NHL Hockey Trivia Discussion Thread

[Elias Pettersson]

 

[Elias Pettersson]

I'm taking Montreal...

[Diamonds]

4 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

I'm taking Montreal...

Ya, that one is a little too easy. Montreal's line-up has 4 generational or superstar level players in Richard, Beliveau, Lafleur, and Plante plus 2 franchise players in Robinson and Savard. The Toronto players are good, but don't really compare. Plus you can also sub Savard for Doug Harvey...

[Alflives]

I’m taking the Habs too but it’s for the biggest bustaroos at the draft! 

[Elias Pettersson]

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Haha, Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Coffey, Bourque and Roy.  Are you kidding me?  That is probably the greatest lineup in NHL history, well if you substitute Bourque with Orr.

 

Gonna take the lineup with the Great One.  And I think they would win the playoff series in a 4 game sweep...

 

Logically, this is how I would break it down:

 

Gretzky > McDavid

Lemieux > Crosby

Jagr > Ovechkin

Coffey > Pronger

Bourque > Lidstrom

Roy > Brodeur

 

When you break it down player for player it is totally lopsided for the team with the Great One...

Edited September 11, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[Elias Pettersson]

 

[IBatch]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:04 PM, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Habs all the way.   Not surprised they went with Plante, they could have also gone with Roy, Dryden or maybe even Price.   No team has had such a rich goaltending history as MTL has had.    For forward lines, that's also crazy good.  Beliveau.   

 

Beliveau is arguably the best forward of the group.   MTL bought the senior league, just so they could acquire his contract at the start of his career.    He's those days version of Crosby, Mr consistent.    Always in the conversation for the best player on the planet.   And that spanned through 3 decades.     Not only is he considered the best leader the sports ever had, he also could play at an elite level right until retirement

 

  Was going to announce his retirement, but the Habs begged him to come back.   Already part of two dynasties, the Habs 50's and 60's ones... at the time the Habs weren't expected to make the playoffs.   Eventually he relented and came back for one more year, as a mentor more than anything. 

 

At the time Esposito was shattering records, and Orr was even better.   And the Bruins boasted the most 20 goal scorers in league history.   They were a powerhouse at the peak of their primes.  The Habs didn't feel they had a chance, threw in their rookie goalie Dryden to gain some experience and to see what he could do.    The rest is history, Boston was denied a dynasty,  and Beliveau was a huge part of that.   The guys on the Boston team were pretty upset over Dryden, calling him a "Giraffe", but gushed over Beliveau, and how good he still was (the guys used to shadow him just couldn't do it).  His final season, talk about going out on top. 

 

Didn't get to see him play, but sure enjoy reading about him.    

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by IBatch

[Kevin Biestra]

42 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

 

Is that 2x Canucks season MVP Cesare Maniago?

[Kevin Biestra]

5 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Habs all the way.   Not surprised they went with Plante, they could have also gone with Roy, Dryden or maybe even Price.   No team has had such a rich goaltending history as MTL has had.    For forward lines, that's also crazy good.  Beliveau.   

 

Beliveau is arguably the best forward of the group.   MTL bought the senior league, just so they could acquire his contract at the start of his career.    He's those days version of Crosby, Mr consistent.    Always in the conversation for the best player on the planet.   And that spanned through 3 decades.     Not only is he considered the best leader the sports ever had, he also could play at an elite level right until retirement

 

  Was going to announce his retirement, but the Habs begged him to come back.   Already part of two dynasties, the Habs 50's and 60's ones... at the time the Habs weren't expected to make the playoffs.   Eventually he relented and came back for one more year, as a mentor more than anything. 

 

At the time Esposito was shattering records, and Orr was even better.   And the Bruins boasted the most 20 goal scorers in league history.   They were a powerhouse at the peak of their primes.  The Habs didn't feel they had a chance, threw in their rookie goalie Dryden to gain some experience and to see what he could do.    The rest is history, Boston was denied a dynasty,  and Beliveau was a huge part of that.   The guys on the Boston team were pretty upset over Dryden, calling him a "Giraffe", but gushed over Beliveau, and how good he still was (the guys used to shadow him just couldn't do it).  His final season, talk about going out on top. 

 

Didn't get to see him play, but sure enjoy reading about him.   

 

Canadiens have legends in net going all the way back to the inception of the NHL and the invention of masks.

 

Honestly it's the complete opposite of the goalie graveyard when guys like Rick Wamsley and Denis Herron and Michel Larocque don't even get on the radar.  They would probably be around our fifth best ever.  Never mind Charlie Hodge who we did have for a season.  He'd probably be in the ROH if he'd done in Vancouver what he did in Montreal.  In Montreal...Charlie who?

[IBatch]

49 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Haha, Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr, Coffey, Bourque and Roy.  Are you kidding me?  That is probably the greatest lineup in NHL history, well if you substitute Bourque with Orr.

 

Gonna take the lineup with the Great One.  And I think they would win the playoff series in a 4 game sweep...

