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Jaromir Jagr vs Eric Lindros vs Peter Forsberg


JagerMeister

  

12 members have voted

  1. 1. At their peak, which player was the best?

    • Jaromir Jagr
      5
    • Peter Forsberg
      4
    • Eric Lindros
      3


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At their peak, which player was the best?

 

 

Argument for Jagr

Outside of Lemieux and Gretzky, IMO he has been the most dominant player OFFENSIVELY in the last 20 years. He had the misfortune of peaking during a low scoring era, as did the other three. 5 art ross trophies, 3 lester b pearsons and one Hart trophy. Although it is important to note that he finished 2nd in hart voting FOUR times.

 

Argument for Forsberg

Oh boy, did he step his game up in the playoffs. He has the best playoff record out of the three. As well as being the most consistent out of the three.

Arguably also the best playmaker out of the three. He had the most complete game out of the three.

 

Argument for Lindros

One of the best power forwards of all time, No one combined physicality and skill as much as Lindros. He was unstoppable.

 

 

 

This may seem pretty easy to vote for Jagr but remember that he was also the worst defensively and physically.

 

 

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At peak Lindros rivalled Gretzky Orr Howe and Lemieux . He not only had one of the best ppg going, he was THE most physically dominant player the league had ever seen. 

Well, he certainly was the most physically dominant player i have ever seen. However, dont you think its a bit of a stretch to say he rivalled Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux and Howe? Gretzky at his peak had 11 one hundred point assists while Eric lindros only reached 100 points once, Gretz reached 200 points 4 times and on those 4 seasons alone, he has almost as much points as eric lindros had in his career. Lemieux was basically the only person who could rival gretzky offensively. And Orr won 2 art ross trophies as a defenseman and 3 harts as well as revolutionizing his position. Now, was Lindros's physicality so good that it wuld rival that of the 2 greatest offensive players and the best defenseman of all time? I atleast would think not. As for Howe, since he was known for his longevity while still being a top 5 player. I think you could put Lindros's peak with Howe's. Maybe even put his peak ahead of Howe's

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Lindros will never be considered an alltime great because of injury. But you did say prime...

 

I believe prior to injury Lindros had the 3rd best ppg going in NHL history. No he could ever put up the points gretzky did. But NOBODY put the fear of God into the opposition than Lindros in his heyday. The guy was a one man wrecking ball that could actually play, and play really well. If his ppg were that close in comparison to other greats , where does Gretzky rank in the physicality dept? 12,387th? As a combination of brute strength, skill, skating, hitting, scoring he had no equal in his prime.

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Lindros will never be considered an alltime great because of injury. But you did say prime...

 

I believe prior to injury Lindros had the 3rd best ppg going in NHL history. No he could ever put up the points gretzky did. But NOBODY put the fear of God into the opposition than Lindros in his heyday. The guy was a one man wrecking ball that could actually play, and play really well. If his ppg were that close in comparison to other greats , where does Gretzky rank in the physicality dept? 12,387th? As a combination of brute strength, skill, skating, hitting, scoring he had no equal in his prime.

I think gretzky would be much lower...and eric lindros could have been a top ten player of all time.

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Well, he certainly was the most physically dominant player i have ever seen. However, dont you think its a bit of a stretch to say he rivalled Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux and Howe? Gretzky at his peak had 11 one hundred point assists while Eric lindros only reached 100 points once, Gretz reached 200 points 4 times and on those 4 seasons alone, he has almost as much points as eric lindros had in his career. Lemieux was basically the only person who could rival gretzky offensively. And Orr won 2 art ross trophies as a defenseman and 3 harts as well as revolutionizing his position. Now, was Lindros's physicality so good that it wuld rival that of the 2 greatest offensive players and the best defenseman of all time? I atleast would think not. As for Howe, since he was known for his longevity while still being a top 5 player. I think you could put Lindros's peak with Howe's. Maybe even put his peak ahead of Howe's

Yeah I wouldn't put Lindros in a category with any of those guys. Lindros and Forsberg for me were careers filled with "what ifs?" What if they were healthy? Looking at what each player DID do, I'm looking at voting Jagr in this situation.

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Yeah I wouldn't put Lindros in a category with any of those guys. Lindros and Forsberg for me were careers filled with "what ifs?" What if they were healthy? Looking at what each player DID do, I'm looking at voting Jagr in this situation.

Remember though, im talking about when they were at their best. So its alot closer then if we are comparing careers.

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Remember though, im talking about when they were at their best. So its alot closer then if we are comparing careers.

I still disagree. Lindros at his best was still a few tiers below Gretzky and Lemieux. Nobody has been close to those two talent wise, and honestly I don't know if anyone ever will be again. Crosby showed signs of it upon entering the league, but now that has fizzled. I just don't know.

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Yeah I wouldn't put Lindros in a category with any of those guys. Lindros and Forsberg for me were careers filled with "what ifs?" What if they were healthy? Looking at what each player DID do, I'm looking at voting Jagr in this situation.

 

Do you remember Lindros, when he was healthy...running over anyone in his way AND being one of the top players in the league? The topic is "at their peak" not entire career.

