Why is Gretzky so underrated on HF?

[geofff]

You could bring up any noteworthy player in the history of the game, and if enough people know who he is, some will say he is underrated, and some will say he is overrated. You could make this exact same thread but switch Gretzky with Lemieux, Orr, Howe, Crosby, Ovechkin, ..., and there would still be people arguing each way. Everyone has their own opinion.

I wonder if we could come up with a great player who everyone agrees is not overrated or underrated.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

Gretzky
Orr/Howe
Lemieux

Pretty clear top 4. Many players have an argument for 5th.

Orr
Howe
Lemieux
Gretzky
Bobby Hull

 

[Albatros]

How does fewer teams correlate to limited competition?

Only five other teams means only five other first lines in the league.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Gretz is the greatest of all time but he would probably tell you Orr and Lemieux were better then him

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Orr
Howe
Lemieux
Gretzky
Bobby Hull

There is zero argument for Lemieux over Gretzky. Gretzky did everything Lemieux did, but faster, better and for way longer.

 

[Machinehead]

Gretz is the greatest of all time but he would probably tell you Orr and Lemieux were better then him

He would tell you Jordan Martinook is better than him.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

Only five other teams means only five other first lines in the league.

More teams=diluted talent
Lesser goalies and weaker defence to take advantage of favours the star players.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

There is zero argument for Lemieux over Gretzky. Gretzky did everything Lemieux did, but faster, better and for way longer.

Gretzky enjoyed better teamsters too. Gretzky is a solid number four.

Lol...have to love autocorrect!

Teammates!

 

[MadLuke]

Only five other teams means only five other first lines in the league.

Well yes it could remove the very surprising out of no where art ross winner, but how common are those ?

If you are good enough to beat Richard in the scoring race and compete with Howe, why would you not be playing one of those 4 first lines ?

 

[Albatros]

More teams=diluted talent

Not really, back then only Detroit and Montréal had that level of talent. The other team top scorers were the great Fleming MacKell, Jim McFadden, Wally Hergesheimer, and Sid Smith. So as long as Howe beat his own teammates and whatever the Habs could throw at them he could be sure to win the scoring title.

 

[Butch 19]

Gretzky enjoyed better teamsters too. Gretzky is a solid number four.

Gretzky is a solid number four ? LOL...

May be the worst post in any hockey forum, anywhere.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Gretzky enjoyed better teamsters too. Gretzky is a solid number four.

Lol.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

Gretz is the greatest of all time but he would probably tell you Orr and Lemieux were better then him

False modesty was something at which he was the greatest of all time.

 

[Canadian Finn]

Gretzky enjoyed better teamsters too. Gretzky is a solid number four.

Lol...have to love autocorrect!

Teammates!

well, as long as it's a solid number four.

hilarious.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

There is zero argument for Lemieux over Gretzky. Gretzky did everything Lemieux did, but faster, better and for way longer.

[MOD]Gretzky vs Lemieux has been going on since the 80’s and there is a good reason

 

[Phil120362]

People seem to think very highly of the stars of the 20th century, but compared to most, Gretzky doesn't seem to get a lot of respect. It seems people constantly try to downplay his numbers, as if they are meaningless because of his era, and believe he wouldn't be very good in today's game. Why is that?

Who Keith?

 

[Phil120362]

Gretzky enjoyed better teamsters too. Gretzky is a solid number four.

Lol...have to love autocorrect!

Teammates!

Wayne carried that 93 team to the finals,Mario had a lot more help

 

[Voight]

Because HFB LOVES hypothetical situations and what-ifs.

 

[Voight]

He wasn't as dominant as Mario at his best.

But that doesn't mean he's not the greatest overall. Pete Sampras at the top of his game was the most dominant tennis player I ever saw but few call him the greatest tennis payer ever.

I would still put him against any other player in history when he was in his groove. Easily.

Winning the scoring race by 60 or so points isn't dominant?

No offence but Lemieux never did that. The biggest margin he had was 31 points (over 99 in his first Kings season). He was also healthy that year so don't try that excuse.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

Wayne carried that 93 team to the finals,Mario had a lot more help

He had no business being in that final.

 

[Canadian Finn]

[MOD]Gretzky vs Lemieux has been going on since the 80’s and there is a good reason

sure, a few biased pens fens think lemieux should be spoken in the same breath as Gretz.

The other 28 odd teams fans would say something different.

and for that reason, it has been going on since the 80's.

 

[Phil120362]

He had no business being in that final.

Well,the west was crap til the nordiques moved out there,and Detroit learned how to win

 

[Mathew Barzal]

It's hard to extrapolate what Gretzky would have done nowadays because hockey has evolved an incredible amount in the last twenty years.

Gretzky was the greatest player of his time, at the time. I think that's all anyone could and should say.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I think it's simply that the average age on HFBoards is relatively low, so a lot of posters lack appreciation for what kind of player Gretzky was.

Not really, back then only Detroit and Montréal had that level of talent. The other team top scorers were the great Fleming MacKell, Jim McFadden, Wally Hergesheimer, and Sid Smith. So as long as Howe beat his own teammates and whatever the Habs could throw at them he could be sure to win the scoring title.

Yeah, talent is diluted if the number of teams grow faster than the sport itself. From what I've read, that isn't really the case. Amount of players has grown immensely over the last few decades. I looked at it two years ago and if I remembered correctly, we currently have the most active hockey players around the world per NHL team in modern history.

It's hard to extrapolate what Gretzky would have done nowadays because hockey has evolved an incredible amount in the last twenty years.

Gretzky was the greatest player of his time, at the time. I think that's all anyone could and should say.

I generally think too much is made of it. Gretzky on his last legs heading into the clutch & grab era was still a top end player. Same with Bourque. And I don't think it's necessarily harder to play today than it was then.

 

[thethirdhockeyman91]

Keith Gretzky hasn’t even made a trade yet and he’s underrated?