Most Talented Hockey Players of All Time #5 (Post Expansion)

[blundluntman]

Who is the 5th most Talented (Post-Expansion) Hockey Player of all time?

Talent- Natural ability/skill.

Whether you prioritize the versatility, unique blend, or dynamic level of their natural abilities is up to you. I guess that's where the debate part of things comes in.

1. Mario Lemieux
2. Wayne Gretzky
3. Bobby Orr
4. Connor McDavid

 

[blundluntman]

Howe and Hull probably should be getting their nods soon based on what I've heard but I don't feel comfortable voting for them since i haven't seen more than a game or two and a few clips. Would love for someone to send me a good video or two if they have any though.


Personally, I don't know who to take next between Malkin, Ovi, Crosby, Jagr, Forsberg & Fedorov. Kovalev & Kharlamov also come to mind.

Narrowing it down, I probably take either Jagr, Malkin or Fedorov.

Malkin & Jagr are basically equals afaic with their combination of skill/size. Fedorov makes a good case based on his skating/skill and defensive side of things. Tempted to take Forsberg for the same reason (along with the physical edge) but his goalscoring does give me a little pause.

Gun to my head I think I take Malkin. Could be convinced otherwise though.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I got Ovi from a pure talent aspect. 20-24 year old Ovi was playing some of the most ridiculous dynamic hockey we have ever seen

 

[authentic]

Howe and Hull probably should be getting their nods soon based on what I've heard but I don't feel comfortable voting for them since i haven't seen more than a game or two and a few clips. Would love for someone to send me a good video or two if they have any though.


Personally, I don't know who to take next between Malkin, Ovi, Crosby, Jagr, Forsberg & Fedorov. Kovalev & Kharlamov also come to mind.

Narrowing it down, I probably take either Jagr, Malkin or Fedorov.

Malkin & Jagr are basically equals afaic with their combination of skill/size. Fedorov makes a good case based on his skating/skill and defensive side of things. Tempted to take Forsberg for the same reason (along with the physical edge) but his goalscoring does give me a little pause.

Gun to my head I think I take Malkin. Could be convinced otherwise though.

Forsberg was a better goal scorer in the playoffs than all those players you mentioned, except perhaps Jagr at his peak. Better goals per game than Stamkos, Kovalchuk, Selanne, Crosby, Malkin, etc. while playing an elite two-way and physical game and dishing out all-time great assist totals.

 

[authentic]

Upon discovering how dominant Makarov actually was in the 80s in the Soviet league and recalling how good he appeared in the 87 Canada Cup (looked more on the level of Gretzky and Lemieux than anyone else) you could make a case for him. I think I’m going with Jagr though.

 

[Ignite111]

Howe and Hull probably should be getting their nods soon based on what I've heard but I don't feel comfortable voting for them since i haven't seen more than a game or two and a few clips. Would love for someone to send me a good video or two if they have any though.


Personally, I don't know who to take next between Malkin, Ovi, Crosby, Jagr, Forsberg & Fedorov. Kovalev & Kharlamov also come to mind.

Narrowing it down, I probably take either Jagr, Malkin or Fedorov.

Malkin & Jagr are basically equals afaic with their combination of skill/size. Fedorov makes a good case based on his skating/skill and defensive side of things. Tempted to take Forsberg for the same reason (along with the physical edge) but his goalscoring does give me a little pause.

Gun to my head I think I take Malkin. Could be convinced otherwise though.

Howe shouldn’t be top 20 if your going just on talent

 

[blundluntman]

Forsberg was a better goal scorer in the playoffs than all those players you mentioned, except perhaps Jagr at his peak. Better goals per game than Stamkos, Kovalchuk, Selanne, Crosby, Malkin, etc. while playing an elite two-way and physical game and dishing out all-time great assist totals.