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Yeah I wouldn't put Lindros in a category with any of those guys. Lindros and Forsberg for me were careers filled with "what ifs?" What if they were healthy? Looking at what each player DID do, I'm looking at voting Jagr in this situation.

 

Do you remember Lindros, when he was healthy...running over anyone in his way AND being one of the top players in the league? The topic is "at their peak" not entire career.

 

I still disagree. Lindros at his best was still a few tiers below Gretzky and Lemieux. Nobody has been close to those two talent wise, and honestly I don't know if anyone ever will be again. Crosby showed signs of it upon entering the league, but now that has fizzled. I just don't know.

 

And nobody, and I mean nobody brought the level of skill along with brute strength and a bad mood as Lindros. People can hate the guy all they want. But peak Lindros was every bit as dominant as Gretzky and Lemieux, just in a different way. Teams were scared Gretzky or Lemieux would score on them. They were just plain scared of Lindros.

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Do you remember Lindros, when he was healthy...running over anyone in his way AND being one of the top players in the league? The topic is "at their peak" not entire career.

Yeah, but how short can a "peak" be? Lindros, IF HE HAD STAYED HEALTHY, would likely be in the discussion of all hockey greats, because he DID have that unique combination of size and ability. But if someone has a 7-point game and then gets injured the next game, you can't say he was the best at his "peak." I mean, the guy won ONE Hart and ONE Pearson award after a lockout-shortened season.

I think it's a stretch to call one lockout-shortened season a "peak." I also acknowledge its hard to call it a "fluke," as he had the set-up to really dominate, but he never really did. So it's hard for me to put him seriously in this discussion.

He falls under "what might have been" for me.

P.S. I did win numerous bets the year the Wings swept them in the Finals. I can't say I didn't enjoy that. ;-)

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  • 1 month later...

In terms of "highest peak", Lindros was the total package, and he didn't get to ride shotgun with Mario either. I can't think of another player since Lindros that has been the total package.

 

Forsberg and Lindros were similar players although Lindros was more goal scorer and Forsberg was more playmaker. Physically, Lindros had the edge there.

 

 

When it comes to pure offensive ability:

  1. Jagr
  2. Lindros
  3. Forsberg

 

When it comes to defensive skills:

  1. Forsberg
  2. Lindros
  3. Jagr

 

When it comes to physical play:

  1. Lindros
  2. Forsberg
  3. Jagr

 

When it comes to longevity / consistency / health:

  1. Jagr
  2. Forsberg
  3. Lindros

 

When it comes to not having baggage, BS, or other distracting off-ice crapola:

  1. Forsberg
  2. Jagr
  3. Lindros

:)

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In terms of "highest peak", Lindros was the total package, and he didn't get to ride shotgun with Mario either. I can't think of another player since Lindros that has been the total package.

 

Forsberg and Lindros were similar players although Lindros was more goal scorer and Forsberg was more playmaker. Physically, Lindros had the edge there.

 

 

When it comes to pure offensive ability:

  1. Jagr
  2. Lindros
  3. Forsberg

 

When it comes to defensive skills:

  1. Forsberg
  2. Lindros
  3. Jagr

 

When it comes to physical play:

  1. Lindros
  2. Forsberg
  3. Jagr

 

When it comes to longevity / consistency / health:

  1. Jagr
  2. Forsberg
  3. Lindros

 

When it comes to not having baggage, BS, or other distracting off-ice crapola:

  1. Forsberg
  2. Jagr
  3. Lindros

:)

I agree with almost everything you said...however, i would like to point out that Jagr won 4 out of his 5 art rosses WITHOUT lemieux

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I enjoy these comparisons of good players.  But, it's sometimes comparing apples and oranges.  The best description of Lemieux I ever heard came from one of my kids.  He told me "Dad, he looks like a man playing against peewees.".  He had a combination of reach, skill, size and finesse that put him above his peers.  Jagr is close to him in those abilities, but not as good.  However, Jagr is far more durable.  Lindros was a big, fierce, skilled competitor who ran over anyone in his way.  That size and abandon made him intimidating, but ultimately led to his early retirement.

 

Evaluating them with is hard.  But, considering talent and lasting contributions, I'd say:

 

Jagr

Lemieux

Lindros

Forsberg 

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Lindros will never be considered an alltime great because of injury. But you did say prime...

I believe prior to injury Lindros had the 3rd best ppg going in NHL history. No he could ever put up the points gretzky did. But NOBODY put the fear of God into the opposition than Lindros in his heyday. The guy was a one man wrecking ball that could actually play, and play really well. If his ppg were that close in comparison to other greats , where does Gretzky rank in the physicality dept? 12,387th? As a combination of brute strength, skill, skating, hitting, scoring he had no equal in his prime.

Lindros' PPG is 1.138... Forsberg even beats that with a 1.25. To say "before injured" doesn't apply, or you'd have to really say Lemiuex blew them all away. He was the only player over 2.0 upon retirement. Coming back out of retirement is what dropped him. How do you discount his injuries? We just can't calculate those variables.

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