In a couple of posts, I'm going to briefly describe a case for some of those Eastern Bloc players I mentioned above as a sure thing for the Top-200. I'll also add some links for those who struggle to put these players into perspective or to find relevant information about them.
Sergei Makarov. Truly special player who dominated the ice offensively no matter who the opponent was. Makarov would feast on a low-level teams like Germany or Italy, high-level teams like Czechoslovakia or Sweden and then even the best Canadian or NHL teams all equally, as if there was no difference. Makarov is fascinating to many of us, hockey history enthusiasts, because he's the player of no apparent weaknesses. Excellent scoring in the League? Check. Excellent scoring on World Championships? Check. On Canada Cups? Versus NHL Teams? Check. Visually appealing, highlight-reel type of player? Check. Voted as the best Soviet / European player several times by writers, coaches? Check. No other non-NHL Euro forward from previous generations actually comes close to Makarov in achievements, incl. Kharlamov, Firsov and many more. In the era of Gretzky shattering historical records, Makarov was compared to him, sometimes even favorably by Czech coaches. A top-20 player.
Viacheslav Fetisov. Balanced, two-way defenseman and a leading figure of the Green unit and great Soviet teams of the 80s. Pretty much all the attributes of Makarov applies to Fetisov as well. Only thing that separates him from Makarov is Fetisov's slump from around 1979-81, where he was not much of a factor. Interested in season-by-season breakdown and comparison of these two? Click
here. A top-30 player.
Vladislav Tretiak. Legendary goaltender with important and rare G qualities - consistency, reliability. Tretiak was voted 50th in 18/19, which is respectable place but a bit on the lower side of the spectrum. Much has been made of Tretiak not being the Europe's (let alone the World's) best goalie through the 70s, but I made
a clear case that Tretiak's peak seasons happened in 1981-1984 and until proven otherwise, I stand behind it. It's not difficult to imagine Tretiak walking off with 4 straight NHL All-Stars / Vezinas in 81-84, especially looking at the names of those who were at the time the cream of the NHL goaltending crop. Even with Tretiak's arguably inflated SPOTY record (discussed
here or
here) I see him no lesser than 7th best all-time goalie and a top-40 player.
Valeri Kharlamov. Supremely technically skilled forward and considered the best 1970s Soviet skater by many. Kharlamov excelled on international level against any opponent (CSSR, Canada, NHL..). Rightfully known as a big-game player a coach can always count on. Kharlamov's weakness is primarily his league scoring numbers. A top-50 player.
Alexander Maltsev. Forward similarly gifted as Kharlamov in both technical skills and hockey IQ. Maltsev didn't make the cut for the top 100 in 18/19 project and I'm increasingly convinced that it was a mistake. It's true that Maltsev did not score as much against tough opponents, but his international and domestic, scoring and award-voting achievements are up there with Kharlamov. Maltsev is maybe a kind of Soviet Dionne or Soviet Thornton and too many voters dislike these players for play-off shortcomings... Still,
some factors made it legitimately more difficult for Maltsev to create a better legacy for himself. From 1969 to 1983, whenever Maltsev got to play the 1st line or got to play with some of his Dynamo linemates in the National team, he ended up being the tournament's All-Star. A top 60-90 player.
Vladimír Martinec. The most reasonable choice for the best non-NHL Czech player, as Martinec won the most Golden Stick trophies as anybody except Jágr and Hašek. At the time of previous project, I didn't bat too much for the guy. I was only glad that he even appeared in the last discussion vote. But now as time passed and as I got to know NHL players more, I'm not shy of ranking Martinec high in the list. Martinec was firmly in a 'best-player-in-Europe' discussion for a good number of years + played greatly vs. high-end opponents (sometimes a target for Soviet goons) + at the same time was a very good two-way player bringing
a lot more to the table. Similarly to Kharlamov, Martinec's weakness is his good but not great domestic scoring. A top 70-90 player.
Anatoli Firsov. Discussion about Firsov was one of the highlights of the 18-19 project. I don't rank Firsov as highly as the Panel did a year or two ago but for different reasons than then- Firsov sceptics... I see no problem with the level of competition of that 1963-1972 transition period; while the level hadn't yet reached that of NHL, Soviets won almost everything they could and Firsov was their best player. Besides, a lack of decent 1960s competition for USSR has been overstated; "amateur" Canadian National teams
defeated NHL squads on numerous occasions. My thing with Firsov is
a) not outstanding longevity as an elite player;
b) a seemingly prevalent idea that Firsov was this magical 'head-and-shoulders-above-everyone-else' player in the late 1960s/early 1970s. That is not correct according to my findings. Jan Suchý was at least equal to him and young Maltsev was rated right next to Firsov in early 70s as well.. Ultimately, I think it's OK to have Firsov in the top-100 and Suchý outside due to latter one's alcoholism and, say, 'authority issues', but the gap between them shouldn't be more than 40 places IMO. Want to see season-by-season breakdown of Firsov's career? Click
here. A top 80-90 player.
