Wow! This is kinda like asking everyone who their favorite musician is, or what their favorite song is, but for me personally, at age 60 and being a native of Detroit, there can be no doubt. In his youth, my eldest son (now 34) admired and wanted to emulate Steve Yzerman, but Yzerman and I, and a veritable legion of others across North America were raised in awe of the incomparable Gordie Howe. And frankly, given his own incredible performance over the years, one could almost include Stevie Y's name in this same discussion. However, as an aging, opinionated old man, I find little comparisons to be drawn between Gretsky or Lemieux, and the likes of a Gordie Howe, and that's not to say that I don't respect and deeply admire the skills of those first two gentlemen. Yes, they were natural goal-scorers and record-breakers, but Gordie was more than that - Gordie was an 'old school' (full-service) hockey player. For me, trying to compare or "rank" them, is like trying to compare Pavel Bure with Brendan Shanahan or Steven Stamkos with Peter Forsberg. Its a complete disconnect - there's no meaningful comparisons to be made.