Who was better?

Question

Who was the better player for there team at there respective positions? Here are some close comparisions i put together. I only took the time to do the original 6 teams.

Steve Yzerman vs. Gordie Howe for Detroit

Guy Lafleur vs. Henri Richard for Montreal

Phil Esposito vs Pat LaFontaine for Rangers

Bobby Hull vs Stan Mikita for Blackhawks

Ray Bourque vs. Bobby Orr for Bruins

Darryl Sittler vs Mats Sundin for the Leaves

Some are kind of obvious but what do you think and what other players are comparable that have played for the same team?

lol Green good rhyme

LITY- sorry about all the bad comparisons probably should of done some research.

Answer 1

Detroit
Gordie was a far more complete player than Yzerman, something that Bryan Murray and Scotty Bowman kept drilling into his head. When you do a statistical analysis (similar to what the NHL did in 1997) the differences between the players is magnified. Both men won 3 Stanley Cups. But Howe won several Hart and Art Ross trophies as well, and was the Playoff MVP twice..............except there was no trophy in his day.

Montreal.
You are comparing the wrong pair here. Henri Richard was a playmaking centre while Guy Lafleur was a flashy winger (ala Henri's brother). This is really apples and oranges, although they did win 2 cups together.

Rangers
Bad comparison. Neither was a Ranger long enough to justify a comparison, and neither had their best seasons as a Ranger (in fact LaFontaine had his worst). A better comparison might have been at goalie with Giacomin vs Richter, or on D with Leetch vs Howell. Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle were the prototypical forwards in Rangerland, but since Gilbert's retirement, nobody has come close.

Chicago
Another bad comparison, especially as they were linemates. A better comparison here wouod have been Mikita vs Savard, or an even better one would have been Hall vs Esposito vs Belfour. Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita were two excellent forwards who complemented each other extremely well (and I was more than willing to switch to the right wing and play with these guys and I told Rudy that millions of times)

Boston
Great Comparison. Ray Bourque holds every possible defenceman record for Boston.....except the ones dealing with 'season'. Ray Bourque was the first generation of defencemen that grew up watching Bobby Orr.........and Bourque paid attention. Orr was a lousy leader. It wasn't that he was bad at it...he didn't want any part of being a captain. Bourque was a great leader (as per Joe Sakic and Mario Lemieux) and did his bit on the ice too. As great as Bourque was (all time NHL leader in points by a defenceman) he wasn;t as good as the guy he replaced.

Toronto
Another very good comparison. Two great centres who gave everything they had to this origanization without getting it done in the playoffs, more due to poor management of the team than due to their play and leadership. I'm taking Sittler in this only because Sundin played for the 6 highest scoring Leaf teams in history, and he still required more games to reach Sittler's goals, assists, and points records.



Trombass, Howe had to face Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull, and the best goaltenders in the game (Plante, Hall, Sawchuk) 14x a year. Fortunately for Howe, he was the Gretzky/Lemieux of his era (just another reason to put him on top). Bowman not considering Yzerman among his top 5 captains that he coached cost Stevie marks. The fact that Stevie was never a captain of a Team Canada. Just too many things that Gordie did better. Gordie set the standard of his era, Yzerman did not, and until Bowman and Murray got on his ***, he was just a high-scoring Red Wing. As for his knee, he has constantly told people it wasn't an issue until the last 4-5 years of his career. I'll take his word for it. Again, the main reason for comparing these two and not comparing some of the others was the impact these two had on the Red Wings as a whole and the differences in their tenure. Henri Richard and Guy Lafleur played 5 years together, Hull and Mikita played 12 years together, Esposito and Lafontaine played less than 500 games between them as Rangers. I needed more disparity to make a comparison.

Answer 2

Yzerman was a gamer and the Wings had some stacked squads that could have propelled him above Howe in career success had they fulfilled their potential and won those extra cups. As it stands, Howe is still "Mr. Hockey" in Detroit.

Richard gets my nod here because of the additional cups he won during his career. Richard also played 19 + seasons, all with the Habs.

