Bobby Orr 6 strait 100 points season by a defenseman (all with a +/- ratio of 54 or more) is kind of jaw dropping, him having played 16+ more season (with some of them in the bottom half of the 1980), his record among defenceman could have been Gretzkiesque.
IMHO Orr is the Gretzky of defensemen, certainly the Gretzky before Gretzky. No one at that time thought there could possibly be another guy like Orr. And then there was Gretzky. I think this is the most fascinating thing about those times in hockey. There was no way anyone could match Orr's talent level over his contemporaries. Surely one of the most remarkable times in any sport in modern history.
The most noticeable thing about the current time is that there is no Lemieux, LaFleur, prime Jagr or other single outstanding player. Malkin looks good this year. Crosby if he can keep playing is the guy maybe based on his play before his league condoned injury. Until then we have a very competitive league. Enjoy it.
Orr and Gretzky, the best players at their respective positions in the modern history of the sport. AINEC. What other sport has to qualify best ever with except... for discussions like this to be interesting or meaningful.
No red line. Systems encouraging predictability. Talent dilution. 4 on 4 OT. Yeah add another 50 to 100 points. But like another poster said I was minimising by selecting a single assist more than the next guys points and only around 60 goals. But then you missed the point entirely if that's what you got out of it.
Not really a factor when you consider how much the influx of europeans has increased the talent pool.
Compared to the original 6? Yes. Compared to Gretzky's career, not really.
Not really a factor when you consider how much the influx of europeans has increased the talent pool.
Compared to the original 6? Yes. Compared to Gretzky's career, not really.
If the talent level is so much higher then where are the goals? Why has the NHL resorted to gimmicky rule changes to increase offence?
Maybe talent is defined as defence only? Another poster misses the point.
Dalton, talent and mainly focus increased more rapidely on defence than on offense. And goaltending probably got better faster (equipment included and the statement) that the scorer got better faster.
Bossy shot is as good as better shot, no goaltender with their equipement from bossy time are as effective as Rinne/Hank/Thomas/etc...
Pavel Bure and the 00/01 Panthers. Bure posted 92 points, 2.5 times greater than the 37 points posted by the second highest scorer on the team (Viktor Kozlov). Also, his 59 goals were 4.2 times greater than the 14 goals scored by the second highest Panther goalscorer (again Viktor Kozlov). Talk about a guy "being the team".
I've brought up Bure's 2001 season before on here, and somebody wrote 'good season, but that's about it".
But he scored 30% of his teams goals that year...can ANYBODY in modern NHL history match that?
Another feat that I highly see be broken in the future is Henri Richard's 11 Stanley Cups as a player. I mean he has a ring for each finger and a toe. AS A PLAYER. Knowing that dynasties may become something of the past and the league is going the route of parity, This will never be broken.
Most impressive one's I've read so far are Glenn Hall's starts, anything Gretzky did and I did not know Orr only played till 27. I knew his career was short, but damn, not that short.
Dalton, talent and mainly focus increased more rapidely on defence than on offense. And goaltending probably got better faster (equipment included and the statement) that the scorer got better faster.
Bossy shot is as good as better shot, no goaltender with their equipement from bossy time are as effective as Rinne/Hank/Thomas/etc...
All I can say is prove it. I don't see better d or better goaltending across the board. I see more shot blocking, bigger goalie equipment and a love for the butterfly that guys like Bossy would have eaten alive if he played today. Bossy threaded needles with his shot. The goalie equipment isn't big enough to stop a sniper like him. The butterfly only works if scorers can't roof it. Going down too early was often cited as a reason someone scored. Poor glove hand. D-man drops to bock the shot probably because he was deked or faked and then goal or excellent chance occurs. Butterfly and shot blocking is not new. It just didn't work in his day with all the talent around.
I do agree the offensive talent today is not as good.
Players are more fit today, the equipment is better, health care but the talent is down across the board IMHO. You just have to look at the decrease in outliers to see that.
Most impressive one's I've read so far are Glenn Hall's starts, anything Gretzky did and I did not know Orr only played till 27. I knew his career was short, but damn, not that short.
Freakin' sad....just like Jimi Hendrix in rock n roll, Orr is one of the ultimate in the woulda, shoulda, coulda conjecture game.
It's certainly not up there with Gretzky or Hall, but I think the fact that Scott Stevens only recorded 4 elbowing minors in the regular season over his entire career is pretty jaw dropping when you consider how he played
It's certainly not up there with Gretzky or Hall, but I think the fact that Scott Stevens only recorded 4 elbowing minors in the regular season over his entire career is pretty jaw dropping when you consider how he played
This takes the cake for me. Some records are not concievably able to be broken, but every once in awhile there is some sort of miracle that comes along and shows you how it can be broken. 502 games started in a row will never happen in any professional league in hockey (by a goalie, of course) ever again. Truly remarkable.
Mario, 5 goals all 5 ways possible in the same game. I usually hesitate to make objective statements, but I'd bet a fair amount of money that it never happens again.
If the talent level is so much higher then where are the goals? Why has the NHL resorted to gimmicky rule changes to increase offence?
Maybe talent is defined as defence only? Another poster misses the point.
It's because of the higher talent level that scoring is down. No slugs who can't skate and handle the puck like a grenade. The ability to move the puck out of the zone is a defensive skill that is based on the individuals talent.
Also, the depth of goalies is a big difference.
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It's because of the higher talent level that scoring is down. No slugs who can't skate and handle the puck like a grenade. The ability to move the puck out of the zone is a defensive skill that is based on the individuals talent.
Also, the depth of goalies is a big difference.
I don't want to keep posting links to the same study over and over but the mean is highly dependent on the outliers. It does not reflect the ease or difficulty of scoring league wide, In fact the average player is going to be below the mean because of the impact of the outliers. A few bad goalies or a few superb scorers cause the mean to go up and down much more than the impact of the rest of the players in the league.
