I’m going on record and saying Ovi will not break Gretzky’s goal total.
I’ve been here for 15 years and will still be here when Ovi retires. I love him as a player, and as a great ambassador for the game, but he won’t break Wayne’s total: no one will.
$20 Rick?
I’m pretty excited about it as an Islanders fan. He has two more goals than anyone on the Isles this year and is third in total points for his new team. The Isles are playing their prospects from the AHL because of all of their injures up front, and it would be tough to make a deep playoff run with Koivula (who?), Bellows (who?), and Dal Colle (who?).
So, maybe this is a win-win?
Fingers crossed for Parise, too!
As I wait for the news from the trade deadline, I’m left asking the question – do these mid-to-late season trades really work out for teams that year? I don’t really follow other teams much – which teams have made good trades leading to a deep run in the playoffs recently?
What odds are you laying me? This is a matter of probabilities, not certainty - but if you are certain you should be happy giving me, say, twenty to one?
As to the Pageau deal, that is a FANTASTIC trade.
The one I think could’ve beaten Gretzky is MARIO, had he been fully healthy. Look at what he managed to accomplish while going through what he did – imagine if he had been at 100%!
(Of course, I may be a wee biased)
Five to one.
Two corrections from my previous post - it was actually a 9-3 throttling of Canucks over the Bruins, which was cool, but way less cool is that after that game it turned out Markstrom could be out for up to 4-5 weeks with knee problems, which makes my aforementioned ray of hope dissolve into a shroud of ACK!!!
No, I’d need at least eight to one.
I mean, yeah; I mentioned him, but mathematically it’s obvious that had he been anywhere near as healthy as Gretzky he’d have scored more goals. Mario played only 915 games to Wayne’s 1487, but scored “only” 203 fewer. Had he scored as many goals per game in more games, he would have had to play in 1184 games to break the record, which actually isn’t that long a career for a true great. That wouldn’t crack the top hundred all time.
When Mario retired the first time he was still the greatest player in the world, and was coming off a 50-goal season. Had he played the following three seasons he’d have been well over 800 goals when he came back - when he did come back he scored 35 goals in only 43 games - and by that first retirement he had already missed about 150 games to injury in a period when he was averaging four goals every five games. A healthy Lemieux could have blown by a thousand goals.
I cannot think of any example in any sport when the holder of a major lifetime record did not hold it at least in part because they enjoyed a relatively injury-free career. Sports is full of examples of guys who peaked incredibly high but didn’t last long enough to set these records. Mike Bossy scored as many goals per game as Mario - actually a tiny bit more, he’s the all time leader - popping in 573 goals in just 752 games, but he was done at age 30 due to back problems. Pavel Bure scored more goals per game than either Gretzky or Ovechkin but his career was even a bit shorter than Bossy’s.
Six to one.
Take it or leave it.
Eight to one was the best I was willing to offer, but at least you’re willing to admit you’re not SURE. Most sports fans are dumb that way.
Too funny. 
Man, the Zamboni defeat has really caused a lot of shirt-rending in Toronto. It was highly predictable; for a day people were delighted, but now that’s worn off and the reaction is “Jesus Christ, look at this mess.”
It’s a fair concern. The Leafs have been building something for years, anchored around highly skilled players, and this was a year they should have stepped up and been a top team. Instead they’re in a death scramble to make the playoffs. They can certainly score goals but they’re a dreadful defensive team and there is really no solution in sight, and my criticism of their defense is purely statistical and based on an observation of how they play; that’s not even getting into the question of their heart. The possibility they are going to waste the best years from the likes of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews is very real.]
Yep. I won’t disagree with any of that. Yet another disheartening season.
WTF is going ON? Six games in a row, now we’re behind both the Caps AND the Flyers, this is just depressing!
And Evander Kane is a jagoff. He hits Chad Ruhwedel RIGHT smack in front of the guy’s grandmother, on her birthday! I LOATHE the guy.
:mad:
New thread for March.