Although "Trader Phil" seemed more concussed than Lafontaine with some of the moves he orchestrated as the Ranger GM in the mid 80's, he also took the team to a cup final as a player. Both players spent their winter years at the Garden, but the above distinction gives Esposito the advantage.

Tough to compare Hull and Mikita because they were contemporaries. They also each have two Harts, but Mikita won the Art Ross 4 times to Hull's 2. In the end I have to call this one a toss up.

Bourque and Orr is an interesting one. While Bourque ultimately out-Orred Orr, Bobby Orr revolutionized the position and deserves major consideration for that achievement. So, Bourque played the music Orr composed like a maestro but, still, Orr was the one who wrote it. Advantage Orr.

Sittler vs. Sundin is an extremely compelling one. Both have held the mantle as captains and fan favorites for extended periods. Sittler had the statistical advantage with the number of 90 and 100 point seasons he delivered, but Sundin has the career stat advantage in the comparison. If Sundin delivers a cup as a Leaf, he supplants Sittler as the modern era Toronto icon. However, as it stands, I'm going with Sittler.

Answer 3

Detroit: It's a tie between Stevie Y's heart and Gordie Howe's longevity.

Montreal: How about Maurice "Rocket" Richard

Rangers: Technicallity goes to Espo, though his best years were in Boston. LaFontaine played something around one season with the Rangers.

Blackhawks: Stan Mikita

Bruins: Bobby Orr

Leafs: Darryl Sittler by a nose.

LITY: Is it really fair to compare them (Yzerman and Howe) like that when Yzerman had to contend with Gretzky, Lemieux, and a bad knee?

zapcity: You don't think Howe had any good players playing with him?

Answer 4

Was only planning to answer the Detroit question - and find that I can't. Both men were so indredibly important to their teams. Yzerman was the more talented scorer. Howe was tougher. Howe and Yzerman were both shy leaders - and honestly, Yzerman didn't fifgure out the captaincy until he'd already had it for quiote a few years. The game was different in their respective eras. Howe wasn't fast enough for today's game; I don't know if Yzerman was tought enough for the older game. It cannot be answered, only opined.

I guess the best defense for my position is that they have different names in Detroit. Gordie will always be "Mr. Hockey" and that's not disputed here. But at the same time, everyone knows who you're talking about when you say "The Captain."

Answer 5

Could you change LaFontaine to Jean Ratelle? Pat only played one season with the Rangers. I think Ratelle would be a better comparison and more in line with the others.

I'll probably catch "HE-double hockey sticks" from everyone, but here it goes:

Howe, Lafluer, Espo over LaFontaine( but I would take Ratelle as far as a Rangers center), Mikita,Orr, and Sittler.

Answer 6

As a die hard Redwings fan, and having Yzerman be the captain of the Redwings for the entirety of my life, the Redwings just aren't the same without Yzerman. He was the posterboy for every quality a good captain should have. I get chills down my spine every time i see his 2OT goal drilled from the blue line in game 7 against the blues in 96. I miss the captain. Steve Yzerman all the way.

Answer 7

Steve Yzerman
Guy Lafleur
Phil Esposito. (Should be Mark Messier)
Bobby Hull
Bobby Orr
Mats Sundin

Answer 8

Try Park and Leetch for the Rangers and Savard and Makita for the Hawks.

Also technically Stevie Y was a centre and Gordie played wing.

Compare Lalfeur with Rocket Richard would also be good for Habs.

Answer 9

Howe--no question.
Tough one but I'm going with Lafleur.
Neither...Phil Espo because they got to a Final. Even so that's an odd comparison as neither really played all that long for the NYR. Better to go Ratelle vs. Messier.
Hull.
Orr.
Sundin.

Answer 10

Gordie
Rocket
LaLaLaLaLaFontaine
Hull
Orr
Sundin

Rangers one was easy for me. Phil was part owner of a hockey team in Cincinnati and was a complete ****** and Pat was born in Kirkwood, MO, outside my hometown of St. Louis. No-brainer!