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

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

Not everyone goes running off like a coward when things are too hard to go join a new super-team. Jordan didn't run off to join Magic on the Lakers, he suffered with the Bulls and took his lumps until he had a half way decent team around where the Pistons could not just triple team him constantly and win (barely).

Once that happened, nothing was stopping the Bulls. If he had been drafted by the Blazers who took Sam Bowie instead (lol, biggest screw up in modern pro sports), he'd have had Clyde Drexler as a no.2 option from day 1 and maybe wins 7-9 titles because you don't have to wait as long for Pippen to develop.

He chose to stay in Chicago and compete even when the deck was not stacked in his favor because that's what character and competitiveness is about.

If LeBron had stayed on the Cavs, he'd still be ringless. That team was a lottery team without him. It's a testament to LeBron's ability that they were able to make it to the finals.

Nobody in basketball can do it alone. Jordan couldn't even win a single playoff series without Pippen, let alone a championship. It wasn't just Pippen either. Rodman, Kerr, etc.. That team was excellent.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Because 99 is the GOAT of GOATS

If LeBron had stayed on the Cavs, he'd still be ringless. That team was a lottery team without him. It's a testament to LeBron's ability that they were able to make it to the finals.

Nobody in basketball can do it alone. Jordan couldn't even win a single playoff series without Pippen, let alone a championship. It wasn't just Pippen either. Rodman, Kerr, etc.. That team was excellent.

Didn’t LeBron win a ring with the Cavs lol?

 

[Riptide]

Every other sport seems to have produced at least one GOAT-level player while no one has come remotely close to entering that zone in hockey since Mario retired. Crosby and Ovi are great and all but they're simply not on that level, and one can argue that neither of them are even top 10 players of all time; it's also wayyyyy too early to put McDavid near that category.

[mod] I don't think he's top 5, but he's closer to 5 then he is to 10.

 

[alko]

Btw. who do you thing are the GOAT-calibre player in the last decade in other sports?

Tennis is clear. NBA maybe also. Im not familiar with NFL and MLB. Soccrer has their Messi and Ronaldo. Others?

 

[Mathew Barzal]

Hockey has evolved more in the last couple of decades than any other sport. You can't do now what you could do then.

 

[Ivan13]

Its not that weird tbh. Football had no one close to Pele or Maradona until Messi and Ronaldo came and surpassed both.

Both Pele and Maradona are more myths blown out of proportion (Maradona especially) rather than undisputable GOATs. They had plenty of competition for the title of the best ever, it's just that Kaiser Franz, Kocis, Cruyff (apart from in Holland and in Barca) etc didn't have as big of a hype machine behind them.

 

[Hasek]

Because the NHL suspends their star players when they get hit from behind, while other leagues protect and promote their stars.

 

[Los merengues]

Both Pele and Maradona are more myths blown out of proportion (Maradona especially) rather than undisputable GOATs. They had plenty of competition for the title of the best ever, it's just that Kaiser Franz, Kocis, Cruyff (apart from in Holland and in Barca) etc didn't have as big of a hype machine behind them.

Agreed 100%. Maradona being GOAT is a complite joke. His numbers are nothing to write home about.

 

[NoMessi]

I think you're really asking why hockey hasn't produced a conversation around whether its current top players are actually the GOATs, or whatever. That's a media question, with the very obvious conclusion that its hype sphere is contained.

Most of the MLB players with the highest batting averages are dead. Football is a monstrous mess and it's hard to separate a great player from a great team (or scheme). There are numerous NBA players who have won more championships than Lebron, Kobe, or MJ....and while current players might have more impressive offensive numbers, basketball has shifted towards increased offense rather than away from it, as hockey has. Hell, call me when the 1.5-goal line has been created.

Crosby might be the best hockey player to ever live. He might actually be better than Gretzky, but the way the game is played today won't tell you that. Likewise, Mike Trout might be better than Ty Cobb, but short of reanimating one to play today or sending the other back in time, you'll never know.

It's all a construct.

EDIT: Now, an addendum to that is this: Gretzky, as mentioned above, is a massive barrier. He really might be the greatest team-sport athlete to ever live, and if you dropped him in the game today he'd put up terrific numbers still. But he wouldn't be scoring 200 points, we all know that.

Contradiction at its finest. If Kucherov can get to around 130 - why wouldnt Lemieux/Gretzky be able to reach 200? I mean, I can see them being 50% better than him. At least, its not out of the question.

 

[NoMessi]

Nadal and Djokovic are both better than Federer.

On clay, yes Nadal is better, AINEC. But on every other surface Federer is better. You cant just judge players solely on h2h stats. Nadals playstyle is like cryptonite for Federer, thats why they are even in the same universe.

I love Djokovic, cant really compare him to Federer without showing obvious bias. I let objective people judge instead.

My point really is, you cant leave Federer out of the top tier when hes is the favorite choice for number 1. No matter who you think is the best. Its like excluding Gretzky from the debate about who is the best hockey player ever.

