The Hockey News top 50 Players

[iron Ghost 0]

I respect your opinions and offer a few counter points.

1. Iggy: Yeah, I know Im dubbing him a "leader's leader" a bit early but the way that he led a under skilled team (IMO) to game 7 of the cup finals by doing everything possible shy off stepping between the pipes was amazing to me. I havent seen such qualities from a captain since the great captains of the past days. Put it this way, HES THE BEST NEW AGE CAPTAIN (IMO) and will probably go down in history as one of the greatest. Oh yeah, please make this man the face of the new NHL. As a person who studied marketing in school for years he's a perfect candidate. He has all of the grit that you want in hockey but to the media he is very people friendly especially if you are trying to draw in th none traditional fan and help erase images of hockey players as brutes who cause career ending blows (see the over hyped Bertuzzi incident)

2. MARIO: Before I step back into this argument I guess we all have to agree or disagree with a certain issue. Is clutching and grabbing/obstruction Illegal????? If you believe that it isnt then yes, I would consider Mario to be a big baby as well. Now, If you feel as I do that its a 2 minute penalty for interference regardless of if it happens in neutral ice or at the goal line its still interference and should be called. If you believe the later of those two theories then Lemieux is not a baby, and simply happens to be one of the biggest guys on the ice, most skilled guys on the ice, playing within the rules (by using his natural gifts of size and reach to shield the puck), and is simply getting screwed over by the league because he is unable to do his job legally while everyone else is able to perform illegally. I personally think that this is why he complained about the obstruction. If the rules are called guys like Lemieux, Bertuzzi, etc (any big mobile forward) are like Shaq out on the ice (legally you cant stop them because they are better skilled and have a size/speed advantage over the competition). Just my opinion. I also have to disagree with the whole Mario is slow theory. Has he lost a step, yes. Is he faster than majority of the league, yes. I think that most people misjudge guys like mario and Mats Sundin's speed because they are so big and have such long strides (vs shorter choppier strides of guys like say St. Louis just for example, not a knock on St. Louis). Guys like Lemieux, Niedermeyer, Sundin take these monstrous long strides up and down the ice and have to actually lift there feet half as much as the next guy but move just as quick with half the effort. Its hard to see on TV but you can really tell when your at the games live. Also Id love to see Lemieux play an 80 game season just to put nay sayers to rest. If he ever does play close to a full season again watchout, Points galore. AT 38 and all that he has been through I dont ever expect to see it again but u never know.

3. This is off subject but can sombody please throw John Madden a bone as well. The poor guy is never gonna see team canada (which is sad for him because if he were born in any other country he would have a definite roster spot). He shuts down any of the 50 people on this list on a nightly basis and I think that he deserves some credit for that. ALthough he's not a D he may get my 5th best D man in the league award. Hes definitely one of the best defensive forwards in the league right now.

4. Nobody wanna jump on me for knocking Kovy's lack of scoring touch??? Shocking!

I love this, keep it coming. Welcome back NHL!

[chippa13 1844]

I think Mario is a whining slob. 6-4 guys. One of the biggest guys on the ice. And while that doesn't mean he should be raped out there, with that size comes big advantages. A 235 pound guy should and can usually fight through checks better then a 200 pound guy.

So it's ok for guys to hook and hold a guy who has a size advantage? Does this apply to all sports? Should guys be allowed to hang all over Moss because he is a tall receiver? Should batters get 4 strikes before they strike out against Clemens? Should Tiger hit from tees 30 yards back from where everyone else on the tour does?

There is a reason why there is only one rulebook for each sport.

[chippa13 1844]

Are you kidding? Every teams' top power forwards have been vocal about the abuse they take because officials think they can "skate through it". Heck, one of the things to come out of Shanny's summit last summer was to call the rules as they're written. If you want to hate Mario, that's fine, but blaming it on his stance about how the game was called is just foolish.

[Chadd 916]

Mario is 40, not 38.

Of course he whined. If your him and you are looking at a breakaway with the goalie and thinking about how your going to undress him, and then all of a sudden you have a stick pulling you down, wouldnt you be frustrated? And he never complained about getting beat up.

Why were the rules that already exist never enforced? "garage leauge" come to mind.

Mario tells it like it is, too bad some people cant face reality.

When you stop skating and start coasting, expect to get caught from behind. No player, star or plugger, should expect to have free reign to skate anywhere on the ice without being touched. I've seen guys play him straight up and clean then get slashed across the back of the legs because he was pissed.

[Chadd 916]

Are you kidding? Every teams' top power forwards have been vocal about the abuse they take because officials think they can "skate through it". Heck, one of the things to come out of Shanny's summit last summer was to call the rules as they're written. If you want to hate Mario, that's fine, but blaming it on his stance about how the game was called is just foolish.

I've been saying for years they need to call the rules much more strictly, it will help the game as much as any change they could make.

[kasparaitis 0]

LOL, It's To bad they're not calling these rules in the Beer leagues.

[thunderhockey19 0]

Id like to know how they are comparing crosby to any of these guys never in a NHL game and now he is just under Sergei Fedorov who has had 30 goal seasons for like 12 consecutive seasons or something of the sort.

4 seasons in a row.

My bad i thought it was 12, but i just looked and hes only had 10 of them or so, and they werent consecutive but 10, 30 goal seasons? Is Crosby already able to compare to that?

[Eazy_b97 1]

Your probably thinking 20 goal seasons. Even then, I don't see 10 consecutive 20 goal seasons.

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[Mach1 0]

well, Lemieux looks terrible so far this year. I stand corrected. he does belong in the bottom of the rankings.