I wouldn't take him over Jagr or Malkin in the playoffs. Forsberg definitely turned it on a bit more in the playoffs but talent wise it doesn't tip the scale for me. Fedorov's playoff goal scoring leaves a lot to be desired but I'd still say Fedorov had more talent as a goal scorer while also being better defensively.

 

[bobholly39]

I voted Crosby

Supremely talented and skilled. I considered Jagr also.

This is very hard though.

 

[blundluntman]

Howe shouldn’t be top 20 if your going just on talent

I don't know that to be true. The regard he's held in and the things I've heard about his game make it hard to leave him out of an all time list.

 

[filinski77]

Tiny sample size skews this, but the majority opinion by analysts is that of the post-lockout era big-3 (Ovi, Crosby, Malkin), Malkin was definitely the most talented in its purest form.

He was also the least hard working and the least consistent.

 

[authentic]

Howe shouldn’t be top 20 if your going just on talent

That’s precisely when he should be top 5-10 really. I think you’re thinking of a straight up skill comparison between a player who entered the NHL in the 1940s vs. a current player, which is a whole lot different than talent.

 

[authentic]

Tiny sample size skews this, but the majority opinion by analysts is that of the post-lockout era big-3 (Ovi, Crosby, Malkin), Malkin was definitely the most talented in its purest form.

He was also the least hard working and the least consistent.

This is likely true. But when the margins are slim people will always side with the more accomplished and consistent players like Crosby and Ovechkin. I think on his best day Malkin appeared to be more dominant, atleast with the puck on his stick similar to McDavid today.

 

[authentic]

I don't know that to be true. The regard he's held in and the things I've heard about his game make it hard to leave him out of an all time list.

People are confusing skill with talent. Talent is how Howe (no pun intended) was able to carve out a top 4 prime, peak (5 or 6 peak at the least) and career of all-time. Obviously catching a game from the 50s he isn’t going to wow you with his stickhandling, but I bet he would be a tougher and smarter player than 99% of players today and could adapt accordingly.

 

[blundluntman]

People are confusing skill with talent. Talent is how Howe (no pun intended) was able to carve out a top 4 prime, peak and career of all-time. Obviously catching a game from the 50s he isn’t going to wow you with his stickhandling, but I bet he would be a tougher and smarter player than 99% of players today and could adapt accordingly.

Wholeheartedly agree. Equipment/training elevates skill for an entire generation, talent elevates a player's skill above the rest of their generation. Funny enough, one of the few anecdotes I can recall regarding his talent has to do with his stickhandling, being that he was ambidextrous.

 

[authentic]

I wouldn't take him over Jagr or Malkin in the playoffs. Forsberg definitely turned it on a bit more in the playoffs but talent wise it doesn't tip the scale for me. Fedorov's playoff goal scoring leaves a lot to be desired but I'd still say Fedorov had more talent as a goal scorer while also being better defensively.

I take Forsberg in the playoffs over any of these guys, no doubt about it. I never seen a player who was more guaranteed to show up in the playoffs every night with that warrior mentality combined with his all-time great talent.

 

[authentic]

Wholeheartedly agree. Equipment/training elevates skill for an entire generation, talent elevates a player's skill above the rest of their generation. Funny enough, one of the few anecdotes I can recall regarding his talent has to do with his stickhandling, being that he was ambidextrous.

Apparently that comes from when he would attempt to fool goalies on a breakaway by switching hands. I’ve seen a few full games and highlight reels of his, he could absolutely fire the puck let’s put it that way, and he was known to be a much better playmaker than goal scorer from what I gather. There’s also a clip of him as a 50 year old levelling a player half his age into the back of the net with authority

 

[blundluntman]

I take Forsberg in the playoffs over any of these guys, no doubt about it. I never seen a player who was more guaranteed to show up in the playoffs every night with that warrior mentality combined with his all-time great talent.

Same here. I think of grit/intensity more as a trait than a talent but if they were talents, I'd have him over all those guys. Aesthetically, his game was my favorite out of the bunch. Hard to find guys like that nowadays