Mark Recchi is the greatest Flyer of all time

[JojoTheWhale]

 

[Striiker]

But "greatness" to me means accomplishment, fame, importance... and by that measure Clarke (and Ruth, and Howe, and Brown, etc...) are the greatest players of their respective teams.

But what’s a bigger accomplishment, being a top player in the modern NHL or someone winning championships/MVPs in a rec league?



I’d rather be among the best of the best than the best of trash.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Hahahahahahaha. Holy shit.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Nobody from the pre-goalie or pre-athlete era deserves to be called best.

It’s Giroux.

Do you already consider MM to be more talented then Giroux? What about Stutzle or Mason McTavish?

 

[Kermit the Prog]

there is a small percentage of players involved in contact sports that could survive playing their respective sport the way all these games were played prior to 1980 much less thrive.

slapshot didn’t overplay the violence in hockey, it offered a different view of it. The rules and violence in 70’s football makes today’s game look light touch football. Basketball? Ha!

Just like Dave Semenko gave Gretzky a playing surface free of fear by savagely beating any player who even looked at Gretz the wrong way, modern sports has become the equivalent of rhythmic gymnastics. Sure it takes amazing talent… but, come on. My high school school soccer team was more intimidating than some current nhl hockey teams. If a contact sport removes intimidation from the game then we might as well not keep score and have a panel of judges give each team a rating and whoever rates higher, wins the game. lol. Maybe we could attach ribbons to their uniforms. That would probably look amazing.

I'm friends with Krzysztof Oliwa, and let me tell you, when I was a younger and more active young man, I thought I would be able to navigate around NHL goons or at least tie up one long enough for the linesmen to step in, I can categorically tell you there ain't no way in hell that would be the case. You'd get bruised just having him walk past you on the street.

 

[Striiker]

Do you already consider MM to be more talented then Giroux? What about Stutzle or Mason McTavish?

It’s not just about raw talent. But I’d say there’s a chance MM passes Giroux if he takes advantage of his abilities the way Giroux took advantage of his.

 

[Starat327]

There's always one.

 

[Jack Straw]

But what’s a bigger accomplishment, being a top player in the modern NHL or someone winning championships/MVPs in a rec league?



I’d rather be among the best of the best than the best of trash.

 

[Striiker]

There's always one.

 

[Starat327]

View attachment 920989

Oh no, I meant the "lol the old guys wete so physical these softies wouldn't even be able to play the game" post. Geriatric f***s wouldn’t even be able to catch today's goons, let alone the actual good players.

 

[GKJ]

 

[Striiker]

Oh no, I meant the "lol the old guys wete so physical these softies wouldn't even be able to play the game" post. Geriatric f***s wouldn’t even be able to catch today's goons, let alone the actual good players.

I know. I was providing a picture of them.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Recchi is firmly in the Gagne tier for me. They’ve got a decent shot to be top 10 Flyers of all time but as others have said, there are at least 6-8 much much better players

 

[GapToothedWonder]

It’s not just about raw talent. But I’d say there’s a chance MM passes Giroux if he takes advantage of his abilities the way Giroux took advantage of his.

And Stutzle and McTavish?

 

[Striiker]

And Stutzle and McTavish?

Dunno. Why?

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Dunno. Why?

I'm curious if you believe the top young players of the league are better then the top young players from !5 years ago.

 

[Striiker]

I'm curious if you believe the top young players of the league are better then the top young players from !5 years ago.

The clear gap in talent is between the current guys and the guys from like 50 years ago. I’m not suggesting every few years the talent level rises significantly.

I’d break it down into rough eras, without clear defined start/end points. For example…

Clarke played in The Plumber Era, which was when the skill level was in the dirt and an AHL team from today would smoke them.

Then guys like Gretzky played in The Pre-Goalie Era where you could score absurd amounts of points because goalies were a joke and the net might as well have been open.

Now we’re in the modern NHL where talent and goaltending both exist.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

I was told Clarke is a 4th liner.
#88 is the most talented and greatest Flyer. End of discussion.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

The clear gap in talent is between the current guys and the guys from like 50 years ago. I’m not suggesting every few years the talent level rises significantly.

I’d break it down into rough eras, without clear defined start/end points. For example…

Clarke played in The Plumber Era, which was when the skill level was in the dirt and an AHL team from today would smoke them.

Then guys like Gretzky played in The Pre-Goalie Era where you could score absurd amounts of points because goalies were a joke and the net might as well have been open.

Now we’re in the modern NHL where talent and goaltending both exist.

When do you consider the beginning of the modern NHL?

Do you think players during the pre-goalie era were of a comparable talent and the goalies were just much worse? I can't tell for sure based on how your wrote thise last two paragraphs.

 

[Striiker]

When do you consider the beginning of the modern NHL?

Do you think players during the pre-goalie era were of a comparable talent and the goalies were just much worse? I can't tell for sure based on how your wrote thise last two paragraphs.

When goaltending started to look more like it does today. No specific date and obviously it didn’t happen overnight, but you can tell just by looking at old videos that there’s a massive difference.

For example:



You cant take point totals serious if players are shooting at that.

 

[Embiid]

Recchi was a shmoo but unlike Mike Richards whose offseason conditioning regimen consisted of pounding beer, pain meds, ecstasy, and groupies.....he somehow was pretty durable. At least we got some value in that Tocchet trade but of course Pitt got the ultimate value with cups...

 

[Shrike]

When goaltending started to look more like it does today. No specific date and obviously it didn’t happen overnight, but you can tell just by looking at old videos that there’s a massive difference.

For example:



You cant take point totals serious if players are shooting at that.

So you think guys who where this

Google Image Result for https://cms.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MAC09_COSH01www.jpg

Are more skilled at stopping pucks than guys who wore this?

Google Image Result for https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/af/8afcd8d4-de33-50db-ae1f-c80050f648e7/5ef1149ed28f2.image.jpg

Going back to wood sticks would solve all the NHL’ problems except the Gary Bettman as commissioner problem

 

[Striiker]

So you think guys who where this

Google Image Result for https://cms.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MAC09_COSH01www.jpg

Are more skilled at stopping pucks than guys who wore this?

Google Image Result for https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/af/8afcd8d4-de33-50db-ae1f-c80050f648e7/5ef1149ed28f2.image.jpg

Going back to wood sticks would solve all the NHL’ problems except the Gary Bettman as commissioner problem

I’m not talking about goalie skill, so it doesn’t matter why the goaltending is so different.

The point is it’s much easier to score on one than the other, so that needs to be considered when comparing skaters from different eras.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

When goaltending started to look more like it does today. No specific date and obviously it didn’t happen overnight, but you can tell just by looking at old videos that there’s a massive difference.

For example:



You cant take point totals serious if players are shooting at that.

Yeah I'm totally on board with the goalie idea. I do think the talent difference between the 90s and now isn't very big though. I think the main difference when watching older video is that the league basically had a different ruleset so players look far less talented.

I think the depth guys wouldn't be able to stick in today's NHL. Because the limited skills they had wouldn't align with the modern game. But anybody top line or top pair caliber would be fine today, some would do better or worse depending on their specifics skills and how they meshed with the rules now, but they would all stick in some way.

Somebody like Paul Kariya for instance would probably thrive in today's environment compared to when he played.

I also think a lot of depth players today wouldn't be able to play under the old ruleset, but today's top line/pair players would find a way to succeed but I don't think they would all blow everybody out of the water.

 

[blackjackmulligan]

But what’s a bigger accomplishment, being a top player in the modern NHL or someone winning championships/MVPs in a rec league?



I’d rather be among the best of the best than the best of trash.

Great comparision.