who is better yzerman or mario lemieux?

Question

to let you knoe yzerman made 692 goals and mario has and 690 goals.

Answer 1

Yzerman you can't just look at offense look at defense too.
Yzerman doubles Lemi's +/- career wise. Mario was just a poor defensive player....if you can socre 100 points and go -35 it says something about how reliable you are defensively.

He only had so many breakaways and goals because his lazy butt waited by the blueline for an outlet pass rather then get his ahands dirty and play defense.

Answer 2

Neither of them "is" better. They're both retired. :-)

Seriously, you have to pick Mario overall. Those 690 goals came in only 915 games! It took Yzerman almost 600 more games to get that many goals. Anything Yzerman could do, Mario could do better. The only thing Yzerman wins out in is durability. He played 1514 games to Lemieux's 915. If not for injuries and Hodkin's Disease, Lemieux might have challenged Gretzky's career numbers. Too bad we'll never find out.

I might add that my very favorite player ever is Stevie Y. I'm a life-long Red Wings fan, so I'm not being biased. :-)

Answer 3

Ok wow is this even a question steve yzerman for sure without a doubt the guy was a leader both off and on the ice. Not only did he know what to say and when to say it but he could back up what he said with his play. Also he spent his whole carrer in detroit and 20 of those years as captain. He was a great all around player both offesivly and defensivly. Also think of all hes played through just to help out his team. he suffered tht knee injury tht should have ended his carrer but he had the determination to keep playing and then he got hit in the eye with tht puck. He didnt wanna go out like tht and came back for another season in which he was more in the leader role but still had some key plays he was their best player in that serie loss against the oilers. so plane and simple steve yzerman not only better than mario but in my mind second to none in the best player category remember number dont mean as much as respect does!!!!

Answer 4

Mario Lemieux was easily a better player than Stevie Y. Lemieux played in far fewer games (he got Hodgkin's Disease in the middle of his playing career), and is widely considered one of the top three forwards to ever play the game (the other two being Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.) Yzerman was no question a great player, but he was no Super Mario.

Answer 5

Mario was more skilled than Yzerman but if you go by all around player it has to be Stevie Y. He was a captain for 20 years, won three Cups, a Conn Smythe. He changed his game so his team could get better. He played when he could barely walk. During the Stanley Cup Final in 2002 every time Stevie got knocked down he had to use his stick to help himself up off the ice but yet he was out there every game giving his all. He was amazing. A true leader.

Answer 6

Sorry to nitpick, but neither of them are active, it's who WAS better.

There's more to it than Goals. Also be aware that Mario scored those Goals in FEWER games.

I really can't disagree too strongly with choosing Yzerman. He played forever, led the Red Wings to 3 Stanley cups, was their heart and soul, and played a tremendous game at both ends of the ice. I will not say choosing him is "wrong".

But I'm going with Lemieux. Mario could stickhandle around all 5 guys by himself and score. He was deadly on breakaways. He piled up points second only to the Great one, and kept piling them up when the trap became popular, rules changed, and Goals became scarce. He came back from injuries that SHOULD have ended his career, not just came back, but dominated the league.

Mario it is.

Answer 7

I know this is biased, as they are both amazing hockey players, but:

Steve Yzerman. 22 years with the same team, 20 as captain? He's an amazing leader. He's fought & played through so many injuries, and has been the driving force of the Red Wings three championship drives (Not to mention countless Presidents trophies). He also did what was best for his team---Changing from the amazing offensive forward he was at the beginning of his career (Who knows how many goals he would have had if he had never changed his style!), to the defensive forward that won Detroit the championships in '97, '98, and '02. He's been the face of Detroit Red Wings hockey, and he's been an inspiration to the team, and fans.

Answer 8

Both players that have earned a tremendous amount of respect from me. I hate to choose between them, it's like picking a favorite sibling. Both have saved their teams. Mario by keeping the Penguins afloat, Yzerman by getting the Red Wings through the 80's and being the block the team was built around. Both are great community leaders and role models for out children.

Both were team captains and stayed with their team for their entire career. The only way to decide is to ask yourself "If I could go back in time and pick one of them who would it be?"
Knowing what we know now we would all pick Stevie Y because we would know that we would have him for twenty-two years.

Answer 9

Yzerman was a pretty good player but not as super mario. I'm pretty sure that yzerman had play many more games

Answer 10

Both players were very important contributors to their teams - Mario had more natural scoring talent, as evidenced by the fewer number of games to achieve his final goal total (and even moreso by the quality - or lack of - talent he had playing alongside him during his early years with the Pens...remember Warren Young, who Mario turned into a 40 goal scorer). Stevie Y, while also being an offensive force, was a more solid and consistent defensive player (although Mario could play in his own zone when needed), and he was the heart and soul of the Wings.
Mario had to overcome cancer during his career, as well as playing with severe back problems that required surgery. His early years weren't easy for him, as he was routinely "mugged" and roughed up, having no teammate who looked out for him (as Semenko did for Gretzky).
So, considering what Mario was up against, I'd pick Mario...and he has shown himself to be a savior of Pens hockey again and again once his career was over.
Wouldn't it have been a GM's dream to have Mario AND Stevie Y on the same team????
66let'sgopens89....are you from pgh?

Answer 11

I think its Lemiuex. Yzerman played 22 seasons most of which he was healthy. Mario was in my opinion the most talented player in NHL history. If he hadn't had so many injuries and had to retire early, not to mention coming back from cancer, this wouldn't even be a discusion