If you put a prime Gretzky and prime Howe on an 2024 NHL team O-Line together, would they dominate?
August 5, 2024
Obviously they are the GOAT’s for their time.
But the modern NHL is a completely different beast. It’s as much talent as it’s engineering and building on talent through technology and science.
The closest modern comparison would probably be McDavid and Draisaitl.
23 comments
No ❤️
yes, they would. Gretzky alone would be enough, but with Howe too? Domination.
No they’d get destroyed and that’s not a knock on them and their careers. Gretzky was talented enough that with proper training he certainly could be a top player even today. Howe would get dominated by modern day athleticism and how far the sport has evolved. Just teleporting their peak selves into today’s game, they’d get destroyed. All due respect.
In Gretzky’s era, yes. In Howe’s era, no.
edit: for a modern team, they absolutely would dominate. Wayne had the moves and the hands and Gordie also had the hands and was a very physical player. I don’t know if teams would know what to do about them.
100% the greatest of their eras, no doubt at all, buuuuut…
They would get slaughtered by McJesus and Draisaitl. Even if you gave them modern equipment there is no comparison between fitness levels. Wayne played at the dawn of modern sports, but he didn’t have the benefit of current nutrition and physical training science. Mr. Hockey was from a time when doctors smoked… in the office.
The old Titan sticks
Okay, I feel like some other people here are giving Gretzky too little credit. Yes the game has leveled up in skill and I don’t think Gretzky today is the light years ahead he was in his own time but like. He’s still the best player in the league easily.
No, they would be demolished.
Like it would look worse than the sharks current roster.
For anyone thinking of downvoting me for my opinion go watch a standard regular season game in the 60s. It’s average joes skating like beer league, then go watch the worst NHL game you can think of from 2024.
It’s a completely different skill level and it apples and oranges comparisons but a modern athlete would run laps around these guys.
Forwards who are very physical while also being one of the best to put up points in their era is something that is almost nonexistent these days, and Gretzky alone makes the line dominant even if you’ve got Ryan Reeves and Matt Rempe on his wings. Howe AND Gretzky? That’s two all time scorers, one of which is so physical that not one player in today’s game would dare try and challenge him. That also means that Gretzky has an enforcer who also works as a top end scorer.
Then just put Datsuyk or Bergeron on the opposite wing and you’ve probably got the best forward line in hockey history.
Based on Howe’s style he’d probably get slapped with a 10 game suspension in his first game.
Gretzky would be a top centre with just about anyone on his line.
The modern game looks and is played the way it is largely due to guys like Gretzky and Howe. They’d still be great players. But they wouldn’t be putting up numbers line they did in their time.
If you give prime Gretzky modern equipment, he’d fly around the ice making plays.
Nope. Love them both but the kids are different these days.
I don’t know about Howe if only because he was so physical but Gretzkys game didn’t center on his athleticism (though by all accounts he was a great athlete) but on the fact that he’s the smartest player who put on skates. He’s not only the last player to have a +- over 100 he’s the only forward to do so. If Howe can adjust to a modern style of play I don’t see why they wouldn’t be dominant
Gretzky would still be elite, although the gap between him and McD wouldn’t be as wide as many would think. The modern game is all about skating, and that really wasn’t Wayne’s strength.
Gordie wouldn’t crack a roster. He’s got incredible work ethic and his strength in his prime was the stuff of legends. But he was never a great skater and by modern standards, he would be one of the worst, if not the worst, skaters in the league.
Internet hockey people have Gretzky as this sacred cow because they’re the dumbest people on Earth. The truth is, he’s the hardest player to tell, because you’re all overrating his tools. He wasn’t Lemieux or Daysyuk or Bure with the puck (not that he was Colton Orr, he was still obviously an all-time great), he was the smartest and most creative player to ever live. He basically made as many flashy plays as the big stars of his era and threw in a bunch of production from technical perfection. Every reason to think he’d still be great – what I just said describes Crosby, pretty much, but we don’t really know how the speed of his head keeps up with the speed of the modern game, or if it all maintains without having been raised in the modern game. Either way I’d think they’d probably need some time catching up to modern conditioning, but I think everyone online either fetishizes the past or gets obnoxious and cartoony overlooking it. I have trouble thinking they wouldn’t at least be a great line.
Can Nick Lidstrom join on defense?
Yes
Yes but Orr might be the perfect player for today.
Prime Gretzky still has the vision and hands which translate to any era. He’s a 100 or guy every year.
I’ll plead ignorance on Gordie Howe’s skating ability but if he’s halfway competent he fits the power forward with skill mold that is incredibly rare and super effective.
