245 replies to this topic

[F.Michael]

I have several issues with this:

What has Crosby done to give indication that he is "bigger than the game?"
He didn't get his concussions from getting stood up at the blueline.
Lindros kept skating through the middle with his head down, probably from growing up playing against guys so much littler than him. This is no way the same thing as what happened to Crosby.
Crosby isn't even in the top ten of divers in the league. He did it more early in his career, but he's nowhere near what half the Vancouver and Sharks teams were doing in the playoffs.



Losing one of the best players to ever play the game is going to hurt the league for more than marketing reasons.

I get sick of all the Crosby marketing and wish they'd spend more time promoting other players, but that's not Crosby's fault.

Honestly I hate the little f***. I think he's still kind of immature and he has some little-***** like quality that's easy to hate. But he's 24 years old. There's still time to grow up. And he's an incredibly talented player who works his ass off.

I just don't get how so many hockey fans would want one of the best players in the game not to be able to play. Even if just to hate him when the Wings play. I've hated a lot of great players over the year, in part for that reason, because they were great and they kept schooling my favorite players. But it makes it so satisfying when you defeat them. It makes for great rivalries.

Spot on post

[Itchin' to go]

Crosby was apparently just about "ready to go" late last year and then all that s*** was happening with Matt Cooke

as far as keeping it quiet...every week there's a new article on Crosby as though we're gonna forget his NHL God. they're publicizing every time he takes a painkiller for christ sake. look back on TSN's recent articles for NHL. there's enought to write a book on blindside hits and concussions.

So a team that was good enough to go 7 games with Tampa, let the 2nd best player in the league sit to prove a point? Pure genius.

[LeftWinger]

If he comes back, how long will the suspension be to the player who LEGALLY checks him and knocks him back out?

[chrisdetroit]

Top 10 finishes:

1, 2, 3, 6 - Crosby
2, 3, 5, 7 - Bure
1, 6, 7 - Lindros

And unlike Bure and Lindros, Crosby won a Cup, as the youngest captain to do so ever.
He is a shoe-in.

Maltby won Cups. So what. And what the hell does his age have to do with it.

1 Cup and he's in. Are you kidding?

He's played what 3 years and people are talking about the HOF. Get a grip.

Edited by chrisdetroit, 16 August 2011 - 05:35 PM.

[egroen]

Maltby won Cups. So what. And what the hell does his age have to do with it.

1 Cup and he's in. Are you kidding?

He's played what 3 years and people are talking about the HOF. Get a grip.

Oh come on! You're better than that.

Was Maltby the youngest captain to win a Cup?
Does Maltby have a Hart, Art Ross, Richard and a 1st and 2nd Team All-Star selections?
Did Maltby ever lead the league in PPG over 6 seasons like Crosby has since his rookie year?

Obviously it is not one Cup that makes Crosby a HOF lock, but a combination of his accomplishments. That one Cup does differentiate Crosby from players with similar (though still lesser) primes like Lindros and Bure, and we all know that matters to the committee.

Things like his age, his fame (and ability to have not been involved in any sort of scandal), Cup win, Olympic gold and the "golden shot" (groan) all matter to the committee. Like it or not.

It is inconceivable that Crosby would not make the Hall if he retired today. Same with Ovechkin.

Edited by egroen, 16 August 2011 - 05:54 PM.

[haroldsnepsts]

Maltby won Cups. So what. And what the hell does his age have to do with it.

1 Cup and he's in. Are you kidding?

He's played what 3 years and people are talking about the HOF. Get a grip.

He's actually played 6 seasons, because he started when he was 18.

Rocket Richard
Art Ross
Pearson
Hart
Stanley Cup
World Jr. Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal

572 points in 412 games
82 points in 62 playoff games

At 24 years old he already has more personal and team achievements than most guys who have ever played the game.

He's a lock for the HHOF no matter what happens at this point.

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 16 August 2011 - 06:34 PM.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Crosby was apparently just about "ready to go" late last year and then all that s*** was happening with Matt Cooke and then Mario Lemieux running his flapper about the NHL being bush league and then mysteriously, Crosby is no longer ready to go and will miss the rest of the year and maybe playoffs.... Lemieux made stupid comments and then Matt Cooke destroyed all his credibility and then Crosby's health suddenly took a turn back to the worse...nothing happened there where Lemieux was trying to back up a little and have his franchise player to sit to try and make his previous points valid all the while punishing Cooke for the media...ok.

as far as keeping it quiet...every week there's a new article on Crosby as though we're gonna forget his NHL God. they're publicizing every time he takes a painkiller for christ sake. look back on TSN's recent articles for NHL. there's enought to write a book on blindside hits and concussions.

and Crosby was doing conditioning the whole time to stay in shape so he could have played anytime he got back to full contact practices. we'll see just how over his career is when he misses maybe the first 5 games this season and is leading the league in points at the 10 game mark of the season with 14 pts in 5 games... the NHL can't afford to lose him. all the bleeding hearts will petition to have hitting removed from hockey if his career is over.

