Why is hockey the only sport not to produce a GOAT-calibre player in the last decade or so?

[P10p]

If one facet of the game counts than we have a gazillion goats. And it's even debatable if he's the greatest goalscorer (and no, it's not Bossy).

I guess, but being the greatest goalscorer in nhl history is a pretty massive feat if you ask me. I mean like it or not, goals are the main point of the game...

 

[Eisen]

Also hockey and its fans romantisize the fact that alot of greats feasted on players who could barely skate. Much harder to do now..

A lot easier to do in these skates.

 

[tardigrade81]

Not sure if it’s been sad but Gretzky is nearly untouchable in my opinion. NBA and NFL can be arguments who is the GOAT. My opinion it’s still MJ but you can’t mark an argument for Kobe and Lebron. Hockey nobody has touched Gretzky. NFL there is many many goats. Tom Brady obviously being the most successful.

 

[CupsOverCash]

I think the competition is closer in the NHL. The NFL has pretty much had the same teams go to the playoffs and win every time. NHL somewhat has too but not even close the same.

 

[holy]

This is Alexander Karelin

Please man, no buttcheeks on the main board.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Because only the rich a.k.a spoiled brats can play nowadays.

 

[BrockLobster]

No those players were just chumps. It's not a coincidence that as soon as Nadal and Djokovic showed up that Federer started losing. Don't really care about the stats he racked up facing zero competition. Nadal is a "one surface pony" yet he has a career golden slam, has won a GS on 3 different surfaces in the same year and has at least 2 GS on every surface. Btw, Federer has none of those things. But yeah, "one surface pony" lol

Nadal is too much of the one surface. Id put him behind fed and novak. Novak may end up being the GOAT. But those 3 are the greatest who ever played. Amazing time for mens tennis.

 

[steleh]

Karelin was known as an absolute maniac when it came to training. I don't know if you could call that gifted. He worked hard for that.

He weighed 15 pounds at birth. He's an absolute genetic experiment.

 

[missinthejets]

Nadal is too much of the one surface. Id put him behind fed and novak. Novak may end up being the GOAT. But those 3 are the greatest who ever played. Amazing time for mens tennis.

Nadal is the best on clay ever, but Federer and Djokovic are clearly better all surface players and the top 2 GOAT candidates. Don't let anyone bring up the weak era crap to dismiss Federer either cause a pile of Djokovic's accolades are coming now when his stiffest competition is old man Federer and knees held together with duct tape Nadal. The guys Federer played before Nadal and Djokovic showed up would be top teir guys now no question.

 

[Eisen]

He weighed 15 pounds at birth. He's an absolute genetic experiment.

That poor mother.

 

[Sam Spade]

There is currently a player in the NHL heading into his 15th season who leads the NHL goals over the last 20 seasons, and if you go back 25 seasons he would be number two overall with almost 500 less played games.

That my friends is a "GOAT" player (or at least a very high number two).

 

[Randyne]

50 G gaps between 1st and 2nd place

Ovechkin's era:
1st
...
50 G
50 G
50 G
50 G + 12 G
...
2nd

Gretzky's era:
1st
...
50 G
50 G
50 G + 32 G
...
2nd

(14 seasons)

 

[Rexor]

Because only the rich a.k.a spoiled brats can play nowadays.

I'm not sure they're necessarily spoiled brats but I do think that there's always been an element of spontaneity, reckless playfulness and lust for transgression among kids from working class, while it's much harder to find within middle and upper-middle classes.

 

[tardigrade81]

I think the competition is closer in the NHL. The NFL has pretty much had the same teams go to the playoffs and win every time. NHL somewhat has too but not even close the same.

I would say AFC usually have the same teams of Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs, Colts, Texans. NFC always seems to change. Packers, Vikings, Saints, Falcons, Seahawks, Giants, Cowboys, Eagles all make noise depending on the year. NFC is much more competitive. AFC is pretty much just the Patriots.

 

[StoneHands]

The NHL has had kind of the opposite evolution of the other three "big 4" sports.

The NFL used to be a run first league and then rules were implemented to make it more difficult to defense and easier to pass which is why we see multiple guys throwing for 4,500 yards and some even topping 5,000 yards while guys like Montana never even topped 4,000 passing yards. Players today are putting up ridiculous numbers that make past QBs look like trash but it's just a different game.

Baseball players are evaluated on different metrics than in the past so it's hard to compare. There's also an entire era of tainted superstars which again makes it hard to really say who the GOAT is. I'll also vehemently argue that there has not been a GOAT level player in the MLB that has dominated more than guys like Crosby, Ovechkin or McDavid have. Trout is the name people toss out there but his 2 MVPs are nothing next to Bonds and his 7 and while he might have been juiced for the last decade of his career, so was the rest of the league.

The NBA has moved from a team game to teams of superstars who just end up pumping up each others numbers. Even still Lebron is probably #2 to MJ and at the very least there's no consensus.