 

Logically, this is how I would break it down:

 

Gretzky > McDavid

Lemieux > Crosby

Jagr > Ovechkin

Coffey > Pronger

Bourque > Lidstrom

Roy > Brodeur

 

When you break it down player for player it is totally lopsided for the team with the Great One...

It's not really even fair.   Which goes to show how great that lineup is.   Agree it might be the greatest lineup you could make aside from just removing one of Coffey or Borque for Orr.    Sick.   

 

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

Canadiens have legends in net going all the way back to the inception of the NHL and the invention of masks.

 

Honestly it's the complete opposite of the goalie graveyard when guys like Rick Wamsley and Denis Herron and Michel Larocque don't even get on the radar.  They would probably be around our fifth best ever.  Never mind Charlie Hodge who we did have for a season.  He'd probably be in the ROH if he'd done in Vancouver what he did in Montreal.  In Montreal...Charlie who?

Would strongly recommend, for any hockey fans, if you get the chance go to MTL and enjoy their food and cheer, in the winter and go have a look at their arena.    It would take a couple games of intermission's, just to read about their legends who they've got plaques around the upper bowl.   Their site lines aren't great because it's too big,  so make sure you get red tickets.   And spend some time looking at their statues,  and if you want bring your skates and enjoy a skate before the show. 

 

  Was considering bringing up some of their earlier guys, some who even today are in the top 30 all-time Hockey News rankings.   Thanks to the 1999 lists and whom they used back then to do them.   Plante and Roy on their own are both in their top four all-time.   With a debate with both, of why they could or should be considered number one (Sawchuk gets that honour and likely will forever, they have a rule, that the 1999 list is set in stone, any player that was already retired can't move up the list).    Hasek was number six, Dryden number 7.   Broduer retired and moved way up to number 3.    Hall ranked 5.   Makes sense given he was the original butterfly goalie which gets missed, and his stats were pretty sick. 

 

As an aside, Lidstrom was barely even on their radar at the time for  D's, but recentcy bias and a writer who never saw any great defensemen but him play, ranked him ahead of Orr,  pushing him all the way up to number 3 after he retired.  Yikes.   Not sure why folks can't defer to their elders.  I'm a sponge and asked about guys from mine all the time from family members, and friends parents.   

 

At least the list in 1999 wasn't completely ruined by that and Harvey still gets the number two spot, but guys like Borque, Potvin, Coffey and Robinson were done dirty.  Same with Al Mac, even guys like Kevin Stevens, who changed style to fit a team dynamic, he's said he left a lot of points on the table to please Lemaire and make it work for the team and believe him.   Yzerman did too for Bowman. 

 

Lidstrom at 17th for PPG, just behind Suter.   To me he did everything well, but nothing elite.  He wasn't an Orr, Coffey, Al Mac, Housley, Leetch, Potvin, Murphy etc etc etc on the offensive side of things.   And he certainly wasn't a Robinson, Langway, Steven's either.  Or Borque.      Borque could crush you .. 230lbs when he retired all muscle.   Or Pronger. 

 

 

Coffey was one tough player as well.   So was Orr.   As was Chelios.  Salming, Park (who mentored Borque).    It took a lockout and rule changes for a 35 year old Lidstrom to get a PPG season with 80 in 80.   A 37 year old Zubov also got 71.   The 2000's, IMO, was the worst decade talent wise, after the old guard retired, i've ever seen.   It was simply bad.   Crosby and Ovi helped for sure.  And it was looking up near the end of the 2000's.    Jagr after the lockout, almost beat Thornton for the Art Ross, and  the Richard trophy Cheechoo got three more goals lol.   Left soon after.   

 

Alfie, Sundin, Selanne, Sakic were all long in the tooth.    Past their "primes" like Lidstrom.   It was something to behold anyways.   

 

It's sure nice to see things finally catching up skill wise.   Know i say this a lot.   It's a pet peeve of mine.   It's too easy to compare era's.  If stars in their 20's can't keep up to guys in their 30's that's all you need to say.  37 year old   Shanny is another guy.  These guys loved the post lockout era.   Made up a little bit, for losing 1.5 years to lockouts on their all-time stat sheet a little.   Jagr would have 2100 points easy if he didn't go the KHL, or lose those seasons.   And 75 goals just from the lockouts is reasonable.  Plus another 60-90 from the KHL.   In other words, Ovi likely is chasing Jagr if things went differently.    Ovi still has less  EV goals right now then Jagr.   And long ways behind Gretzky's even strength and shorties combined. 

 

 

Bobby Hull gets penalized in this regard too, going to the WHA.

 

Jagr had longevity too.  But his peak was also every bit as good as McDavids so far.   And better than Ovi's and Crosby's. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by IBatch

[Elias Pettersson]

4 hours ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

Is that 2x Canucks season MVP Cesare Maniago?

Close. 
 

Gary Bauman (who started the first North Stars game in their history in '67). He played his first NHL game (of a 35 game career) with the Habs the previous season.