You remember how long it took for Lilja to come back from a concussion?

A long time.

He kept having recurring headaches.

From the time of his injury in late 2009, he only played 20 regular season games in the 2009-10 season following.

Let that sink in for a minute. He missed roughly a full season of playing time.

I don't like Crosby like pretty much everybody else on here but you don't mess around trying to come back from concussions sooner than needed.

[wings1110]

Oh come on! You're better than that.

Was Maltby the youngest captain to win a Cup?
Does Maltby have a Hart, Art Ross, Richard and a 1st and 2nd Team All-Star selections?
Did Maltby ever lead the league in PPG over 6 seasons like Crosby has since his rookie year?

Obviously it is not one Cup that makes Crosby a HOF lock, but a combination of his accomplishments. That one Cup does differentiate Crosby from players with similar (though still lesser) primes like Lindros and Bure, and we all know that matters to the committee.

Things like his age, his fame (and ability to have not been involved in any sort of scandal), Cup win, Olympic gold and the "golden shot" (groan) all matter to the committee. Like it or not.

It is inconceivable that Crosby would not make the Hall if he retired today. Same with Ovechkin.

Maltby isn't a ****** though.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Maltby isn't a ****** though.

I will guarantee you probably a majority of fans think otherwise about Maltby. He was a type of player that was easily hated if you weren't a fan of the team he played on. Just like most here probably think of Crosby.

[Majsheppard]

I really hope he never plays again. I don't get any pleasure out of saying that, I just think that certain players hurt the game more than help it. Crosby fits into that because so many little ones look up to him and all he does is play extremely well skill wise and extremely poor ethic/gamesmanship/sportsmanship wise.

I am in the opinion that nothing is more important now than to be a good example to the kids on how to act gracefully in whatever they do.

I am awful sick of dealing with people who think it is okay to act the way Crosby and other superstars act.

[Majsheppard]

He's actually played 6 seasons, because he started when he was 18.

Rocket Richard
Art Ross
Pearson
Hart
Stanley Cup
World Jr. Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal

572 points in 412 games
82 points in 62 playoff games

At 24 years old he already has more personal and team achievements than most guys who have ever played the game.

He's a lock for the HHOF no matter what happens at this point.

I think you are high. He is close to being a lock for the HHOF... but I don't think most voters will justify 6 years as a true career.

That might be blind distaste for him, but I just think most voters look for reasons to exclude people.

I tell you what, if Crosby gets in right now. I will be extremely pissed if Osgood doesn't get in.

Which really is better? An amazing short career, or a consistently strong long career?

[Holmstrom96]

Maltby isn't a ****** though.

Maltby was a total ******. The only thing was that he was OUR ******, and we loved him. He was always stirring s***, being a pest, running his mouth, but never actually backed his words by dropping his gloves.

I love Maltby, but to say he wasn't a ****** is a dis-service to his career of douchebaggery.

[haroldsnepsts]

I think you are high. He is close to being a lock for the HHOF... but I don't think most voters will justify 6 years as a true career.

That might be blind distaste for him, but I just think most voters look for reasons to exclude people.

I tell you what, if Crosby gets in right now. I will be extremely pissed if Osgood doesn't get in.

Which really is better? An amazing short career, or a consistently strong long career?

You can look at that list of achievements and then say I'm high for thinking he gets in? Joe Niewendyk was just inducted to the HHOF remember. Who cares that it was 6 years? So if someone had played 15 years and had Crosby's resume, they'd get in no problem?

It's not about what's better, the long career or short tremendous career. But for the 6 years he's been in the NHL, Crosby has been consistently one of the league's elite players and racked up a lot of hardware.

Hopefully he'll start playing again and the discussion will be irrelevant, but Crosby's going in the HHOF even if he never steps on the ice again.

And for those rooting he never plays again, they should really think about what they're saying. If they're sick of hearing of him now, wait til they constantly hear about "what could have been" and "the greatest career cut short."

