After watching hockey central on Versus (insert hurl sound) Jaromir Jagr brought up a great topic for debate. Sid, and Mario, who is better? Here are Jagr's comments featured in the New York Post:
"With all due respect for [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, I don't think they are Mario Lemieux...I say that with all due respect because the game has changed....The gap between the best and worst players on a team [today] is very small. The gap between Mario and the rest of the guys when I was in Pittsburgh was so huge he was able to score 20 points in one series. I don't think those kids are able to do it...There were games we won 6-5 that Mario scored six points. The next night, 5-3, he scored five. [Crosby] can do it once in a while but not every game like [Lemieux]....Some nights you can't tell who is first line and fourth line in this new NHL. [Wayne] Gretzky in the '80s was far better than anyone else. So was Mario in the '90s. You came to watch the individual because they were so much better. I love to watch highlights of when great players dominated..."
I have to agree with Mr. Jagr on this one. Sid is great, but Mario was much better. Hockey in the 80's and 90's was won a lot of times with the team being carried on the shoulders of one player (with the exception the Oilers teams from the mid to late 80's to the early 90's). Bourque carried the Bruins. Roy carried the Canadiens. Lemieux carried the Penguins. Gretzky carried the Kings. Messier carried the Rangers. The problem today is that there are too many damn teams!!! In today's NHL, there are a TON of 4th liners who would not be playing in this league if it had not been for all of the expansion drafts of the past 10-15 years. Players like Shawn Thornton, Colton Orr, Jeremy Reich, Travis Green would all not be in this league if this was lets say 1985. I realize that the way the game is played has changed significantly since then, especially with the "Trap" play, but the overall quality of hockey is suffering mainly because of this. I do not think Sid would compare anywhere near Mario or Wayne if he was playing in that era. Granted the kid is good, but I don't think his name should even merit consideration to be named with the all time greats of our beloved game. At least not yet anyway.
I'd like to here your opinion on this...
1 comment:
What's really weird about this is that nobody I've ever heard has asserted that Sid is better than Mario. Other than the goofy penguins on their chests, the two are completely different players. A more fair comparrison to Mario would be Ovechkin, or if your pressed to pick a penguin, Malkin. Sid will always be stacked up against Gretzky, mostly because of the way he makes his team better. All that said, it's still to soon to flat out say neither Malkin or Sid will never be Mario. If in five years Sid adds some muscle and a better slap shot, he'll still only be what? 25? 26 years old? Not to mention, by the time it's all said and done, Sid may just lead his team to several Stanley Cups.
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