The Top 10 Playmakers of All Time

[Polaris922]

And positioning

Might as well add who was the better puck blocker while you're at it.....

Stick handling leads to puck control leads to playmaking doesn't it? There aren't many great stick handlers who aren't considered among the best talents of their era. But there are plenty of great shot blockers we can't even remember.

[JagerMeister]

Stick handling leads to puck control leads to playmaking doesn't it? There aren't many great stick handlers who aren't considered among the best talents of their era. But there are plenty of great shot blockers we can't even remember.

Yes, yes it does. But my point was that i already acknowledged Gretzky and Lemieux were better offensively than Orr in my post, stickhandling is basically in that offensive category.

[Polaris922]

Yes, yes it does. But my point was that i already acknowledged Gretzky and Lemieux were better offensively than Orr in my post, stickhandling is basically in that offensive category.

I disagree with you that Orr was better in every other facet of the game. If you weren't mentioning individual skills, you could've just said Orr was better defensively and I'd have agreed! Lol

[JagerMeister]

I disagree with you that Orr was better in every other facet of the game. If you weren't mentioning individual skills, you could've just said Orr was better defensively and I'd have agreed! Lol

It was a bit of overstatement, you know, for dramatic affect.

 

But I would have Orr better physically, Defensively

And Gretzky better at goalscoring, stickhandling (which i guess goes into puck possesion?) 

But for me, playmaking and skating can go for either of the two

Orr was probably the faster skater, but Gretzky was not too bad a skater himself and his agility helped him avoid physicality

If you were looking at the results for playmaking, Gretzky would get the nod, but considering Orr's position, im not sure.

Because Orr had to focus on other aspects of the game( defense and physicality) besides offense.

[blocker]

I'm one of the few here who saw Gordie Howe play.  He's one of the best hockey players ever.

 

But, I don't care if he had a million assists, he's pretty far down the list of the best playmakers.  He, like the Hulls, was adept at playing without the puck, and finding an open seam.   The playmakers would see him there and feed him the puck.  He was the recipient of pucks from playmakers.

[J0e Th0rnton]

In my eyes Orr was better defensively and physically, but Gretzky was the better stick handler, skater, and had better vision than Orr. And obviously Gretzky's numbers were astronomical.

I don't put a whole lot into the defenseman vs forward argument for a few reasons. Primarily Orr spent a lot of time leading the rush. And in fairness, how do you count secondary assists? Defenseman secondaries tend to be break out passes while a forward's tend to be offensive zone creativity... So how does anyone even begin to judge all that?

I have felt Bobby Orr was one of the game's greats but still not at the Gretzky/Lemieux tier all of my life. Those two were just magical players. But we all have opinions. Just thought Jager's comment was over the top.

What??????????????

 

I have only seen video of Orr. But Gretzky is not in the same universe when it comes to skating. In fact, watching Orr skate in those videos, I question whether anyone has ever equaled his skating. Pavel Bure maybe since. Not just speed, but agility and change direction on a dime while stickhandling at top speed. And are the videos playing tricks on me? or is he using a straight blade with no curve?

[ScottM]

I'm one of the few here who saw Gordie Howe play.  He's one of the best hockey players ever.

 

But, I don't care if he had a million assists, he's pretty far down the list of the best playmakers.  He, like the Hulls, was adept at playing without the puck, and finding an open seam.   The playmakers would see him there and feed him the puck.  He was the recipient of pucks from playmakers.

 

I find this comment interesting. I was born a few years after Gordie retired, so I obviously never saw him play. From the video I've seen and most accounts I've read, I've always had the opinion that he, Gretzky, and Lemieux were fairly unique (if three people together can be unique lol) in being elite at both scoring and setting up others. I'd be interested in hearing more about why you feel that way.

[Polaris922]

What??????????????

I have only seen video of Orr. But Gretzky is not in the same universe when it comes to skating. In fact, watching Orr skate in those videos, I question whether anyone has ever equaled his skating. Pavel Bure maybe since. Not just speed, but agility and change direction on a dime while stickhandling at top speed. And are the videos playing tricks on me? or is he using a straight blade with no curve?

I disagree. Orr was finesse and speed, but Gretzky was brilliant. He made dodging checks and elusiveness look easy against the best of his era. A little guy that nobody could find, and if they found him they couldn't seem to make enough contact to matter.

Different skating style, but you don't do what he did without spectacular ability.

Maybe it was a Jedi mind trick?

[JackStraw]

but Gretzky was the better stick handler, skater, and had better vision than Orr

 

One could probably argue the stick handling and vision (I would take Orr on the stick handling and maybe a slight edge to Gretzky on vision), but skating? Gretzky was nowhere near Orr as a skater. Orr is arguably the best skater the game has ever seen. Gretzky was an average skater, nothing more.