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 17 August 2011 - 10:37 AM.

[haroldsnepsts]

I really hope he never plays again. I don't get any pleasure out of saying that, I just think that certain players hurt the game more than help it. Crosby fits into that because so many little ones look up to him and all he does is play extremely well skill wise and extremely poor ethic/gamesmanship/sportsmanship wise.

I am in the opinion that nothing is more important now than to be a good example to the kids on how to act gracefully in whatever they do.

I am awful sick of dealing with people who think it is okay to act the way Crosby and other superstars act.

what poor ethic, gamesmanship, sportsmanship?

My main knock about Crosby in that arena was I'd never heard him credit the other team's players in a loss. And the first couple seasons he did a fair amount of whining and diving. But all that seems to be improving and he's only 24. When asked what player he'd build a team around, he picked Zetterberg for chrissakes. And he's always been gracious about crediting his teammates.

So I don't see what's so disgraceful about how he conducts himself, especially compared to other star players like Henrik Sedin, Joe Thorton, and even Ovechkin.

Don't get me wrong he's definitely got some quality about him that makes it easy to hate him, screaming like a little girl when he scores. Being generally a goober or something, and mostly just because he's so friggin good, but there's no question he busts his ass out there.

I guess that's just a long way of saying that if we're talking about poor sportsmanship, there's plenty of guys I'd pick over Crosby, even if we're just limiting it to star players.

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 17 August 2011 - 10:48 AM.

[WorkingOvertime]

I really hope he never plays again. I don't get any pleasure out of saying that, I just think that certain players hurt the game more than help it. Crosby fits into that because so many little ones look up to him and all he does is play extremely well skill wise and extremely poor ethic/gamesmanship/sportsmanship wise.

I am in the opinion that nothing is more important now than to be a good example to the kids on how to act gracefully in whatever they do.

I am awful sick of dealing with people who think it is okay to act the way Crosby and other superstars act.

Can you cite any specific examples of Crosby acting inappropriately? He certainly doesn't have the best character in the league, but he is far from the worst. Also, considering the hype he's lived with for 10+ years, I think he's adjusted relatively well.

[Majsheppard]

Crap I just wrote a long response and the kitten hit refresh on the keyboard.

So here is the abridged version.

Many writers believe class counts for something in getting into a hall of fame. I believe fame should be dependent upon how they hold themselves as a person.

He dives, he whines, he acts in a way that if my son did that I would scold him. He does things that non-marquee players would be called cheaters for... It isn't all on him, it is the superstar culture but he does act poorly, especially for a hockey player.

Do I think that will keep him out? No.

It might if he retires now. Also he really hasn't the numbers to get in, the reverse Osgood argument.

I put it this way.
Hypothetically, if he plays 10 more years and because of his concussion he has balance issues that lead to him never getting more than 30 pts again. Would he get in the hall with 16 years and about 900 pts?

I don't think he does. Based on that rational, I don't think he gets in if he were to retire now. His entire career, albeit impressive, is not complete therefore you wouldn't bestow that lock upon him.That is all I was saying about your statement about him being a lock no matter what happens. I think it premature.

Honestly, I will use every argument used against Osgood and others because I only think it fair to be consistent. I might be wrong about him being a lock, but that is my viewpoint.

I am however quite confident that beyond skill, there is nothing impressive about Crosby as a human being and I dislike his attitude. That should count for something when there are people looking up to him.

Edited by Majsheppard, 17 August 2011 - 12:54 PM.

[vladdy16]

I am however quite confident that beyond skill, there is nothing impressive about Crosby as a human being and I dislike his attitude. That should count for something when there are people looking up to him.

Unfortunately it's the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the Role Model Hall of Fame. What he does with his hockey skill set will determine whether or not he gets in, not whether he whines or dives.

[haroldsnepsts]

Unfortunately it's the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the Role Model Hall of Fame. What he does with his hockey skill set will determine whether or not he gets in, not whether he whines or dives.

Exactly.

If it were based on the conduct in every aspect of a players life, there'd be at least a few players that wouldn't have made it in. Certainly not Ciccarelli. And Chelios would never make it in.

[Hockeytown Red Wings]

I hope he comes back. There's nothing better than beating your rival when they have no excuses. If Crosby is gone, I'll lose a lot of hate for the Pens. And it can be just as fun to root against a team as it is to root for a team.

So hurry back Sid, and may you find yourself running into a KronWall soon.

[RusDRW]

This thread is not geniuous enough without that girl named Carman! Where are you, Carman?