cherson@fsleng.DEC (06/05/85)
I'm not a regular contributor to this net, but I have been following the recent discussions on the Oilers. I'll admit that the Oilers are a great team, Gretsky et.al are something to behold when they're on their game. But to call them the greatest team ever in the NHL is a bit of an exaggeration. No team of the present era (mega-offence, expanded league) can ever match the Canadiens teams of the '40's and '50's. The combination of their offence blendiblending with that defence was something that made me a Montreal fan ever since I was old enough to watch hockey (now I'm dating myself!) All due respects to Wayne Gretsky, but I'd rather watch a young Maurice Richard anyday. One other thing you Oiler fans, why aren't you giving any credit to the Scandinavians on your team? Doesn't Jari Kurri deserve accolades and what about Willy Lindstrom? David "Le Renard" Cherson
lake@alberta.UUCP (Robert Lake) (06/12/85)
> No team of the present era (mega-offence, expanded league) can ever match > the Canadiens teams of the '40's and '50's. The combination of their > offence blendiblending with that defence was something that made me a > Montreal fan ever since I was old enough to watch hockey (now I'm dating > myself!) First off, I still believe the Oilers are on the *brink* of being remembered as the greatest team ever in the NHL. While I am sure there was some good (if not very good) hockey played in the '40's and '50's (now I'm beginning to date myself) I don't think the caliber of play back then can match what is being played today. My reasons are as follows: 1. Athlete training, both on a professional and amateur level, is much more intense today than it was back then. This produces players with greater speed and more skill (to back this claim, note how Olympic records are constantly broken each time the Olympic Games are held). Athlete train- ing today is more sophisticated today as well (i.e. video replays, training equipment, etc.). 2. Talent is being drawn from a greater pool of players. Today's players come from both Eastern and Western Canada, the Northern U.S., and Europe Compare this to what was available 30-40 years ago. Sure the league has expanded, but I think the ratio of competent players to the number of NHL teams is higher today than it was back then. For these reasons I believe that the teams of today are much better than the teams of the old 6 team league. I also think nostalgia is settling in with the 6 team league - the good points tend to be remembered more than the bad points. > One other thing you Oiler fans, why aren't you giving any credit to the > Scandinavians on your team? Doesn't Jari Kurri deserve accolades and what > about Willy Lindstrom? I'm not taking anything away from the Scandinavians on the team. I think the entire team is good. In fact, I was quite disappointed that Paul Coffey was not named MVP of the playoffs. A poll was taken on HNIC during the last game, and Gretzky came a distant 3rd behind Coffey and Fuhr in the fan's choice of MVP. The problem really is that you have good players playing with an *exceptional* player, and a lot of the achievements of the good players tend to be overlooked by the media (and various fans). Robert Lake (alberta!lake) University of Alberta P.S. To ucla-cs!rick: are your fingers itchy yet? I would like to see a particular article before the next season begins.... (:-))