lextune
I'm too old for this.
8. Eddie Shore. If it were just based on talent, I would probably switch him and Beliveau on this list. But he had even more negatives than Richard and these definitely hurt his team. Still, it wouldn't be wrong to call him a generational talent. History records him as the best of all time pre-Richard.
Exactly.
Let me quote our friend Joe Pelletier over at GreatestHockeyLegends.com:
Shore joined the Boston Bruins in 1926 and went on to personify the most vigorous aspects of the rough and fast game of hockey. His explosive temper was only matched by his incredible talent. While setting up offensive plays he would literally knock down any opponent that got in his way. This of course led to many hard fought and legendary battles. American Hockey League president Maurice Podoloff once observed, ''Eddie Shore did not walk; he stalked'
Hockey of course always has been and always will be a religion in Canada. When the all-Canadian National Hockey League decided to expand to the American cities of New York, Boston, Detroit and Chicago, there was doubt as to its ultimate fate.
"In order to succeed," said Frank Boucher, a star in his own right with the New York Rangers, "the league needed a superstar of extraordinary dimensions."
Eddie Shore was the right man, and at the right time. The "Edmonton Express" put professional hockey on the American map almost single handedly.
Absolutely fearless and unbelievably talented, Shore was indestructible. Perhaps the best way to describe him would be to say he was an early day Gordie Howe who played on the blueline. It certainly wouldn't be a stretch to say that. No one who hit as hard as he did was ever hit harder - or more often - in return. In his heyday, opponents seemed to save all their energy
in order to deal with Eddie Shore. ''He was bruised, head to toe, after every game,'' recalled Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt, a four-year teammate.' Everybody was after him. They figured if they could stop Eddie Shore, they could stop the Bruins.''
Shore's style was all his own. Pugnacious and downright mean, he was also very skilled. '' Most people of the day would skate down the side,'' said Schmidt. ''But Eddie always went down the middle of the ice. People bounced off him like tenpins"
Almost as amazing was his ability to play the entire game! He would average 50-55 minutes a contest. Well, at least in games when he wasn't spending that much time in the penalty box!
There is some great old newsreel footage of Shore with the B's on the History of the Bruins DVD; there are only four or five short clips but they are great to see. One of him throwing a check, one of him making a rush (a great view of his speed), and another of him absolutely lining up a player. There are also some great stories about his dominance.
I argue that Shore is the greatest Pre-WWII player, and not having him in the top ten seems to invalidate our list a little in my mind, after all it is not the Top 100 Post-WWII players....
We all know the stories of Shore's end-to-end rushes (and goals), and of course the tales of his physical dominance, intimidation and control of the game. But we should also remember the stories of his playmaking. After the advent of the forward pass in all zones, Eddie was in the top ten for assists three times. Including finishing second to Frank Boucher, (widely considered to be one of the premier playmakers in NHL history) by only one assist in 1933.
His Hall Of fame biography entry goes out of it's way to mention this little thought of attribute of Shore's game when referring to his play in the '29 playoffs: "he (Shore) was at his hard-hitting and playmaking best as Boston eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in the semifinals prior to a two-game sweep of the New York Rangers."
....just some more food for thought about Shore, (and here I thought I was done, lol).
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