[JagerMeister]

One could probably argue the stick handling and vision (I would take Orr on the stick handling and maybe a slight edge to Gretzky on vision), but skating? Gretzky was nowhere near Orr as a skater. Orr is arguably the best skater the game has ever seen. Gretzky was an average skater, nothing more.

no disrespect Jack, but that statement is complete horse **** imo, as Polaris922 pointed out, his elusiveness already makes him an above average skater.

Some people say that Gretzky would have not played as many games because of enforcers protecting him, thats only partly true, his elusive skating helped him from getting injured many times.

When Semenko stopped playing, Gretzky still played most of his games throughout the season,and this was  in the clutch and grab era.

[JackStraw]

no disrespect Jack, but that statement is complete horse **** imo, as Polaris922 pointed out, his elusiveness already makes him an above average skater.

Some people say that Gretzky would have not played as many games because of enforcers protecting him, thats only partly true, his elusive skating helped him from getting injured many times.

When Semenko stopped playing, Gretzky still played most of his games throughout the season,and this was  in the clutch and grab era.

 

Nobody who actually saw both Orr and Gretzky play would dream of saying that Gretzky was a better skater than Orr. I could easily come up with a long list of players who were better skaters than Gretzky. There was nothing at all special about his skating. His hockey IQ, his hands, his vision and passing, even his shot- yes. His skating, no.

[JagerMeister]

Nobody who actually saw both Orr and Gretzky play would dream of saying that Gretzky was a better skater than Orr. I could easily come up with a long list of players who were better skaters than Gretzky. There was nothing at all special about his skating. His hockey IQ, his hands, his vision and passing, even his shot- yes. His skating, no.

Except for one person apparently....

 

 

[J0e Th0rnton]

Its a shame that Orr's carreer was cut short because of his problems with his knees.  And back then most players did not wear a helmet.  It was a different looking product in those days.  Orr would take the puck behind his net, look things over, then stickhandle the puck down the ice and usually found a guy like Espo or Bucyk to pass to and when he had the puck at the point he had the most accurate shot I have ever seen from the point.  McGuinness had the hardest.  As Jacque Lamaire had one of the hardest slap shots of all time.  And so did Richard Martin, another great player whose career was cut short due to injury.  Orr was a standout in his day.  Gordie Howe was considered the best thing that ever came along up to that point.  Some would say the "pocket rocket" Maurice Richard of the Jean Beleveau led Montreal teams of those days and Bobby Hull had a ton of respect too.  I think Craig McTavish was the last player to be allowed to play without head gear?  Its hard to imagine even goalies like Eddie Giacamin out there with no face mask.  Orr scored 40 goals as a defenseman.  I doubt that record will ever fall?  Brad Park was a pretty good offensive D man too.  I know all too well as his slap shot from beyond the blue line eliminated my Sabres in OT of game 7 in a series vs Boston after he had previously played years with the Rangers.  This of course was after Orr had retired.  Watch some of the old footage and see the games played with no helmets . Its really hard to imagine and given how dangerous it was, we were all pretty fortunate that there were not many very serious injuries.  There could have been far more.  One thing you do not see as much of in modern day hockey is the stick handling that used to be more commonplace.  Great puck handlers are not as common in my opinion.  The art of handling the puck has been lost to a degree.  There is far less fighting due to stiff fines and no more bench clearing brawls.  Some of those old bench clearing brawls  were classic.  There was a time when  coach would point to center ice and that meant all hands on deck to clear the bench to fight. Those days are gone forever.  And so too are the days of Derek Sanderson climbing into the stands to fight with fans.  True entertainment.  

 

So back to the top ten playmakers of all time, Gilbert Perrault is on my list for sure.  He could skate like the wind, stick handle with the best and had acceleration that was just incredible.  

 

What does that have to do with being a playmaker? If he were a top playmaker, should he have not, ummm, lead the league in assists or somesuch a few times? Or scored over 70 assists when other top playmakers at the time were scoring 90?

[JagerMeister]

What does that have to do with being a playmaker? If he were a top playmaker, should he have not, ummm, lead the league in assists or somesuch a few times? Or scored over 70 assists when other top playmakers at the time were scoring 90?

He has not removed his Nostalgia goggles.... Dont question him with logic!!!

[J0e Th0rnton]

He has not removed his Nostalgia goggles.... Dont question him with logic!!!

My Emoticons > yours

[JagerMeister]

My Emoticons > yours

Emoticons are overrated. Better to leave the reader thinking whether your a troll or your an imbecile.

[JagerMeister]

Emoticons are overrated. Better to leave the reader thinking whether your a troll or an imbecile. Plus I cant use any emoticons on my phone.

[ScottM]

Emoticons are overrated. Better to leave the reader thinking whether your a troll or your an imbecile. Plus I cant use any emoticons on my phone.