Comments on: Mario Lemieux retires again

By: andy

andy — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:23:27 +0000

I’d have to put Super Mario above that Gretzky guy, but I’m a born and bred Penguins fan.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:44:24 +0000

Yeah, Lemieux had the mad skills. I remember one playoff game against Boston, he was coming in one-on-one on Ray Bourque and made Bourque look like a pylon. I mean, it was embarrassing to watch how easily Lemieux manhandled him.

At least, I think it was a playoff game, might’ve been regular season. Pittsburgh and Boston met a few times in the playoffs in the early 90s, including in both of their Stanley Cup runs, so it’s not unreasonable…

By: Chad

Chad — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:21:00 +0000

It’s so hard to say, given that Howe and Orr never played any “modern” hockey. I’m inclined to agree with you, but at the same time I also hold this nagging (unfair and unsupported) suspicion that Howe and Orr wouldn’t hold a candle to today’s top players. Just watching those old games is funny, see the kinds of stuff they get away with.

The good thing about Lemieux is that he has the size and strength to do some damage, but he’s got the speed and t3h sk1llz to score all the pretty goals too.

If he hadn’t had so many injuries and health problems, he’d have been absolutely unbelievable. Of course, you could also say that his size and strength are what led indirectly to getting hurt so much. Gretzky just never got hit or hurt. It’s pretty well the same for Lindros too — big dude, good player, got hurt a lot because he’s big and physical.

Upshot: I’d have to put him second behind Wayne.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 19:29:48 +0000

Second, I’d say. I’d probably go Gretzky-Lemieux-Orr-Howe.

By: Geof F. Morris

Geof F. Morris — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 18:56:06 +0000

So, how high do you put Mario on the Pantheon? I had people arguing Top Three yesterday, and I wanted to laugh at them. I’m okay with Top Ten, maybe Top Five. [I'm Gretzky-Howe-Orr, for what it's worth.]