Would he dominate today?

if he played today he would be offensive defensman/fourth forward type guy

>>150090500 (OP)
Not an expert on ice hockey tbqh, but I heard Gretzky was mostly remarkable because of his technique. And his dad apparently had some revolutionary coaching methods that are now fairly standard?
If that's the case, he might struggle a bit in competition with players used to today's more developed training. But with modern nutrition, regeneration, and training, he'd improve and be elite for sure. The sport hasn't grown THAT much since his days, compared to other sports at least.
Looking at old videos of his, he looks head and shoulders above all the rest. That wouldn't be possible today, I guess. But I could definitely see him have remarkable speed and technique compared to today's players and therefore be better overall

>>150090500 (OP)
I doubt it
80s hockey was still somewhat slow and the Oilers actually sped the game up with their entire roster on board, not just Gretzky
He'd still be good but a 215 point season wouldn't be anywhere near possible

>>150091617
The NHL entirely remade the league and its rules to suit Gretzky. He would have been a USSR legend, because he basically played the mingy fag hockey they played.
They completely swallowed the >le high scoring games are better meme and decided that despite the fact that the Oilers eventually got caught up to and had to readjust, this was their ticket. He never would have been traded to LA just a few years before and really shouldn't have been because the ownership had been and continued to be sketchy. That's ultimately why he left!
Goaltending was shit in the 80s. The more defensive tactics of the 70s were abandoned after contraction because more talent was available to just run and gun so to expand they thought that importing infinity Russians and eastern bloc talented players, but there weren't infinity of such players, so expansion diluted talent, leading back to defensive tactics which caused the NHL to worry they would lose casual Cletus fans so they changed many rules again.
Even if they had never done this, he still would have been an elite player and his passing alone would have made him one today, but he wouldn't be "The Great One" without the changes and the decision to turn on Gordy Howe and embrace fag hockey.

>>150090500 (OP)
If he played for a canadian team, no
If he played for a sunbelt team, yes

>>150090500 (OP)
he would be better

>>150090500 (OP)
he had high hockey iq and read the play well. its was like he was some sort of time traveler or magician who knew the perfect position to stand in every single time. its wasnt about technique or raw power. he just had perfect positioning and anticipation. that sort of ability would have easily transferred to today. in the modern nhl you cant even touch guys anymore, its an even more sissified sport than povertyflop and floorsqueek. he would have been even more effective nowadays.

>>150092534
It can't be more pathetic than the NBA in that regard, that's impossible

Would he have the same ref protection nowadays? I don’t believe so. NHL was a free for all but NO ONE got to touch Gretzky

>>150092402
>The NHL entirely remade the league and its rules to suit Gretzky.
The exact opposite is true. Gretzky was so good they changed the rules to stop him.
>>150092645
No one touched him because they were afraid of Marty McSorley and Dave Semenko.

>>150090500 (OP)
Easily, considering that he didn't dominate on athleticism even in his own era

not with the michelin men in net

>>150096777
it's pretty crazy how tiny goalies used to be

>>150090500 (OP)
would Gretzky be playing on a team with 5 other hall-of-famers?

>>150096591
Get a grip dude. They changed one rule "against" him and expanded the entire league after he moved to LA? Fuck off.

no athlete in any sport from the 80s or before would dominate the current sport. We understand so much more about the body, about diet, about muscles, we track every jump, every turn, every sprint, every shot, every millisecond to improve an athlete with coaches that have vast data from their own player, their team, their country and the entire globe.
There is simply no way even a prime Gretzky would be the star player of the NHL right now.

real ones know Lemieux is the one true goat

>>150099760
weird way of spelling Modano

>>150099746
You have to assume any oldfag players would also be given modern training and diet, otherwise it's just a silly comparison. And despite being small and slight of frame for a hockey player, Wanye would be, at least, an elite playmaker in the league at any point in history. His greatest asset was his mind for the game.

>>150090500 (OP)
Is it true Canadians absolutely despise him?

>>150099799
why would they? he's the greatest athlete they ever produced

>>150099799
Everybody loved him until Trump's tariffs. Now they hate Gretzky for being friends with Trump. Me? I don't care, the far-left boomers ruling our country have damaged it beyond repair. If you kick the jeets out, I'll dress up like Uncle Sam and welcome the tanks as they roll into Ottawa.

>>150099799
He got traded to LA and he took it seriously

>>150099799
Right now it's mostly because of the cringe trump political shit, but for someone who was so beloved he has had a rough post-playing career in general. People gossip about Gretzky having a really bad problem with alcohol but I think he's just super awkward socially. He never comes across well on panel shows, and the standards for those are so low especially in hockey.

Michael Jordan has had some of the same problems (failed completely at managing a team, probably more of a drunk than Wayne) but he has much more mystique. Of course that documentary helped but you should want your celebrities to be weird evil recluses imo

>>150099760
this. Mario is the absolute king. I always remember what Jagr thought about him when he first saw him in dressing room 'who's that regular looking dude?' Mario wasn't even exercising; the absolute talent plagued by injuries.

>>150099746
>no athlete in any sport from the 80s or before would dominate the current sport

He doesn’t know Bo

>>150099746
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the model for the modern big man and had longevity and intelligence. He'd probably get an extra 5 points and 3 assists a game in the modern NBA.

>>150090500 (OP)
That "Great One" title was given to him by the local paper when he was like 11 or 12 years old so all things considered I'd have to say yeah, he would dominate even today.

>>150090500 (OP)
no.

on the oilers he played with at least 4 other hall of famers.

His goalscoring went way down after he joined the LA Kings.