EdgarM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 46 minutes ago, IBatch said: What? Guess you never watched them play. Speed isn't everything and it's not like they didn't play against that just ask Mike Gartner. Howe also would have put most current athletes to shame with his physique. I don't understand why people think that the athletes today are in a different plane of existence compared to those of the past. The seventies and eighties were the hey day of weigh training and nobody could say Orr wasn't built like a truck because he was. Same goes with Shore. And of course Howe who was once tested and was higher than anyone except the world's best boxer at the time. These guys would do just fine in any era. If Jagr can still compete at 44 imagine what he was like in his prime playing along side Lemieux. It was magical to watch and they would still be dominate in this day and age. The only other team I cheered fro back then was the Lemieux led Pittsburgh Penguins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgarM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 3 minutes ago, Salacious Crumb said: It's embarrassing how many retired numbers we have for no cups. 10 & 11 that's it. Linden and Bure should be the only ones. Smyl was not dominant and he was a good player but not a great player. Naslund is similar to the Sedins in that he produced a lot of points but faultered come playoff time. Bure was a "one of a kind" and Linden was the greatest Captain who lead his team to a game 7 of the SC in 94. The key word being that he "lead" the team. It appears the retirement of numbers is more of a "popularity contest" then a great honor to those really deserving of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 IF Linden belongs up there so does Smyl. One of a very few to lead his team in goals assists and PIMs. Backed down for no one. 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 31 47 78 204 4 0 2 2 14 1980–81 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 25 38 63 171 3 1 2 3 0 1981–82 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 34 44 78 144 17 9 9 18 25 1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 74 38 50 88 114 4 3 2 5 12 1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 24 43 67 136 4 2 1 3 4 1984–85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 27 37 64 100 — — — — — 1985–86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 73 27 35 62 144 — — — — — 1986–87 Vancouver Canucks NHL 66 20 23 43 84 — — — — — 1987–88 Vancouver Canucks NHL 57 12 25 37 110 — — — — — 1988–89 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 7 18 25 102 7 0 0 0 9 1989–90 Vancouver Canucks NHL 47 1 15 16 71 — — — — — 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 45 2 12 14 87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgarM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 9 minutes ago, gurn said: IF Linden belongs up there so does Smyl. One of a very few to lead his team in goals assists and PIMs. Backed down for no one. 1979–80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 31 47 78 204 4 0 2 2 14 1980–81 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 25 38 63 171 3 1 2 3 0 1981–82 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 34 44 78 144 17 9 9 18 25 1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 74 38 50 88 114 4 3 2 5 12 1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 24 43 67 136 4 2 1 3 4 1984–85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 80 27 37 64 100 — — — — — 1985–86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 73 27 35 62 144 — — — — — 1986–87 Vancouver Canucks NHL 66 20 23 43 84 — — — — — 1987–88 Vancouver Canucks NHL 57 12 25 37 110 — — — — — 1988–89 Vancouver Canucks NHL 75 7 18 25 102 7 0 0 0 9 1989–90 Vancouver Canucks NHL 47 1 15 16 71 — — — — — 1990–91 Vancouver Canucks NHL 45 2 12 14 87 I remember Tanti and Gradin being the big point getters back then and I think they were swept 4-0 in the finals in 81' if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 22 minutes ago, EdgarM said: I remember Tanti and Gradin being the big point getters back then and I think they were swept 4-0 in the finals in 81' if I remember correctly. Yes, they were swept in 4, by a team that had Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, Billy Smith and a very good supporting cast Gillies, Goring a pair of Sutters, and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgarM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 11 minutes ago, gurn said: Yes, they were swept in 4, by a team that had Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, Billy Smith and a very good supporting cast Gillies, Goring a pair of Sutters, and more. And Linden went to war with another NY team that was the "best money could buy" lead by the great Mark Messier and Leetch, Richter, Kovalev, Zubov, Mactavish, Graves etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 40 minutes ago, EdgarM said: I remember Tanti and Gradin being the big point getters back then and I think they were swept 4-0 in the finals in 81' if I remember correctly. I thought Tanti came along a couple years after the Cup finals. Could be wrong though that was a while ago!! 40 minutes ago, EdgarM said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgarM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 3 minutes ago, Westcoasting said: I thought Tanti came along a couple years after the Cup finals. Could be wrong though that was a while ago!! I was talking about the time period that Smyl was Captain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoasting Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 5 minutes ago, EdgarM said: I was talking about the time period that Smyl was Captain. ahh the dark days era! Sorry i thought you were talking about SC finals. Yeah Tanti was such a good goal