I'm not taking any thing away from Gretzky here, but today's goalies are better than those of 10 years ago. Back then you had Hasek and Roy, and that's pretty much it. Over the past decade or so we've had Brodeur, Kipprusoff, Turco, Luongo, Nabakov, Ward, Fernandez, and many others.
Keep in mind that if this true or not, he would still hold the records, he would still be The Great One, and would still be the best. I'm just saying that you'd have to take away some goals.
Who knows, he was so good that I might be proven wrong.
2006-11-10
14:18:28
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16 answers
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asked by
starsfan
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Sports
➔ Hockey
For those who aren't smart enough to understand me, I wasn't dissing Hasek or Roy. Roy was the best in history, and Hasek is amazing. I was pointing out that they were pretty much the best at the time.
2006-11-10
14:33:41 ·
update #1
No doubt Gretz in his prime would not score 92 vs. the current crop of goalies.
Nice spelling on the goalie names, dude.
2006-11-11 05:03:53
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answer #1
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answered by fugutastic 6
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Very good question. Some things to consider though. He played in a much smaller league so he played the same teams far more than todays players. Now the talent is spread a lot thinner so who really knows, he might actually score more today. Given the rules today he would see plenty of open ice and since that is exactly how he was able to produce the numbers he did it seems like the same would be true today. It is probably true there are more talented goalies today than at any time but on the other end there are goalies that are far worse for their respective teams than in the past (see Boston, Chicago,Philly this year)
Next question would be are we assuming he has the same players around him? Again the watered down issue would have an effect. Lets face it, when you have that many more players like we do today the talent from top to bottom of each roster is clearly not the same as when he or even guys before him like Howe, Rocket Richard, etc. played. A good coach would work even harder at creating mismatches in todays game, I really doubt Sather worked hard to get Gretzky out on the ice against 3rd or 4th liners back then (he didnt need to Wayne had no trouble scoring on the best lines).
Some people may argue that his size would hinder him in todays game. Maybe but take a look at some of the better small sized scorers in todays game and i dont see that as a factor (Daniel Briere, Martin St. louis, Pavel Datsuk & Henrik Zetterberg, etc.).
My best guess would be that the numbers probably wouldnt be much different one way or the other and regardless of when he laced them up he would have done the things that earned him the title "The Great One".
An exciting question to be sure, too bad there is no way to know. That is what makes sports so great, but i think regardless of sport the superstars are gifted enough to have made their mark in any era.
2006-11-11 12:21:12
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answer #2
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answered by viphockey4 7
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Nice to hear Tom Barrasso was a bad goalie, I'm sure Penguins fans are glad to hear our two time Stanley Cup Goalie stunk. Yeah I could think of some more. Point is if he was playing today he would be just as good as before because the rules are basically what they were when he was playing. You can claim they changed them so much but the truth is that they are only putting these penalties and rules in place simply because the refs weren't enforcing them, they were already there and people forgot them. The current players are proving that you can still score on a goalie once you know their weakness. Also Gretzky did a good job drawing attention, so he could simply get a guy on the other side of the net and get a quick one timer with the goalie so worried about him. Then the goalies will eventually start watching for the pass so much he gets an easy shot. So gee he just does what he did before.
2006-11-11 01:48:22
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Actually, I'd say in the late1980's and early 90's goalies were better than they are today. Hasek wasn't really much to talk about then, he was just starting off really. But you had Tim Cheveldae, Kelly Hrudey, Andy Moog, Ed Belfour was in his prime, Roy, Fuhr (granted, Gretzky was on his team but he was still great) And many more. It was a different game too, you can't really tell how good he would be if he was playing today because everything is so much different.
2006-11-10 15:06:22
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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It looks to be true the goalies are alot more physically and mentally sharp but Gretzky was and always will be the smartest player in history if he could do that all back then then I believe now he would find a way to beat those goalies (Mikka, Luongo, Brodeur...) It still stand the man is a menace and if he played today in his prime he is a force to be reckoned with. But alot is to be said about the players he played with. Paul Coffey, Messier, Lemeuix"Team Canada", those players had alot to do with his ability to score.
2006-11-10 19:49:24
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answer #5
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answered by M-A- Double T 2
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As some have suggested, you extremely won't be able to study gamers of distinctive era's, as rule and kit differences have altered the activity. i visit declare that Gretzky gained lots of secure practices from the league. in case you acquire interior 2 ft of him, a penalty replaced into called for respiratory his airspace. With as we talk's rule enforcement although, like the touch-hooking calls, i think of he could do much extra effective. Joe- Gretzy DID disappear throughout the time of the 1983 Cup Finals against the Isles, besides by way of fact something of the Oilers, who in elementary terms scored six goals in 4 video games, of which Wayne had 0,zip, nil, none, nada, of them.
2016-12-14 05:05:59
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answer #6
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answered by ? 4
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Of course he would, Gretzky is a legand. Gretzky could score on any goalie, no matter how good they got. And yeah Detroit played Nashville, Tenesee. Way to be from the "home town" and not even know who they played, im from Michigan to though.
2006-11-10 15:08:29
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answer #7
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answered by crbuy5 1
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I think that he woul have likely scored more because of the new style of hockey. With less clutching a grabbing and other garbage to slow him down he would become that much better. Still, he would require a great player like Kurri, Messier, Anderson and the like to play with.
2006-11-10 20:12:13
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answer #8
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answered by Sparkybear 2
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with the new rules Gretzky could score more. and they had more than those two that were pretty good 10 years ago.
2006-11-11 06:41:29
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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Hey Biker--the Wings played Nashville this evening--that's in Tennessee not North Carolina.
I think Gretzky could still score well. He was such a natural scorer. He was so skilled.
2006-11-10 14:39:23
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answer #10
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answered by lidstromnumber1fan 5
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