Would Gretzky Have Had a Tough Guy Ride Shotgun With Him if He Played Today?
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LordNeverLose
Registered User
Today's game? No, there aren't any goons out there to keep in check, so he wouldn't have to worry about it.
Maybe in like '08 he would've needed to play with a tough guy, but not now
Maybe in like '08 he would've needed to play with a tough guy, but not now
Ice Garden
Registered User
Plante
Devils Advocate
Beukeboom
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- Apr 1, 2007
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Haha..hear hear! Who in today's league would be dangerous? Gretzky could whoop Marchand's ass himself..
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
PlamsUnlimited
Big Church Bells
I could see Gretz having a guy like Simmonds or Benn... Someone of that ilk riding with him. They're great players as well and would create fits all over the ice, and they can dish punishment out if need be.
East Coast Icestyle
Registered User
Does Kane need a tough guy? Gretzky was bigger than him by a decent bit. Not playing tough doesn't mean you aren't.
Sens Rule
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- Sep 22, 2005
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Gretzky didn't constantly have a tough guy with him. And the 1980's is a far cry from today.
Ziggy Stardust
Master Debater
Gretzky didn't have a bodyguard on ice with him all the time. He may have played some with Semenko, but he spent most of his ice time in Edmonton with Kurri, Tikkanen, Coffey, Huddy, and on special teams with Messier and Anderson as well. McSorley wasn't on the ice for every Gretzky shift either.
And he got hit quite a bit too. Look at the Dave Taylor punch on Gretzky, or Suter's brutal crosscheck, or the McCreary hit, and later the hit he took from Bill Muckalt.
This "Gretzky had a bodyguard" myth is overblown and exaggerated.
And he got hit quite a bit too. Look at the Dave Taylor punch on Gretzky, or Suter's brutal crosscheck, or the McCreary hit, and later the hit he took from Bill Muckalt.
This "Gretzky had a bodyguard" myth is overblown and exaggerated.
The Panther
Registered User
I don't think Gretzky ever needed a tough guy "riding shotgun" with him. There were short periods -- the first half of the 1981-82 season (when he scored 50 in 39) and the latter half of the 1983-84 season and playoffs (the first Cup) -- when Dave 'Cement-head' Semenko was his left-winger. But generally his linemates were players like Brett Callighen, Blair MacDonald, Jari Kurri, Jaroslav Pouzar, Glenn Anderson, Esa Tikkanen (just in Edmonton). A couple of them were hard-nosed, but they weren't "watch-dogs" or tough guys.
Since Gretzky basically never got hit, and rarely lost his temper or his focus on the ice, he didn't really need that kind of a guy on the ice with him (and certainly wouldn't need it now, in today's cleaner NHL). However, being the 80s' era, it was a bit wild and rough and the team did need 'goons'. There were games around 1985 to 1986 when the Oilers dressed all of Dave Semenko, Marty McSorley, and Kevin McClelland (though Semenko soon departed). If anyone was taking liberties with Gretzky, they would eventually have to face down one (or all) of those guys. That kind of thing also isn't really necessary today when the refs / League actually police the game pretty well.
One thing that changed in a bad way, for me, in the NHL from the early-80s to the mid-90s or so, is that big hits on stars went from being considered "fair game" to being considered "dirty" and always inviting retaliation. For example, when Gretzky was utterly decked by McCreary in 1981, no Oiler retaliated and the game just went on. It was a clean hit (whether or not a borderline minor-leaguer should be decking Gretzky is another question, but anyway a clean hit). Whereas, by 10 years later, that sort of thing would have been unthinkable.
Since Gretzky basically never got hit, and rarely lost his temper or his focus on the ice, he didn't really need that kind of a guy on the ice with him (and certainly wouldn't need it now, in today's cleaner NHL). However, being the 80s' era, it was a bit wild and rough and the team did need 'goons'. There were games around 1985 to 1986 when the Oilers dressed all of Dave Semenko, Marty McSorley, and Kevin McClelland (though Semenko soon departed). If anyone was taking liberties with Gretzky, they would eventually have to face down one (or all) of those guys. That kind of thing also isn't really necessary today when the refs / League actually police the game pretty well.
One thing that changed in a bad way, for me, in the NHL from the early-80s to the mid-90s or so, is that big hits on stars went from being considered "fair game" to being considered "dirty" and always inviting retaliation. For example, when Gretzky was utterly decked by McCreary in 1981, no Oiler retaliated and the game just went on. It was a clean hit (whether or not a borderline minor-leaguer should be decking Gretzky is another question, but anyway a clean hit). Whereas, by 10 years later, that sort of thing would have been unthinkable.
Not sure they'd waste a roster spot on an enforcer, to protect someone who wouldn't be in the top-6 anyway.
Terry Yake
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- Aug 5, 2013
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