Again I ask, compared to whom?
Who is ranked below them that should be above them?
Be specific, lets see how that goes.
Did you actually see any of them play?
Ok let's start with Dryden first since this thread is about him.
There are about 5-6 goalies I would rank ahead of Dryden on the all-time list;
Hasek, Roy, Plante, Sawchuk, Hall, Brodeur, Parent and even Belfour and yet Dryden ranks ahead of Hasek, Parent and Belfour.
Then there's Lafleur and Bossy.
They are usually ranked ahead of Jagr (really the better RW) but how much of that ranking is really based on the "dynasty" factor and how much of it is based on "real merit"?
Bossy was never considered the best player in the entire world at any time, Jagr was for about 5-7 years. Bossy had great raw numbers and was the second to third best goalscorer in the 80's depending on the year after Lemieux and Gretzky but he was also only the 3rd best player on the Islanders' dynasty. Outside of goalscoring (the difference not even being that great considering eras, adjusted totals and longevity being on Jagr's side) Jagr was the better playmaker, stickhandler, the better skater, the stronger and bigger player and the more dominant player.
Lafleur had an impressive regular season offensive peak while Jagr's was even more impressive and Jagr also has the longevity factor on his side. Lafleur might have had a better playoff peak but how often was Jagr given the opportunity to play for a powerhouse team during his prime? Not very often if at any time at all.
Jagr with all his accolades should be given the benefit of doubt that had he played on stronger teams in his prime that he would have continued to put up the points in the later playoff rounds and quite possibly had a Conn Smythe or 2.
Then there's Trottier and Messier. A comparable player is Clarke who was a better passer than both, more physical and better two-way player, yet Trottier and Messier usually get ranked higher than him.
Now let's look at Kurri. A direct comparison to Kurri is Selanne. They are both Right Wingers (both usually rank in the top 7 all-time for RW's), both were high scoring wingers and both hail from Finland. Kurri has a better playoff resume (how much of that is due to playing for a dynasty and most importantly flanking Gretzky's win?) while Selanne has had the better regular season and longevity. Kurri was an exceptional two-way forward but I don't think his offensive numbers would be half as good if he didn't play in the 80's, played with Gretzky and the Oilers. Selanne while no Selke-caliber player was no slouch on defense especially as he got older (Selanne though as he got better at defense, still maintained that scoring edge).
The mainstream thought is that Kurri is the best Finnish player of all-time but how true is that really?
Finally there's Coffey. He had a great offensive peak and on the surface had the second best offensive peak among defensemen after Orr. However was his offensive peak any better than Potvin's and Leetch considering the time and teams they respectively played on?
Potvin started to dominate even before Trottier and Bossy came along. Heck Potvin even finished 2nd in the Hart voting one year.
Leetch had 102 Pts in a far lower scoring era and also had that Conn Smythe run. Leetch was also a better defender overall than Coffey.
Coffey gets ranked 26 on THN all-time list while Leetch is somewhere in the top 70-80.
Would Coffey's numbers been as high had he not played with Gretzky and to a lesser extent Lemieux later on?
I personally think that among Coffey's contemporaries, Leetch and Chelios were better defensemen than Coffey but usually get ranked much lower than Coffey and this is probably the "best example" of the dynasty factor.
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