Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirty
Fair enough. Like I said, it's picking between two automatic Hall of Famers so you can't go wrong with either.
Bobby Orr? Lemieux? Who you got as the best hockey player?
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For sure. It was Moss, Owens, Harrison and Holt for the receivers of their generation, all guarunteed HOFers.
For me it's Orr, hands down. When people think of best player, all they really think about is offense and records. Orr gave you the best of both worlds, offensively and defensively. Gretzky is definitely the best offensive player ever but Orr is up there for the best of all time in both areas. Not to mention he was tough as nails and would fight regularly, something you can't say about Gretzky.
Also, Orr also revolutionized the game like no one else. Puckmoving defensemen seem to be all the craze today, and the piece that every team covets. That isn't possible without Orr. He was the first to rush the puck up the ice regularly, but still get back to help out defenisvely. He influenced Bourque/Coffey, who influenced Leetch/Niedermayer, who influenced Keith/Doughty, etc. Gretzky had his impact on the game for sure. He really paved the way for behind the net playmaking and hitting the trailer on odd-man rushes, but Orr changed the definition of an entire position, and completely changed gameplans.
And the last main point is supporting cast. Orr had Esposito, but not a whole lot else on those Bruins teams. Gretzky on the other hand basically had a dream team in Edmonton. I mean, they won the cup a couple years after trading Gretzky.