All—Time IIHF Team. Do Soviets deserve to have a 4 players? Only ONE Canadian! (Wayne Gretzky)

[Golden_Jet]

Canada Cups weren't IIHF tournaments, they were run by the NHLPA.

From OP

with a requirement that they must have performed "at the highest possible level (Olympics, the IIHF World Championship or the Canada Cup/World Cup tournaments

 

[SkinsFan09]

with his iconic OT game-winning goal.

It's only iconic to one group of people.

 

[um]

From a European perspective Salming is not a top 10 international player for Sweden, doesn't really even seriously belong in the discussion.

Gretzky was great at the Canada Cups, but otherwise he's got next to nothing. At least by now Crosby would be a far better Canadian choice.

The fudge?

Crosby got outplayed by Toews!

 

[Albatros]

The fudge?

Crosby got outplayed by Toews!

Once. Kind of. Otherwise his international career was that of an also-ran.

 

[Toby91ca]

You are full of it. Gretzky only got to be at one Olympics, cause the NHL only started competing at the Olympics in 1998. Gretzky was 37 during that time in his second last season in the league. You really think if Wayne played at the Olympics in his prime he doesn't easily win Gold? He was far and away a better player than Crosby. As is he had 4 pts in 6 games, which isn't that bad considering it was very defensive era.

Right, but this isn't a list of the best players, it's about who's been the best in IIHF hockey. Can you argue Crosby over Gretzky with that lens....sure, but as a kid, Canada Cups were a big thing, so Gretzky seems like a good choice to me. It's this lens as well that keeps Bobby Orr off the list....obviously would be most people's pick as the best Dman ever, but he doesn't even get a top 2 spot here.....but that's because IIHF hockey wasn't a thing for Cdn players during his time.

 

[Voight]

Wayne Gretzky? By what merit?

If we're talking IIHF, then Soviet Union has the entire top 5.

I'll also say, Teemu Selänne is the all-time leader in Olympics scoring.

Probably the merit of winning three best on best tournaments and scoring 82 points in 55 international games at the senior level.

 

[Wings4Life]

Makarov feels like he doesn't belong among those forwards.

 

[Lambo]

I mean NHL used not to send their players there and Northern Americans used not to value International hockey back then. Even today it's less valued than Stanley Cup.

Nevertheless, the NHL was not yet that strong and the difference to Europe, especially to the Soviet league, was not particularly big. This is always easy to forget!

 

[benfranklin]

If we’re talking pure iihf events then sure. We’ve skipped a ton as the nhl and the world championships are a joke during peak playoffs, so sure.

 

[DamonDRW]

Makarov feels like he doesn't belong among those forwards.

what? He is probably the best Russian ever. At the very worst he is in top-3. Better than Kharlamov, Ovechkin, Malkin. Miles better than Krutov, Larionov, Petrov, Fetisov, Bure, Fedorov, etc

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

communist propaganda

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

It's only iconic to one group of people.

Its not iconic to many people in Canada either

 

[ijuka]

Canada had a good team at the WJC '78, could definitely have reached the final over Sweden even if the Soviets were too much. At the World Championships '82 they had a very strong team and would have won silver simply by beating Italy, yet they failed to do that as well. At the World Cup '96 losing to the Americans three times wasn't a disgrace, but those games were perfectly winnable as well. Being kicked out of the medals by Ari Sulander in '98 was quite something, but only confirmed the trend outside the in themselves impressive Canada Cup performances. None of that is all on Gretzky, but when you have Crosby winning everything it's not hard to figure out which is more impressive.

This is about IIHF, Canada Cup isn't IIHF... Gretzky has done jack all in IIHF. One bad olympics one WC, one WJC doesn't come even close to cutting it.

 

[End on a Hinote]

Canada would have more players on the list, but we didn't send our best players

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosby
World cup/canada cup MVP
World cup/canada cup top scorer
IIHF WC top scorer(youngest all time)
IIHF WC best forward
Olympic Gold OT winning goal
Has scored in 2 olympic gold games and in his only WC gold game

He would be there now

 

[Jumptheshark]

I mean NHL used not to send their players there and Northern Americans used not to value International hockey back then. Even today it's less valued than Stanley Cup.

THIS needs to be in bold. For nearly 40 years Canada sent AHLers and fringe players from Europe to all games.

People are looking at the list from a current perspective and not from 1908 when the IIHF was founded

 

[VistamarCroissants]

I like the list, but I’d swap Salming for Lidström. His international résumé is too impressive to overlook.

As for Makarov, you could make a solid case for Marc Messier or JaromirJagr taking that spot instead. Both have the hardware and the pedigree, though it’s a bit of a toss-up here—50/50, really.

And for those who argue it's all about Stanley Cups—remember, this list isn’t about league play. It’s about impact and performance on the international stage, representing national teams.

Thank you