The Mother-fucking goddamn Off-season Thread

[MindzEye]

If there was Semenko wouldn't have had a career.

Gretzky just thought the game so much faster than anyone else on the ice and didn't want to get hit, so he barely ever got hit.

 

[LeafOfFaith]

There was definitely a no touching Gretz rule.

Don’t pretend.

 

[MindzEye]

There was no rule. There is a generation of players upset about not being able to catch him enough to slow him down, and the hockey media of the era upset that a pansy like Gretzky dominated, that's it.

 

[LeafGm]

There was definitely a no touching Gretz rule.

Don’t pretend.

Nahh. You even see something similar with a guy like Marner. Tiny guy and not the fastest skater, but how often does he get rocked out there?

 

[CH1]

cute that you're denying there's a "don't hit the Mitch" league wide understanding

 

[zeke]

2-year Scoring Paces, Regular Season + Playoffs

 

[leafman101]

Gretz didn't get hit because he was smarter and better than everyone and he grew up as the smallest kid trying not to get killed.

guys like Mario and Lindros were bigger and faster than everyone their whole life and no one could touch them. Played more reckless and it’s probably hurt them when they got to the NHL.

 

[thehabhater]

Here is that actual Gretzky rule, for those who doubt it..

 

[MindzEye]

There was no penalty on that hit.

 

[MindzEye]

Here's the penalty summary for that game



Boschman was holding Gretzky and got called for it. Gretzky got caught with his head down and probably concussed, no call because it was the early 80's and that was just hockey back then.

"Gretzky Rule"

 

[manny]

Mario and Wayne had pretty much identical career PPG but Mario missed the heyday of the early 80s scoring and had to play through the slog of the late 90s.

Actually Gretzky played more games in that era. Lemieux played 220 games between the 1996-97 season and the lockout. Gretzky played 234.

 

[axlsalinger]

i know it's sexy and contrarian to diminish what Gretzky accomplished...but don't be that hipster doofus

This.

The way I see it, looking at the numbers plus talent, there's no way anybody but Wayne Gretzky is #1. And thinking about numbers plus impact on the game, nobody but Bobby Orr can be #2.

As much as I'd like to put Howe next, Mario Lemieux's talent level is top 2, so there's no way to let him slip past #3.

 

[MindzEye]

Yeah, Wayne is 1. I go back and forth on Bobby & Mario. 2A & 2B. Gordie 4.

After those 4 is where it becomes an interesting conversation imo. Rocket, Sid, Lidstrom, Bourque, Beliveau, etc, etc. The bottom of a top 10 list conversation is more interesting than the top half.

 

[WellPlayed]

But not Gretzky. Gretzky did about as much off season training (a mixture of on ice and playing other sports) as anyone from that era.

It's a bit annoying too when people talk about Gretz like he was just a nerd who was good at hockey who wouldn't be able to keep up with the bigger, strong, "athletes" of today.

The guy was an athlete. I mean, as much as this 60m dash video has become a bit of an internet joke:



There's also this:

https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scen...s-raw-speed-against-the-worlds-best-athletes/

His time of 7.24 seconds for 60m in 1982 would have been faster than the men’s 60m national records of Mexico, New Zealand and Kenya.

 

[JackBurton]

Great athlete no doubt. But horrible actor:

 

[leafman101]

Gretz and Mario's production is insane.

Crosby has had a hell of a career, and is like 25 points off their yearly adjusted pace. McDavid is in the middle of his prime, hasn't played any post prime years yet, and he's still 10 points off their paces.

 

[MindzEye]

It's a bit annoying too when people talk about Gretz like he was just a nerd who was good at hockey who wouldn't be able to keep up with the bigger, strong, "athletes" of today.

The guy was an athlete. I mean, as much as this 60m dash video has become a bit of an internet joke:



There's also this:

https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scen...s-raw-speed-against-the-worlds-best-athletes/

Gretzky was the first guy to really take a fat shit on the idea that great hockey players had to be tough. Other greats who just weren't psychos (Beliveau, etc) weren't considered soft. They were "gentlemen" who could take your head off and chose not to.

Gretz was better than all of them while being built like a 13 yr old dutch girl and it drove the old school types nuts. Thus the creation of myths like the Gretzky rule.

 

[WellPlayed]

Crosby seemed to be hitting another level that year he first got the neck injury that they couldn't figure out for like 3 years. He was on a ridiculous like 70+ goal 140+ point pace or something like that (he came back for a few games which I believe brought his pace down).

He never got back to that level, and those were his 24-26y/o season - prime time for a forward. I really feel like we got robbed of his best.

 

[thehabhater]

It's a bit annoying too when people talk about Gretz like he was just a nerd who was good at hockey who wouldn't be able to keep up with the bigger, strong, "athletes" of today.

The guy was an athlete. I mean, as much as this 60m dash video has become a bit of an internet joke:



There's also this:

https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scen...s-raw-speed-against-the-worlds-best-athletes/

I know people who went to school with Gretzky at West Humber.

He was an amazing athlete.

He was crazy good at baseball too.

 

[Artnes]

Amazing athlete and years beyond most in his ability to mentally process the game in real time.