[Article] Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr...henrik Sedin

[nwo]

yup

[nwo]

Please stop, to whoever is comparing the Sedins to Gretzky. They are not even close to reaching his greatness, not even Crosby before his concussion came close and Ovechkin 65 goal season didnt compare well to Gretzky's best either.

[Zamboni_14]

wait... if neither of them are the best from their country, how can they be compared to the best EVER in the NHL?

[RO8!!]

Exactly. The Sedins aren't even close to Ovechkin and Crosby, and people compare them to Gretzky

[etsen3]

Good post by the OP, but I can't believe the people below him who are saying Hank is as good a playmaker as Gretzky. Yes, the 80's were higher scoring that the current era, and I'm sure the Sedins would have put up a ton of points in the 80's and would probably be Hall of Famers. But as good as The Great One?

When Gretz put up his career high for assists in 85/86 with 163, he had a full 70 assists more than the next closest player, Mario Lemieux. In the mid 80's, there were roughly 7.5 goals scored per game. Now there are roughly 5.5, which is about 25% less. If Henrik were playing in 85-86, he would still have to nearly double his career high total for assists in a season. Like I said, I admit that if the Sedins played in the 80's they would probably be known as all time greats today. But Gretzky himself was just on a whole other level. There's a reason he had more assists in his career than the 2nd all time leading scorer had points.

[Starting Schneids]

Great post, and glad to see some unique ideas/thoughts during the off season finally.

[Master Mind]

Exactly. The Sedins aren't even close to Ovechkin and Crosby, and people compare them to Gretzky

[Master Mind]

Thanks for sharing OP! I had no idea Henrik was in such rare territory. I've thought for years that the league should have an award for most assists, and it's pretty pathetic that there isn't one.

Congrats Henrik! We will one day create an Assist award and it shall be named after you!

[Xbox]

Henrik is just as good a playmaker as Gretzky. We are extremely lucky to have him on our team.

[etsen3]

Gretzky would likely be an 80-100 point guy if he was in the NHL now.

[bure's triple deke]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can believe Henrik Sedin is even the greatest playmaker in recent history. Joe Thornton has had four 90-point+ seasons while Henrik Sedin has only had two, and his career high of 92 assists and 114 points in 2006-07 has not been surpassed by Henrik. In fact, in the 2005-06 season, he split 96 assists and 125 points between the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. Henrik's 83-assist season in 2009-10 doesn't come very close to matching it. Some would argue Thornton's peak was higher than Henrik's.

Henrik is a valuable playmaker, but this league has recently seen an arguably greater run of playmaking performances in Joe Thornton. Between 2003 and 2007, Thornton was a very dominant player in the NHL. He even turned Jonathan Cheechoo into a 56-goal scorer.

[Sugar baby watermelon]

I'd still take Henrik over Jumbo Joe any day of the week, it's the homer in me, by far the better captain, the classier guy, and he doesn't resort to sticking his stink finger in someones face while talking to the referee. (Even though it was dumb it was funny to watch)

[sedinaliens2233]

Eye roll...

[Buddhas Hand]

Good post by the OP, but I can't believe the people below him who are saying Hank is as good a playmaker as Gretzky. Yes, the 80's were higher scoring that the current era, and I'm sure the Sedins would have put up a ton of points in the 80's and would probably be Hall of Famers. But as good as The Great One?

When Gretz put up his career high for assists in 85/86 with 163, he had a full 70 assists more than the next closest player, Mario Lemieux. In the mid 80's, there were roughly 7.5 goals scored per game. Now there are roughly 5.5, which is about 25% less. If Henrik were playing in 85-86, he would still have to nearly double his career high total for assists in a season. Like I said, I admit that if the Sedins played in the 80's they would probably be known as all time greats today. But Gretzky himself was just on a whole other level. There's a reason he had more assists in his career than the 2nd all time leading scorer had points.

[Burnsey]

I knew Henrik got a lot of Assits but didn't realise he led the league for consecutive years. Surprise I didn't see a topic on it tbh. Very good read

[-AJ-]

Gretzky would likely be an 80-100 point guy if he was in the NHL now.

[needtogetswole]

I've calculated it before. Statistically he turns out to be about 150 points at his peak in today's offense levels.

[sedated]

Henrik and Thornton are both kind of junk in the playoffs.

Assists don't really matter to me because of second assists. IF you took those out, then to me, they'd be more important. Honestly, there's been times where I've seen Raymond and Kesler play SO BAD during the year and they get points directly from second assists, and people seem to give them some slack for it.

Another guilty part is our D. Most of the time Edler and Bieksa mooch points like mad from assists on the PP.

Edler can't create plays worth crap on his own, nor can Bieksa. Ehrhoff was at least a decent passer, but Edler and Bieksa have made a living off of passing to Henrik on the boards and letting him do they heavy lifting.

Kesler's stats would honestly take a nose dive, as would Raymond's I think.

[bd71]

Gretzky's point totals in the heart of the dead puck era as a 36-39 year old are 102, 97, 90 and 68 in his last year.

Henrik is great but he's not head and shoulders above anyone in he league. He is on a great run but it's debatable that he is even a Hall of Famer.

I get that the OP wasn't comparing the two and you can't. Gretzky dominated the league for more than a dozen years. Henrik hasn't dominated anything.

And the playoff stats are telling. Gretzky never let up in the playoffs while Henrik's stats are 11% lower. Gretzky averaged 1.92 points per game in the regular season and 1.87 in the playoffs. Hardly a drop off at all.

[uber_pwnzor]

exactly... the game is exactly the same now as it was back then and we can directly compare the two by numbers alone. plus Gretzky is a mystical hockey player, didn't really exist. anyone who compares any other player to Gretzky needs to realize that he wasn't human and no one will ever be as good as him.

Please note sarcasm.

if you bring Gretzky in his prime to the modern NHL i guarantee you he would have way lower point totals. and on the Flip side... if you put the sedins into the era Gretzky played in the Sedins numbers would be HUGE.