even if they’re middle aged. The backfire effect is a strong one.

 

[Pukboy5kroner]

It’s more or less always pointless to make polls including #66 and #99 unless they are on different teams

So, the answer was too obvious.

 

[RandV]

Yeah terrible comparison considering it's only 2024. You can do 2010's, but not 2020 yet.

Having a minute to put some thought into it myself, using Olympic format with 8 D and 3 goalies my team comparison here would be:

Paul Kariya - Mario Lemieux - Teemu Selanne
Brendan Shanahan - Eric Lindros - Jaromir Jagr
Peter Forsberg - Joe Sakic - Steve Yzerman
Sergei Fedorov - Adam Oates - Brett Hull

Ray Bourque - Chris Chelios
Niklas Lidstrom - Al MacInnis
Scott Stevens - Sergei Zubov
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake

Dominek Hasek
Patrik Roy
Martin Brodeur

Vs

Alex Ovechkin - Sidney Crosby - Patrice Bergeron
Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Nathan MacKinnon
Artemi Panarin - Evgeni Malkin - Nikita Kucherov
Brad Marchand - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane

Zdeno Chara - Drew Doughty
Victor Hedman - Shea Weber
Duncan Keith - Brent Burns
Roman Josi - Erik Karlsson

Carey Price
Henrik Lundqvist
Jonathan Quick

I can't really separate my nostalgia for the 90's but that would be a lot of fun to watch.

 

[M88K]

90's handedly. Even if under the newer rules, but especially if under the 90s rules

 

[Midnight Judges]

The heroes of the past are always massively better than the useless nobodies of today.

 

[Xspyrit]

I would start after 1994-95 when the league scoring started going down. Then maybe split 1994 to 2009 and 2010 to 2024

Best PPGs (minimum 48 GP) since 1994-95 :

Lemieux 2.30
McDavid 1.88
McDavid 1.87
Jagr
MacKinnon
McDavid
Kucherov
Lemieux
Draisaitl
Lindros
Jagr
MacKinnon
Kucherov
Draisaitl
Francis 1.55

NHL Stats

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2020's is going to be massively underrated because they are active players and not "legends" yet but once guys like McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Matthews, Pastrnak, Makar, Hughes, etc become legends too, it will be a very different discussion

 

[Mr Positive]

I wonder if that D and goaltending advantage for the 90s team is more a reflection of the dead puck era style of play

I voted 90s team, but I wouldn't be surprised if talent increased over time, and the modern team would crush the old one

 

[authentic]

I wonder if that D and goaltending advantage for the 90s team is more a reflection of the dead puck era style of play

I voted 90s team, but I wouldn't be surprised if talent increased over time, and the modern team would crush the old one

It definitely is a result of that, goaltending has improved a fair bit since the 90s. Probably more than any other position actually.

 

[CanadienShark]

90s, but it's very close.

 

[wetcoast]

It’s kind of crazy just how much I think the 90s team would bury the 20s, and that’s without Lemieux, Gretzky, and Hasek being a part of the team.

That's in part because we are thinking of some of those 90s guys from the early 2000's and the 2000 guys basically from as little as 2 years ago.

Really misguided poll IMO.

 

[Ben White]

Yeah terrible comparison considering it's only 2024. You can do 2010's, but not 2020 yet.

Having a minute to put some thought into it myself, using Olympic format with 8 D and 3 goalies my team comparison here would be:

Paul Kariya - Mario Lemieux - Teemu Selanne
Brendan Shanahan - Eric Lindros - Jaromir Jagr
Peter Forsberg - Joe Sakic - Steve Yzerman
Sergei Fedorov - Adam Oates - Brett Hull

Ray Bourque - Chris Chelios
Niklas Lidstrom - Al MacInnis
Scott Stevens - Sergei Zubov
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake

Dominek Hasek
Patrik Roy
Martin Brodeur

Vs

Alex Ovechkin - Sidney Crosby - Patrice Bergeron
Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Nathan MacKinnon
Artemi Panarin - Evgeni Malkin - Nikita Kucherov
Brad Marchand - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane

Zdeno Chara - Drew Doughty
Victor Hedman - Shea Weber
Duncan Keith - Brent Burns
Roman Josi - Erik Karlsson

Carey Price
Henrik Lundqvist
Jonathan Quick

I can't really separate my nostalgia for the 90's but that would be a lot of fun to watch.

