Top 10 all time forwards [Archive] - Hockey Station Forums

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J0e Th0rnton

12-19-07, 11:19 PM

AtLossForWords

12-20-07, 3:09 AM

These are always hard lists to make.

Wayne Gretzky
Maurice Richard
Mario Lemieux

Bobby Hull
Jean Beliveau
Brett Hull

Guy Lafleur
Pavel Bure
Steve Yzerman
Joe Thornton

J0e Th0rnton

12-20-07, 9:50 AM

These are always hard lists to make.

Wayne Gretzky
Maurice Richard
Mario Lemieux

Bobby Hull
Jean Beliveau
Brett Hull

Guy Lafleur
Pavel Bure
Steve Yzerman
Joe Thornton
I'm literally in shock that joe Thornton made any type of all time list:laughing:

What the heck??????? No gordie Howe?????

gordphish

12-20-07, 4:45 PM

1. Gretzky

All by himself, no comparison

2. Lemieux
3. Beliveau
4. Howe
5. Messier
6. Morenz
7. Richard
8. Yzerman
9. Clarke
10. Sakic

Matt Cooke

12-20-07, 8:54 PM

No Particular Order...

Lemieux
Lefleur
Bossy
Richard
Yzerman
Sakic
Gretzky
Messier
Esposito
Howe

AtLossForWords

12-20-07, 9:00 PM

I'm literally in shock that joe Thornton made any type of all time list:laughing:

What the heck??????? No gordie Howe?????

I like to add a little bit of a modern twist. I think you'll see Joe Thornton stack right up at the top when it comes to all time points and assists statistics. I think that if a guy like Lidstrom can qualify for a top all time defender or Brodeur and Hasek can qualify for top goaltenders, then Joe Thornton should qualify for top forwards.

What does Thornton have to his credit already two Art Ross trophies , a Hart, and a Pearson. Those are serious accomplishments in such a long career.

No Gordie Howe? I don't want to say he shouldn't be up there, but I just hate it when the list gets filled with '60s and '70s players. Howe was the odd man out.

J0e Th0rnton

12-20-07, 10:07 PM

I like to add a little bit of a modern twist. I think you'll see Joe Thornton stack right up at the top when it comes to all time points and assists statistics. I think that if a guy like Lidstrom can qualify for a top all time defender or Brodeur and Hasek can qualify for top goaltenders, then Joe Thornton should qualify for top forwards.

What does Thornton have to his credit already two Art Ross trophies , a Hart, and a Pearson. Those are serious accomplishments in such a long career.

No Gordie Howe? I don't want to say he shouldn't be up there, but I just hate it when the list gets filled with '60s and '70s players. Howe was the odd man out.
Its just hard for me to accept since Howe is up there with Gretzky and Lemieux as all time forwards.
His scoring achievements in the 50's were remarkable. Scoring 49 goals and 95 points in 52-53 in 70 games would be like scoring 70 goals and 165 points in the 80's. It was a tighter checking defensive Era than the late 90's trap, and Defense did not join the rushes back then. That's why Gordie was so remarkable. Nobody scored like that back then. He was winning scoring titles by 30% greater point differences than the runner ups.
His stats don't look good by modern standards, but they were sick. Add his physicality, toughness, great playoff scoring and incredible longevity and you have a sick sick player.
Think Eric Lindros, except never getting hurt ever and scoring more.

Even when Richard and Hull were playing alongside him, he was already regarded as the best ever until Orr and Gretzky came along.

P.S Thornton only has 1 Art Ross and 1 hart, zero Pearson awards.

Its a little different than Hasek, who has 6 Vezina's and 2 Harts and Pearsons while playing for a bad team.:coffee:

AtLossForWords

12-21-07, 4:29 PM

P.S Thornton only has 1 Art Ross and 1 hart, zero Pearson awards.

Big whoops on my part here. I should've remembered Jagr stole that Pearson from him. I could've sworn Thornton won an Art Ross in Boston, but the numbers show I'm wrong.

KB in Kelowna

12-21-07, 9:46 PM

Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe, Richard, Hull, Bossy, Sakic, Beliveau, Savard, Bure.
Some are obvious, some had periods of sheer briallance and merit consideration, although I concede there are others for whom much stronger arguements can be made.

AtLossForWords

12-22-07, 1:55 AM

J0e Th0rnton

12-22-07, 11:21 AM

I'm suprised at how no one is really taking Brett Hull into consideration.

This guy scored over seventy goals three times and notched 86 as really the only serious threat to Wayne Gretzky's single season goal scoring record. As a pure goal scorer, Brett Hull is your guy, and there ought to be a place for a guy like that on a forwards list.
Brett Hull to me, was a cherry picker. I have the same problem with Bure. A guy who basically sits around the blueline waiting for the outlet pass for a breakway, not attempting to play defensively in the slightest.
Brett Hull also leeched a bit off Oates.
Not to say he wasn't amazing. He just wasn't his father. His goal scoring became less noticeable the second Oates departed for Boston. Still great mind you. 2x50+ goal seasons and a few 40+ goal seasons were still great. But without Oates, his 70-80 goal seasons were done for.

