I think 1984 could be a good candidate for greatest draft ever.
First off, 1979 and 2003 dont count to me. 1979 is literally multiple years of draft eligibility folded into one, and 2003 is more about a crop of good players getting the perfect situation in their early career to develop and star in major nhl roles before turning 23.
1984 has:
-The only member of the Big Four to be drafted in Lemieux
-One of the top 3 or 4 goaltenders all time in Roy
-Good additional star power with Brett Hull, Robitaille, Suter, Richer, Muller, Roberts, McLean
-a very low bust rate at the top end. Only 14/42 players picked in the first two rounds played less than two seasons (160ish) worth of games career. Thats pretty good when comparing similar numbers of early round busts for other well regarded drafts like 1993 (20/52), 1988 (27/42), 1997 (36/53), 1971 (19/42 in the first 3 rounds of a smaller league). 1984s 20/52 ~= 38 % bust rate in the first two rounds is pretty close to the 26/68 for 2003.
-Lots of late round gems. Ronning, Sweeney, Robitaille, and Suter were all picked after the sixth round.
