Lemieux vs. The Great One

[fansince65]

Originally Posted by canuck2

That wasnt his question.

And the answer is Lemieux hands down. But to address the desire issue, it was never in doubt with Wayne. With Mario even when healthy I don't think he put the effort Wayne did. If Wayne had 3 goals in a game he was just as hungry wanting that 4th goal. He was very "greedy" in that regard. And I mean that as a compliment.

A Lemieux that came to camp in shape had worked out all summer long to get in the best condition he could possibly be in yes hands down ..
But he never did any such thing , most of the time even in junior he never even showed up for practice .
Gretzky did not have that kind of talent , he had to work at his game every day of the year , he became a student of the game , he knew every rink he ever played in , knew the bounces off the boards , knew were the puck was going just from a bounce .
Lemieux had a god given talent that if he had used it properly he would have been the greatest player of all time , Wayne Gretzky was not a good skater , was not a big guy , but he was the most intelligent player to ever play the game , their alone lies the difference , work ethic over laziness will win every time ...

[VodkaFish]

Originally Posted by hockeybooks

hockey has never been about raw skill

it takes desire to make the most of your skills

you think the Sutter Bros made it to the NHL on skill?

As canuck2 said, that wasn't what I'm talking about - no sport is about skill alone, and that's probably why we all like them so much in the first place.

When talking about the best players of all-time though, you have to give setup, so I gave some.

If we're having a heart/desire contest, I'll go with Kelly Buchberger

Originally Posted by canuck2

That wasnt his question.

And the answer is Lemieux hands down. But to address the desire issue, it was never in doubt with Wayne. With Mario even when healthy I dont think he put the effort Wayne did. If Wayne had 3 goals in a game he was just as hungry wanting that 4th goal. He was very "greedy" in that regard. And I mean that as a compliment.

I think Lemieux's skill actually hurt him when it came to looking like he was putting effort in on the ice. He was everywhere, and it never looked like he was doing a thing. Off it, at the beginning of his career, I get that. But he grew up. Steve Yzerman wasn't some great leader at the beginning of his career. In fact, the way Crosby was first written about is really the best comparison. Most of them grow up though. I think Lemieux did, but his injuries really prevented him from posting the numbers he could have.

[fightingfan]

no matter what anyone says the great one was the best. please tell me what he didnt do

[Killah_punk]

Originally Posted by fightingfan

no matter what anyone says the great one was the best. please tell me what he didnt do

He never won a cup without the power house Oiler teams.
He doesn't have the highest goals per game average.
Never won a olypmic medal as a player.
He didn't play physical.

[Flyer_Frank]

A little more on Gretzky:

110 pts in 80 WHA games plus 20 pts in 13 playoff games. The WHA was a damn good league.

57 pts in 34 Canada Cup games.

If I could add one player at the top of their game to win one game tonight, I'd pick Orr. After that, it's Gretzky. I just like my chances of winning better with him than Mario. He just had that knack.