Is Crosby one of the best players ever?

[Habitforming]

That is lunacy. You can't hold career numbers against a 24 year old.

His is as dominant as any player to ever play the game in an era that is the toughest to succeed in since it's inception.

To answer the OP's question ... maybe. To suggest he is in the top 5 is ludicrous. As it stands now, he wouldn't be in my top 25, maybe not even in a top 50.

[Hilfiger1975]

6 years in the NHL and already going to the Hall of Fame and considered one of the greatest? Don't say much for the NHL to me...

[RGM81]

Westaylor - why is it so ridiculous

I hate this modern player persona that just because a player is playing in our time, he can't be considered an all time great.

What is it? Are people just afraid to let a modern player in with the legends.

I can understand you saying No, but a huge no? Come on

Any hockey fan knows how dominant crosby is when he is on the ice healthy - HANDS DOWN better than Rocket Richard. Put those two on the ice in their primes and its no contest, crosby takes it.

And Crosby is only 24, and we don't know, he may not even have reached his prime.

He's won a stanley cup, he's won titles, won a gold medal, got the goal of the decade....he is AS WORTHY as at least BEING CONSIDERED as any guy you listed.

Your focused on amount of cups? Why....

Best ever is just as much about individualism and team accomplishments. To penalize a player for not winning multiple championships, after he already won one, is silly.

Look at the talent, look at the sheer dominance, look at his playmaking skills, and look at him weave through the best defenses single handedly - to say that its a "huge no", imo is blasphemous.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold the phone there slugger. I'd like to see Crosby move his whole house full of possessions in the morning and then go out and score 5 goals in a game before any type of "hands down" stuff gets said. At a minimum.

Sid's great, no doubt about that. But he has a long way to go before anybody can credibly say that he's "hands down" better than the greatest Montreal Canadien ever. Rocket scored goals with players draped all over him, notched one of the most magnificent markers in all of history with blood still coming out of his head - read the story here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3...-tough/page/11



And Rocket had to deal with a lot more interference, clutching, slashing, hacking, whacking, and so forth than Crosby has in his entire career. Could Crosby still be awesome in that type of environment? Possibly. But the Rocket WAS awesome in that environment.

[Craig2]

As much as I like Crosby, there's no way he's done enough at this point to merit top-five discussion. I'd point out a few things from what I've read on this thread:

1) Closet full of trophies - Crosby has one Hart Trophy and one Art Ross, hardly enough to fill any closet. He also has a Cup, but I would point out that he lost out on the Conn Smythe to Malkin.

2) Olympics goal - That is an iconic goal, but where was he before that point? He had a decent start, but did not have a point against Russia in the QF or Slovakia in the semis. That team was carried by guys like Toews and Weber, not the alleged top-5 talent ever.

3) Longevity matters - I would never lump Crosby in with guys who take 20 years to score 500 goals, but I do think he needs more service before ranking him that high. Albert Pujols had a first-six seasons that rank among the best ever in MLB, but it took proving himself over a longer period before he was talked about in the same breath as the legends.

Crosby could end top-5, but he is not there yet.

[Habitforming]

21 trophies is alot (no not all NHL), and I would say a closet full.

[Hilfiger1975]

21 trophies is alot (no not all NHL), and I would say a closet full.

The NHL is the ones that count though...

[Craig2]

21 trophies is alot (no not all NHL), and I would say a closet full.

Why don't you go back to bantam and peewee while you're at it?

Seriously, do junior trophies matter?

[Habitforming]

You're just being silly now.

He's 24... what else is there to go back to, his 20 year NHL career?

Either way, you left out alot of trophies in support of your arguement.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard (Goals Leader)
Mark Messier Leader of the Year Award
Stanley Cup
Hart Trophy (MVP)
Lester B. Pearson Award (Player of the Year selected by the NHLPA)
Art Ross Trophy (Leading Scorer)
Olympic Gold Medal

Not too bad for 6 NHL seasons (2 of them half seasons)

[theonedru]

Why bother even thinking this, after 6 years he belongs in the hall of very good. He is nowhere even close to being comparable to the legends of the game, esp the likes of Howe and that generation who not only survived but flourished in a true league while Crosby flourishes in a league thats been sissified. Just Imagine what Howe, Hull, Harvey up to Bossy could have done with the luxuries players have today. This kid has a long way to go before this conversation can be brought up.

[Hilfiger1975]

why bother even thinking this, after 6 years he belongs in the hall of very good. He is nowhere even close to being comparable to the legends of the game, esp the likes of howe and that generation who not only survived but flourished in a true league while crosby flourishes in a league thats been sissified. Just imagine what howe, hull, harvey up to bossy could have done with the luxuries players have today. This kid has a long way to go before this conversation can be brought up.

bingo!