scorer then when we had not much else in those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Spector Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 18 hours ago, terrible.dee said: Mario and Bobby would have been just fine Gretzky would have changed the game to suit him if he arrived in the NHL today, after one week we would be hearing all the talking heads say "Size and speed are over-rated!" Bo, Hansen and Stetch would have been destroyed, and if you put those 6 on the ice tomorrow, my money is still on Bobby, Gretz and Mario. the thing about guys like that is that they even if they are over-matched physically, they refuse to lose, they will find a way to get it done, all three had legendary skill but there is more to them than that, they think like champions. But there would be a couple of small problems if those three arrived in the NHL today. -Orr would have been benched after his first rush down the ice that resulted in an odd-man chance the other way. He would probably be sent down to work on his "Defensive positioning" and labeled selfish, They would say "He needs to use his teammates better and move the puck without giving up position to the other team" Mario would have been Yakopov 2.0 He would have been labeled "selfish" and "lazy" they would say "He needs to learn to use his size to separate the opposition from the puck instead of waiting for his teammates to do it for him" Mario would have been put on the 4th line to ensure he accepted his defensive responsibilities and was willing to "play big" Only "Dirty goals" in front would be considered acceptable. Gretzky would never be brought up. no matter how much he scored in the AHL (300 pts?) the NHL coaches and GM's would say that "He needs to add size and work on his skating" He would be told that "because he lacks the physical tools of an NHL player he must prove he can play bigger than he size would suggest" and thus they would try and make him into a grinding face-off specialist. So there you go, in today's game Orr is Benched, Mario is on the 4th line and Gretz never sees NHL ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Spector Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 2 hours ago, IBatch said: What? Guess you never watched them play. Speed isn't everything and it's not like they didn't play against that just ask Mike Gartner. Howe also would have put most current athletes to shame with his physique. I don't understand why people think that the athletes today are in a different plane of existence compared to those of the past. The seventies and eighties were the hey day of weigh training and nobody could say Orr wasn't built like a truck because he was. Same goes with Shore. And of course Howe who was once tested and was higher than anyone except the world's best boxer at the time. These guys would do just fine in any era. Agreed 100%. People who say Gretzky couldn't play in today's game never watched him play. I can guarantee that. Speed was never his game although he was fast enough to do his thing. His speed was actually underrated. But his vision on the ice was legendary and he knew where other players were gonna be before they even knew themselves. Gretzky would still be getting 90+ assists every year even in today's game. What people don't realize is Gretzky was getting 200 points when hall of famers and players on that top 100 list were getting 100 points in the same era. That is almost unbelievable to think about really. Also, back then nobody even worked out. If Gretzky was playing today he obviously would be going to the gym like everyone else, he'd have the same equipment as everyone else, he'd have the same diet as everyone else. He'd easily get 120+ points in today's game and be the best player in the NHL. He'd be a high level version of Henrik Sedin. It's not like Sedin is a great skater either and he managed to win the Hart trophy. Gretzky would be like Henrik on drugs. I have no doubt he would have translated his game very well to today's game and be the best player in the NHL today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABNuck Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 5 pages in and NO ONE as of yet has asked the obvious question about the top 100. We can argue all day about 99 of the players on the list, and maybe the 50 to a 100 who didn't make it. But Chris Pronger? Doesn't even make my top 500. Jannik Hansen is on the list before Chris Pronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Spector Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, EdgarM said: If Jagr can still compete at 44 imagine what he was like in his prime playing along side Lemieux. It was magical to watch and they would still be dominate in this day and age. The only other team I cheered fro back then was the Lemieux led Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes and in 1993-1994 Gretzky still led the NHL in scoring, ahead of Jagr, Fedorov and Bure who were all in their 20"s while Gretzky was 33. Think about that. Jagr was beasting back then and Gretzky at 33 was still on top. Even in 1997-1998 at age 37 and one year before his retirement Gretzky still finished 3rd in scoring tied with Bure and only 12 points back of Jagr. Gretzky was a phenomenon. We will never see a player like him again, ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCammer Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 On 1/27/2017 at 11:14 PM, Harvey Spector said: His number is the ONLY one that should be in the rafters... Until the Sedins retire... Strongly disagree and it begs the question of when you started following the team or how much hockey you have played. Being in the rafters isn't just about stats. It's about being the Greatest Canuck or the greatest representative of your franchise. No one symbolizes the Canucks better than Linden or Smyl. Work ethic, perseverance, determination, leadership