The NHL went from a league that averaged over 7 goals a game for over a decade straight and even had an 8 goal a game average which happened to be in the middle of Gretzky's peak. Now we just saw the second season in the past 20 years with more than 6 goals a game on average. The numbers players used the put up dwarf what we see today while other sports it's the other way around.

Also, Hasek, Roy, and Brodeur all retired fairly recently and all have an argument as the GOAT among goalies (it's Hasek).

 

[tardigrade81]

The NHL has had kind of the opposite evolution of the other three "big 4" sports.

The NFL used to be a run first league and then rules were implemented to make it more difficult to defense and easier to pass which is why we see multiple guys throwing for 4,500 yards and some even topping 5,000 yards while guys like Montana never even topped 4,000 passing yards. Players today are putting up ridiculous numbers that make past QBs look like trash but it's just a different game.

Baseball players are evaluated on different metrics than in the past so it's hard to compare. There's also an entire era of tainted superstars which again makes it hard to really say who the GOAT is. I'll also vehemently argue that there has not been a GOAT level player in the MLB that has dominated more than guys like Crosby, Ovechkin or McDavid have. Trout is the name people toss out there but his 2 MVPs are nothing next to Bonds and his 7 and while he might have been juiced for the last decade of his career, so was the rest of the league.

The NBA has moved from a team game to teams of superstars who just end up pumping up each others numbers. Even still Lebron is probably #2 to MJ and at the very least there's no consensus.

The NHL went from a league that averaged over 7 goals a game for over a decade straight and even had an 8 goal a game average which happened to be in the middle of Gretzky's peak. Now we just saw the second season in the past 20 years with more than 6 goals a game on average. The numbers players used the put up dwarf what we see today while other sports it's the other way around.

Also, Hasek, Roy, and Brodeur all retired fairly recently and all have an argument as the GOAT among goalies (it's Hasek).

Well said.

 

[Konnan511]

50 G gaps between 1st and 2nd place

Ovechkin's era:
1st
...
50 G
50 G
50 G
50 G + 12 G
...
2nd

Gretzky's era:
1st
...
50 G
50 G
50 G + 32 G
...
2nd

(14 seasons)

I must be real dense, because I have no idea what I'm looking at.

 

[Hawkaholic]

NBA hasn't had a GOAT in the last 10 years, I wouldn't consider Tiger the GOAT either, even Brady could be debated in the NFL.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Since Gretzky and Lemieux the NHL has produced 3 of the top 10 greatest players of all time in Jagr, Crosby & Ovechkin. They may not be at Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe or Orr level but are consensus top 10 players which is quite the feat considering there is 100 plus years of hockey history.

 

[Randyne]

I must be real dense, because I have no idea what I'm looking at.

Post says:
Ovechkin literally could’ve taken 4 Rocket seasons with 50 goals off and he would still have more goals than anybody else in the league, since 2005

 

[Melrose Munch]

Since Gretzky and Lemieux the NHL has produced 3 of the top 10 greatest players of all time in Jagr, Crosby & Ovechkin. They may not be at Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe or Orr level but are consensus top 10 players which is quite the feat considering there is 100 plus years of hockey history.

neither jagr or ovechkin are top 10.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Probably the rule set. You're allowed to rough the stars up in the NHL. It's a pretty tough slog for the elite to separate themselves when you're more or less allowed to man handle them in compared to say, the NBA, or european soccer.

Gretzky was also the right player at the right time. It's impossible to beat that legacy and I think McDavid proves that point.

 

[Konnan511]

Post says:
Ovechkin literally could’ve taken 4 Rocket seasons with 50 goals off and he would still have more goals than anybody else in the league, since 2005

I don't see that line anywhere in the post I quoted. It starts with "50 G gaps between 1st and 2nd place" then is followed by a bunch of 50s. Even with what you just provided, I still have no idea what you're saying. I am really thick, I'm sincerely trying to understand what you're saying.

 

[wintersej]

Who has the NFL produced at that level in the last 10 years? Brady has been playing for a lot longer than that, and there are still people that would argue he's not head and shoulders above Bart Starr and Joe Montana. The only truly unquestionable GOAT I can remember in my lifetime in football was Jerry Rice. There's no other WR even close to being in that conversation. Had Barry Sanders kept playing, he'd probably be in that category too, as he was easily the best RB I've ever seen play, but he retired too early.

The list of folks who don't view Brady as GOAT mostly live where you live and are wrong.

 

[AD1066]

Scoring has dropped 30-40% over the past few decades and the league has grown more competitive, so even if a player like Crosby or McDavid is close to the all-time greats on an absolute level, it's not as evident in his raw totals or separation from the pack. Then consider that on a fundamental level, a quarterback or basketball player can have more influence on his team's success than a hockey player who plays roughly 1/3 of a game. So the league is less conducive to dynasties and single players dragging their teams to championships.