Criminal to not include Bure in the 90’s lineup and to put Selanne on the top line instead of Jagr. And criminal to not put Karlsson among the top 4 Dmen for the 10’s. Karlsson is the 2010’s best Dman in the world by a solid margin, despite fighting through two different career threatening injuries. Utterly bizarre to put Burns in front of him.

 

[kevsh]

Ray Bourque - Chris Chelios
Niklas Lidstrom - Al MacInnis
Scott Stevens - Sergei Zubov
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake

That blueline is ridiculous.

No, ridiculous is not a strong enough word.
Ludicrous.

I could imagine game one where the 2020s team only manages ~10 shots on net after 5 of their forwards head to the dressing room due to injury and don't come back. Another 3 say "To hell with this, I'm outta here" and just go home.

 

[Ben White]

Pavel Bure - Mario Lemieux - Jaromir Jagr
Paul Kariya - Peter Forsberg - Teemu Selanne
Brett Hull - Eric Lindros - Steve Yzerman
Adam Oates - Sergei Fedorov - Joe Sakic

Ray Bourque - Chris Chelios
Niklas Lidstrom - Al MacInnis
Scott Stevens - Sergei Zubov
Chris Pronger - Rob Blake

Dominek Hasek
Patrik Roy
Martin Brodeur

Vs

Alex Ovechkin - Connor McDavid - Joe Thornton
Patrick Kane - Sidney Crosby - Nikita Kucherov
Brad Marchand - Evgeni Malkin - Patrice Bergeron
Jamie Benn - Henrik Sedin - Daniel Sedin

Zdeno Chara - Erik Karlsson
Victor Hedman - Shea Weber
Duncan Keith - Drew Doughty
Roman Josi - Brent Burns

Carey Price
Henrik Lundqvist
Jonathan Quick

I can't really separate my nostalgia for the 90's but that would be a lot of fun to watch.

This is more accurate

 

[authentic]

T


That blueline is ridiculous.

No, ridiculous is not a strong enough word.
Ludicrous.

I could imagine game one where the 2020s team only manages ~10 shots on net after 5 of their forwards head to the dressing room due to injury and don't come back. Another 3 say "To hell with this, I'm outta here" and just go home.

It is a ridiculous defense but the speed and skill of the current team would be a handful. It would be a great matchup to see in real life

 

[King Woodballs]

1990’s even without the two greatest players that ever played

 

[NyQuil]

The 1990s players played pond hockey compared to the 2020s players.

I remember when a 37-year old 80s superstar Mario Lemieux was the best player on a 2000s Gold Medal winning Team Canada.

How that is possible with all of the training techniques and explosiveness out there?

 

[authentic]

I remember when a 37-year old 80s superstar Mario Lemieux was the best player on a 2000s Gold Medal winning Team Canada.

How that is possible with all of the training techniques and explosiveness out there?

How is it possible that the best offensive player ever could still be the best for a short period of time at 37?

 

[hamzarocks]

Team 2020s, in 5 or 6 games.

The greatness of the 1990s players was established against their peers, in their time.

The athletes of today are simply bigger, faster, better and play a game that moves much faster, is coached better. It requires faster thinking, more explosiveness, more responsibility away from the puck.

The goalies never had to worry about composite sticks turning the shot of ANY player on the ice into a legit scoring threat, the shooters never had to deal with lightweight body armor that turned ANY player on the ice into a shot-blocker.