and talent all play a part in deciding why someone deserves to have their number retired or placed in the Ring of Honour. In my opinion the Canucks have the right people in the rafters and have recognized others with the ring of Honour that are the Greatest Canucks. The Sedins are next and Luongo deserves some strong condsideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 18 minutes ago, Harvey Spector said: Agreed 100%. People who say Gretzky couldn't play in today's game never watched him play. I can guarantee that. Speed was never his game although he was fast enough to do his thing. His speed was actually underrated. But his vision on the ice was legendary and he knew where other players were gonna be before they even knew themselves. Gretzky would still be getting 90+ assists every year even in today's game. What people don't realize is Gretzky was getting 200 points when hall of famers and players on that top 100 list were getting 100 points in the same era. That is almost unbelievable to think about really. Also, back then nobody even worked out. If Gretzky was playing today he obviously would be going to the gym like everyone else, he'd have the same equipment as everyone else, he'd have the same diet as everyone else. He'd easily get 120+ points in today's game and be the best player in the NHL. He'd be a high level version of Henrik Sedin. It's not like Sedin is a great skater either and he managed to win the Hart trophy. Gretzky would be like Henrik on drugs. I have no doubt he would have translated his game very well to today's game and be the best player in the NHL today. You bet. Also a lot of the eighties players did work out or train off ice as did the players in the nineties. Gretzky's book is a great insight into the past eras and his own. Those players were all tremendous athletes...Orr was a beast and Mario used his massive frame to get points with guys draped all over him (not to mention his huge wing span which he used to turn guys inside out and make sublime passes). Gretzky was considered a questionable talent when he entered the league some experts thought he would be destroyed given his slight frame. But he was an excellent skater not the fasted but next to impossible to hit (hitting him was like hitting mist Sather said in his book).. Gretzky won the Hart eight times in a row and put up incredible stats right through the start of the dead puck era and was an All Star almost every season he played. Scored one more goal than all of Howes NHL and WHA regular season and playoffs combined. He would be like Henrik in his prime on steroids and if you put Megna on his line he would score 50goals and half of them would bounce of his stick into the net. Some of Gretzky's highlights would be the highlights of the century. Like taking a face off in the oppositions zone and instead of drawing it back taking a snapshot top corner through the centers legs and two defenders ( my favorite goal from an old from an old VHS called 50 greatest goals of all time). Bure is the only other player I remember being as exciting to watch. His passing ability was beyond anything this game has ever seen and he had the smarts and skating to make it work today or in any era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 minute ago, TheCammer said: Strongly disagree and it begs the question of when you started following the team or how much hockey you have played. Being in the rafters isn't just about stats. It's about being the Greatest Canuck or the greatest representative of your franchise. No one symbolizes the Canucks better than Linden or Smyl. Work ethic, perseverance, determination, leadership and talent all play a part in deciding why someone deserves to have their number retired or placed in the Ring of Honour. In my opinion the Canucks have the right people in the rafters and have recognized others with the ring of Honour that are the Greatest Canucks. The Sedins are next and Luongo deserves some strong condsideration. Gotta disagree. The ring of honour should be for those who displayed qualities off the ice, while being strong players on the ice too. The sweater being retired should be for only the great players. We have Bure and the Twins as worthy, by their play, for that honour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 4 hours ago, Westcoasting said: ahh the dark days era! Sorry i thought you were talking about SC finals. Yeah Tanti was such a good goal scorer then when we had not much else in those years. We had ANOTHER twin combo back in those days (well...actually only one of two - but we got the better twin ) feeding Tanti those goals - Patrik Sundstrom. To be fair - and not to take anything from Tanti - craploads of players were scoring tons of goals in those days (ie., Mr 50 goals a season Vaive for the Laffs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 minute ago, NewbieCanuckFan said: We had ANOTHER twin combo back in those days (well...actually only one of two - but we got the better twin ) feeding Tanti those goals - Patrik Sundstrom. To be fair - and not to take anything from Tanti - craploads of players were scoring tons of goals in those days (ie., Mr 50 goals a season Vaive for the Laffs). We gave up Kurt Fraser to get Tanti. Alf never could like Tanti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurn Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Patrik Sundstrom. A fine center, who imo gets overlooked by many on their "best Canucks" lists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 18 minutes ago, Alflives said: We gave up Kurt Fraser to get Tanti. Alf never could like Tanti. Tough act to follow...."one punch KO of Laff player Dave Farrish on HNIC!": Pound for pound...one of the best fighters to wear a Canuck uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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