Oates turned others into gods, and actually scored at the same clip without Hull.
Vladimir Ruzicka, a total nobody on the Bruins Roster scored 23 goals in 25 games with Oates centering him at the end of the season where he left StLouis.
Joe Juneau scored 102 points his rookie year the year Oates scored 142, and the year before, when In contract dispute he played 14 games for Boston, sored 19 points and had a strong playoff with Oates and Neely.
He started asking for more money, and the Bruins traded him.
Outside of Boston, he averaged 30-40 points for the rest of his career^_^ , a journeyman who was traded around to teams like a pair of socks.

Neely, already a great goal scorer, managed to score 50 goals in 44 games with Oates. Imagine Neely with his legs still working at this point. he would be scoring 70-80 goals a season playing full seasons.

head_on

12-23-07, 1:08 PM

For me the number 1 forward in NHL history is Wayne Gretzky. He revolutionized the NHL he was like the Michael Jordan of hockey.

J0e Th0rnton

12-23-07, 11:23 PM

For me the number 1 forward in NHL history is Wayne Gretzky. He revolutionized the NHL he was like the Michael Jordan of hockey.
How do you figure he revolutionized the NHL? Gretzky set the bar sure and broke most major records, but he didn't revolutionize much that I can remember.
He perfected making plays from behind the net, but Bobby Clarke started him on that route.

The guy who revolutionized the NHL more than any other was Bobby Orr. Before him, Defensemen were never joining the play to any degree. If he had not pioneered the offensive Dman, scoring would not have picked up like it did in the 70's and 80's by any means, and Gretzky would never hit 200 points without Coffey's outlet passes and joining the play. Heck, the NHL may never have become so offensively minded.

charlio lemieux

12-24-07, 12:14 AM

Just the last 30 years..

1.Gretzky
2.Lemieux
3.Jagr

4-10 no partricular order
Bossy
Yzerman
Sakic
Bure
P. Stastny
Hawerchuk

igotregistered

2-21-08, 10:54 AM

Same as the defenseman thread, only for Forwards:)

Ill group them in where I think they are arguably interchangeable.

#1, 2 and 3
Mario Lemieux
Wayne Gretzky
Gordie Howe

#4, 5 and 6
Bobby Hull
Maurice Richard
Jean Beliveau

#7, 8, 9 and 10
Mike Bossy
Guy Lafleur
Mark Messier
Steve Yzerman/Joe Sakic/Phil Esposito(Equal)

Is this a "your" own all time top ten? If so, mine is completely different.

#1, 2 and 3
Gordie Howe
Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier

#4, 5 and 6
Bobby Hull
Eric Lindros
Joe Sakic

#7, 8, 9 and 10
Brian Trottier
Mike Bossy
Peter Forsberg
Jaromir Jagr

gordphish

2-21-08, 3:32 PM

Is this a "your" own all time top ten? If so, mine is completely different.

#1, 2 and 3
Gordie Howe
Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier

#4, 5 and 6
Bobby Hull
Eric Lindros
Joe Sakic

#7, 8, 9 and 10
Brian Trottier
Mike Bossy
Peter Forsberg
Jaromir Jagr

I'm sorry guy, but that list is just silly. Lindros? Good gawd. Even if you were just picking the top 10 from the last 30 years, Lindros doesn't make that list.

igotregistered

2-22-08, 1:21 PM

I'm sorry guy, but that list is just silly. Lindros? Good gawd. Even if you were just picking the top 10 from the last 30 years, Lindros doesn't make that list.

I don't know..... He singlehandedly re-created the word "Power Forward" and does anybody else have more dominating numbers than him in the same amount of games played?

Vanfan

2-24-08, 7:18 PM

AtLossForWords

2-25-08, 1:11 AM

My first post on Hockey Station:D

Doesn't anyone remember Marcel Dionne?
Over 700 goals most of them on a bad LA Kings team.

-Gretsky
-Lemieux
-Howe
-Dionne
-Esposito
-Lafleur
-The Hulls
-Perreault
-Bossy
-The Rocket

All of the above at some point in their careers dominated.Guys like messier Sakic and Yzerman while all great players never truly dominated like the players on the above list IMO.

Sakic and Yzerman not dominate? Didn't both of those guys lead a franchise which was heading far South into being a sure division winner for about a decade with a few skips in between with a couple Stanley Cups.

I don't know what a better indicator of a dominant player than taking a nothing franchise to the top in only a short time.

Vanfan

2-26-08, 1:59 AM

Yeah once Yzerman got help he was a great leader and player ,one of the best. Sakic is still a great player and almost single handedly got the Avs into the playoffs last year.
It' a tough call.I don't know who I'd bump from the list to put them on.
After I posted I thought about it and thought maybe Perrealt as I wouldn't really say he dominated but damn was he skilled and fun to watch!

List like these are tough because what are your parameters? Change the parameters slightly and my list probably changes'

Offensively gifted and exciting: add Pavel Bure immedietly

Great leader with grit, heart and determination: Stevie Y goes on.

You want stats: How can you leave Mike Gartner off the list with 708 goals?

So yeah lists like this are debateable

BTW: It took 14 years for Stevie to bring the cup to Detroit.A job well done but not exactly record time.

PS Beliveau was my childhood idol and should be on but he had such a great team......oh hell I changed my mind again put him on and remove Perreault ???