The 1990s players played pond hockey compared to the 2020s players.

This list doesnt include Mario Lemiuex

He had a half season as better than Peak Mcdavid in dead puck era hockey (73 pts in 46 i think)

Sakic won the hart in 2001 and was a 100+ pt player as 36/37 year old in 2006

Your post is not accurate to reality. People thought Gretzky couldnt dominate after 80s. He was elite into the 90s with his 2nd last year him leading the league in assists

Heck crosby im years 14, 16, and 17 was a top 5ish, top 10ish, and top 15ish player in the league. If he was in his prime hes dominating and is clear cut #2 to Mcdavid

How is it possible that the best offensive player ever could still be the best for a short period of time at 37?

You can look at Sakic in 2006

Selanne in 2011

Modano in the 2006-2010 period

These guys continued to dominate the league into their 30s/40s

 

[authentic]

This list doesnt include Mario Lemiuex

He had a half season as better than Peak Mcdavid in dead puck era hockey (73 pts in 46 i think)

Sakic won the hart in 2001 and was a 100+ pt player as 36/37 year old in 2006

Your post is not accurate to reality. People thought Gretzky couldnt dominate after 80s. He was elite into the 90s with his 2nd last year him leading the league in assists

Heck crosby im years 14, 16, and 17 was a top 5ish, top 10ish, and top 15ish player in the league. If he was in his prime hes dominating and is clear cut #2 to Mcdavid



You can look at Sakic in 2006

Selanne in 2011

Modano in the 2006-2010 period

These guys continued to dominate the league into their 30s/40s

Exactly, so it’s not really surprising to me Lemieux was still dominant at that point

Also Lemieux had 76 points in 43 games which included 35 goals

But regarding his point you can’t tell me with a straight face a 35 year old Lemieux would have any advantage head to head with McDavid either

 

[hamzarocks]

Exactly, so it’s not really surprising to me Lemieux was still dominant at that point

Also Lemieux had 76 points in 43 games which included 35 goals

Oh true true see what your saying

I think any elite player would be elite in another era

Matthews in the 70s to 90s is still a top 2 or 3 goal scorer right there with Grtzky/Bossy, then Lemieux/Bure/Selanne etc

Crosby as a 18 year old being drafted by Chicago in 2023 is a direct challenger to Mcdavid and is a top 2 player for a decade and still a top 10 plauer all time

My post was for the hawks fan who didnt think guys like Selanne, Sakic, Lindros, Bure etc could dominate the 2020s era of hockey when we saw them dominate the 90s and then still be elite in 01-10 era despite being in their 30s

 

[RandV]

Criminal to not include Bure in the 90’s lineup and to put Selanne on the top line instead of Jagr. And criminal to not put Karlsson among the top 4 Dmen for the 10’s. Karlsson is the 2010’s best Dman in the world by a solid margin, despite fighting through two different career threatening injuries. Utterly bizarre to put Burns in front of him.

Nothing criminal when you're trying to cram so many good players into a lineup. For my reasoning while Lemieux and Jagr played together in the early 90's and won Cups, they were both just as dominant without each other. So I'm going to take the best player Lemieux and play him with what was probably the best pure wing pair Kariya/Selanne for line #1, for line #2 going to go with a Lindros lead 'Legion of Doom' line but replace the merely good wingers LeClair/Renberg with elite ones in Shanahan/Jagr.

As for Erik Karlsson I don't know maybe it's just me, but he doesn't really trigger my nostalgia senses. When I think of decade spanning elite HoF defensemen, I think of guys that play nearly half the game making a huge impact on not just both ends of the ice but the players they play with. Detroit's time as a top tier team began and ended with Niklas Lidstrom. Or in the 2000's, look at Edmonton their one year with Chris Pronger, and then what happened without him. So for Karlsson... again I don't know maybe it's not his fault but it just seems like his teams have missed the playoffs 1.5 times more than they've made it.