Glen Sather - Overrated as a GM, living off of what he had accomplished in his first few years with the Oilers. Now, he absolutely nailed the '79, '80, '81 drafts, and did a pretty good job even in '83, but after that point, I think he sort of sucked at drafting. I also never really thought that he won that many of his trades going forward either. When we're talking about the early-/mid-'90s and beyond, that's specifically when I thought that he was overrated. His reputation was bloated. He had a plum job with the Rangers too, and never did much there (IMO), with consideration to all of the (perceived) spending that was allowed relative to what he couldn't do in Edmonton.
Cam Neely - Underrated these days. I thought he was the most overrated player in the late '80s/early '90s, but after hearing him getting dumped on so readily/frequently over the past 30 years, I think much more of him now. He was quite the force, even against a loaded Penguins squad. Outside of Bourque and Neely, some of those Boston teams had a lot of grit, but were short on talent beyond those two. Getting 50/50 when his knees/legs were shot is pretty remarkable.
I used to be less-than-impressed with his point totals, that they didn't match his reputation, which is/was true for that era, but I did think that he was the premiere power forward (in the league) on a then relevant Bruins team.
DPE players on HFboards - Overrated. If you played in that era, you instantly get vaulted ahead of any other era; it certainly feels like it. It's like a badge of honor. If you played in the '80s (and seems like the '70s are also in that category now), you weren't really that good, and you were just stat padding. It's a stain on your career. I think Mike Bossy gets underrated to a large degree because of this, but who else was averaging 60 goals per season over a 9-run year, on a team that won 4 cups in a row?
We talk about how overrated the Big Four are in this very thread, but I've read FAR MORE about Sakic/Forsberg/Jagr/Yzerman/Lidstrom/etc than I have of Bobby Orr in these parts over the years.
Jagr on HFboards - Overrated. For years, I thought Jagr was underrated/underappreciated, but now I think he actually benefitted playing in the DPE because of his build/style. I think the assumption is that if he had played in the '80s, his floor would be putting up Marcel Dionne type of numbers, and toggling between that and peak Esposito numbers, but I'm not so sure about that.
If he had a target on his back, on par with Lindros, he's not reaching 1,700 GP. I also don't think most of his teams - once he was at/near his prime/peak - were all that good. Conversely, if Lindros played on another team not named the Flyers, and had a coach/GM that did more to protect him, and let him focus on developing his offensive skillset (which he never did unlike other greats), I think 95/100 times he's a part of The Big 5.
Like almost everyone, I never rooted for Lindros. However, if I could chose a do-over for "1" player, in any of the major sports, I'd chose Lindros. I don't think we saw anything close to what his peak should have been like. I feel cheated.
Joe Juneau's Jock Strap - Overrated. Or maybe it's underrated? I don't know, I have to see it. All I know is that Teemu Selanne wasn't strong enough to carry it. It's like lifting Thor's hammer apparently.
Gretzky's 1990-91 season - Underrated. It's assumed that his peak was (probably) between 1981-1987 or so (prime maybe 1980-81 to 1990-91). But when you consider who he was playing with, the lack of depth and quality players with the Kings, still a semi-new environment with teammates that he didn't come into the league with, it's far more impressive now, looking back. I personally believe, that Gretzky was on a level where he was maybe bored, toying with the game (like Larry Bird when he was at his peak winning 3 consecutive MVP's), and by '87, he was no longer chasing 200 point seasons. Maybe that was no longer necessary in his mind. He'd focus less on goals, and more on how to get the most out of his linemates (Bird shooting with his left hand!). It's probably more enjoyable for him by that point, nothing left to prove, that he was more excited about his teammates individual success, and their collective success as a team.
I also wonder if part of the reason that he went to the Kings, was that he wanted a different challenge.
His 1990-91 season also overlaps with a high influx of European/Eastern Bloc players coming into the league, the game was much faster, probably more skilled than ever before, not to mention that those imports came over with more pro-experience than what we're accustomed to today.
I actually wonder if this was Gretzky greatest season, and maybe he was still at his peak in '91. He was still only 30 at the time. We just don't think this because of 1989-90, and his significant drop off by the 1991-92 season going forward, and maybe his peak coincided the same year he exited his prime. It's also close to impossible thinking that a guy who put up 163 points is as good or better than a younger version who put up 215 points years earlier, but I have a hard time believing that Grezky's brain was dropping off at 30 years of age. Seeing how he's a wizard who processed the game on a different level, while still being close to as good as he was in his Edmonton days, why are we to assume that he's not actually peaking in '91.
It will get swept under the rug because of (probable) PED usage, but Bonds (and Hank Aaron) claimed that he was seeing things on a completely different level at an advanced age; roughly around 40 years old when he set the single season OPS record. Gretzky saw things out there that others couldn't see, so why would his brain peak in his mid-20s? Wouldn't he be that more knowledgeable, to offset whatever athletic decline that would have been happening by then? It's not like his game was ever predicated on explosive speed and such.
Phil Housley on HFboards - Underrated. Yes, he was "not good" in his own end. Understood. But outside of Orr at the top, and then the next level which is just Coffey, I don't think Phil Housley really took a back seat to anyone offensively from that era. If he was so bad, he wouldn't have had a 21-year career! Also, let's consider that he also played in the DPE era, so his career point averages are going to take a hit as well.
As an aside, isn't it weird that Orr is the only one on that level offensively, and Coffey himself is on an island of his own, between Orr and the rest? Is there an equivalent, as a forward, who's not good enough to be with Gretzky/Lemieux (depending on how you feel about Lemieux), but who's also generally viewed as being on his own level, separating him from everyone else? Is the answer Jagr? Or is it McDavid? Or Jagr and McDavid? Bobby Hull?
Bobby Hull - Underrated, now and IMO, especially on HFboards. Leaving everything else aside, just isolating hockey, he was one of the greatest. He had all of the gifts.
The Eye Test - Underrated. Who said that everyone is processing and understanding the game on an equal level? We're not.