I don’t know. There was an Olympic comparison on reddit today. The slowest guy in the men’s 100m sprint was faster than the fastest guy in 1988. Gretzky was fun to watch, but he would have some serious competition today
23 comments
No ❤️
yes, they would. Gretzky alone would be enough, but with Howe too? Domination.
No they’d get destroyed and that’s not a knock on them and their careers. Gretzky was talented enough that with proper training he certainly could be a top player even today. Howe would get dominated by modern day athleticism and how far the sport has evolved. Just teleporting their peak selves into today’s game, they’d get destroyed. All due respect.
In Gretzky’s era, yes. In Howe’s era, no.
edit: for a modern team, they absolutely would dominate. Wayne had the moves and the hands and Gordie also had the hands and was a very physical player. I don’t know if teams would know what to do about them.
100% the greatest of their eras, no doubt at all, buuuuut…
They would get slaughtered by McJesus and Draisaitl. Even if you gave them modern equipment there is no comparison between fitness levels. Wayne played at the dawn of modern sports, but he didn’t have the benefit of current nutrition and physical training science. Mr. Hockey was from a time when doctors smoked… in the office.
The old Titan sticks
Okay, I feel like some other people here are giving Gretzky too little credit. Yes the game has leveled up in skill and I don’t think Gretzky today is the light years ahead he was in his own time but like. He’s still the best player in the league easily.
No, they would be demolished.
Like it would look worse than the sharks current roster.
For anyone thinking of downvoting me for my opinion go watch a standard regular season game in the 60s. It’s average joes skating like beer league, then go watch the worst NHL game you can think of from 2024.
It’s a completely different skill level and it apples and oranges comparisons but a modern athlete would run laps around these guys.
Forwards who are very physical while also being one of the best to put up points in their era is something that is almost nonexistent these days, and Gretzky alone makes the line dominant even if you’ve got Ryan Reeves and Matt Rempe on his wings. Howe AND Gretzky? That’s two all time scorers, one of which is so physical that not one player in today’s game would dare try and challenge him. That also means that Gretzky has an enforcer who also works as a top end scorer.
Then just put Datsuyk or Bergeron on the opposite wing and you’ve probably got the best forward line in hockey history.
Based on Howe’s style he’d probably get slapped with a 10 game suspension in his first game.
Gretzky would be a top centre with just about anyone on his line.
The modern game looks and is played the way it is largely due to guys like Gretzky and Howe. They’d still be great players. But they wouldn’t be putting up numbers line they did in their time.
If you give prime Gretzky modern equipment, he’d fly around the ice making plays.
Nope. Love them both but the kids are different these days.
I don’t know about Howe if only because he was so physical but Gretzkys game didn’t center on his athleticism (though by all accounts he was a great athlete) but on the fact that he’s the smartest player who put on skates. He’s not only the last player to have a +- over 100 he’s the only forward to do so. If Howe can adjust to a modern style of play I don’t see why they wouldn’t be dominant
Gretzky would still be elite, although the gap between him and McD wouldn’t be as wide as many would think. The modern game is all about skating, and that really wasn’t Wayne’s strength.
Gordie wouldn’t crack a roster. He’s got incredible work ethic and his strength in his prime was the stuff of legends. But he was never a great skater and by modern standards, he would be one of the worst, if not the worst, skaters in the league.
Internet hockey people have Gretzky as this sacred cow because they’re the dumbest people on Earth. The truth is, he’s the hardest player to tell, because you’re all overrating his tools. He wasn’t Lemieux or Daysyuk or Bure with the puck (not that he was Colton Orr, he was still obviously an all-time great), he was the smartest and most creative player to ever live. He basically made as many flashy plays as the big stars of his era and threw in a bunch of production from technical perfection. Every reason to think he’d still be great – what I just said describes Crosby, pretty much, but we don’t really know how the speed of his head keeps up with the speed of the modern game, or if it all maintains without having been raised in the modern game. Either way I’d think they’d probably need some time catching up to modern conditioning, but I think everyone online either fetishizes the past or gets obnoxious and cartoony overlooking it. I have trouble thinking they wouldn’t at least be a great line.
Can Nick Lidstrom join on defense?
Yes
Yes but Orr might be the perfect player for today.
Prime Gretzky still has the vision and hands which translate to any era. He’s a 100 or guy every year.
I’ll plead ignorance on Gordie Howe’s skating ability but if he’s halfway competent he fits the power forward with skill mold that is incredibly rare and super effective.
I don’t know. There was an Olympic comparison on reddit today. The slowest guy in the men’s 100m sprint was faster than the fastest guy in 1988. Gretzky was fun to watch, but he would have some serious competition today
Vs Mario and Sid they wouldn’t
Does the pope shit in the woods?