 

[NoMessi]

Agreed 100%. Maradona being GOAT is a complite joke. His numbers are nothing to write home about.

He won the league with Napoli, read the story. Or better yet, go watch ANY game he played during his prime. Back then football was brutal and Maradona was 100 times the target any of the stars today are. Just waatch!

 

[Los merengues]

He won the league with Napoli, read the story. Or better yet, go watch ANY game he played during his prime. Back then football was brutal and Maradona was 100 times the target any of the stars today are. Just waatch!

Jamie Vardy won the league with Leicester....
Yeah it was and yes he was, as was any star. Still he doesnt stand out head and shoulders above his peers. Messi and Ronaldo were untouchable for a decade, playing at a level no one has come close.

Maybe If not for coke and everything else... But If you go down the "what if road" there are few players with as a good claim as Maradona. R9 for example. He did have the talent, just not the career.

 

[PhilJets]

I would argue hockey has the two greatest players in the history of sport with Wayne and Mario. I also believe Lemieux to be the greatest physical talent, relative to his pears, in the history of sport.

It’s going to take some insane specimen to usurp those two.

There is Michael Jordan he is the greatest physical talent in sports.

 

[NoMessi]

Jamie Vardy won the league with Leicester....
Yeah it was and yes he was, as was any star. Still he doesnt stand out head and shoulders above his peers. Messi and Ronaldo were untouchable for a decade, playing at a level no one has come close.

Maybe If not for coke and everything else... But If you go down the "what if road" there are few players with as a good claim as Maradona. R9 for example. He did have the talent, just not the career.

So Jamie Vardy was the biggest star now in hindsight? I wouldve thought it was Ngolo Kante, you know the guy that won again with Chelsea the year after (yes, also the leagues best player that year, just as Vardy was the year before) and who then again was a key part in France winning the world cup (The World Cup final should double as a head-to-head battle for Golden Ball). Or that guy sold for a kings ransom to Manchester City a couple years later, Riyad Mahrez.

 

[hmc1987]

Maybe not the past 10 years, but definitely in this century, we’ve seen LeBron, Brady, Manning, Tiger, Nadal, Serena, Trout, Messi, and Ronaldo all build strong cases for GOAT in their respective sports.

Manning? Lol no. Good QBs tho

 

[Eisen]

Both Pele and Maradona are more myths blown out of proportion (Maradona especially) rather than undisputable GOATs. They had plenty of competition for the title of the best ever, it's just that Kaiser Franz, Kocis, Cruyff (apart from in Holland and in Barca) etc didn't have as big of a hype machine behind them.

They have competition but what Maradona did in Naples was absolutely outstanding. He's no Guido Buchwald, though.
Cruyff was often considered to be the best even in Germany in the 70s, even against the Kaiser. But I agree with the notion. Footy doesn't have a clearcut best.

 

[pi314]

I like that people actually think that all the greatest players played in the 80’s.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

Uhh did you forget CONNOR MCDAVID?

 

[1865]

This is because eras are impossible to compare. Who's to say what Crosby or McDavid would have scored in the 80s?

Football has Messi and Ronaldo but they're just freaks.

 

[Los merengues]

So Jamie Vardy was the biggest star now in hindsight? I wouldve thought it was Ngolo Kante, you know the guy that won again with Chelsea the year after (yes, also the leagues best player that year, just as Vardy was the year before) and who then again was a key part in France winning the world cup (The World Cup final should double as a head-to-head battle for Golden Ball). Or that guy sold for a kings ransom to Manchester City a couple years later, Riyad Mahrez.

No. Just that shit teams can win and it was way easier in Maradonas time.

Absolutely terrible article though btw, damn.

 

[Eisen]

I like that people actually think that all the greatest players played in the 80’s.

Orr and Howe didn't play in the 80s, though.

 

[Ivan13]

Orr and Howe didn't play in the 80s, though.

Or Harvey, Beliveau, Richard, Shore etc.

 

[daver]

Orr and Howe didn't play in the 80s, though.

If not for injuries, Crosby would likely be going toe to toe with Howe thru his career to date.

 

[Eisen]

If not for injuries, Crosby would likely be going toe to toe with Howe thru his career to date.

Without doing the math, I think he doesn't quite have the peak. Howe's peak was higher than Lemieux's. But that doesn't really matter because Crosby, as you said, was injured too much.

 

[Lacaar]

The evolution of hockey.
Hockey evolved into a game that's played and coached with the intent of limiting offence.
Goalie equipment is much larger and lighter and has evolved into a game of percentages (which has proven much more effective). Get big and let the puck hit you.

While the top 2-3 players in the league are great players the bottom 2-3 players in the league are much closer in skill.

Everyone is a goalie now days... like everyone. Don't underestimate the equipment evolution. Getting a shot through to the net is a miracle in itself now days.