Yeah, I have Crosby as the slightly better player overall, but in terms of career value? Bourque's the Gordie Howe of defenceman.For me, this is clearly Bourque.
At this point im a broken record repeating his accomplishments, but it deserves to be pointed out again.
In his 22 year career he..
never finished lower than 7th in Norris voting. Including 4 seasons where he finished just short of being a Norris finalist.
Was a Norris finalist 15 times, including 6 2nd place finishes and 5 wins.
His elite longevity is the best in his position and only surpassed by Howe.
Lidstrom may not be the best choice but I went with him. Stabilizing your 1D position for 15 years with one of the most effective and efficient guys to ever do it sounds real, real nice. Basically a 60+ point, great in all 3 zones, shutdown machine of a Dman. Yes please.
SEVEN Norris wins, six top-5 finishes, 4 finishes in the 6-8 range. Guy was just incredible for 15+ years across multiple eras where the game changed a ton.
Bourque or Jagr
I never saw Bourque play so I can’t speak to his talents. I’m sure he’s one of the best but I’ll stick with LidstromWouldn't you be better off doing the same with Bourque for 22 years?
Jagr is somewhat of an underrated choice, at 44 he finished 22nd in points and lead his team in scoring.
Bourque never got the job done in Boston despite captaining some competitive teams, made the finals twice in 20 years, in that regard he didn't have an all-time career.
In 1990 Gretzky and Coffey were gone, Fuhr injured. Definitely not an unbeatable machine either. The Bruins were Presidents' Trophy winners, yet lost in five without offering much of a challenge. But more than failing to overcome adversity any one year, in two decades Bourque's Bruins never found an extra gear in the playoffs.Lmao Bourque is the reason those teams even made the finals.
Let's not forget he lost to the dynasty Oilers and not some run of the mill team.
Tempted to go with Bourque (or Lidas, who is basically equally good choise). But at the end of the day, I will take Crosby.
I feel that overall Crosby impacts franchise just a tiny bit more that Bourque or Lidstrom.
Moose is a distant last place here for me in a vacuum.I briefly considered Messier, but vomited on my couch, so I didn't pick him.
In 1990 Gretzky and Coffey were gone, Fuhr injured. Definitely not an unbeatable machine either. The Bruins were Presidents' Trophy winners, yet lost in five without offering much of a challenge. But more than failing to overcome adversity any one year, in two decades Bourque's Bruins never found an extra gear in the playoffs.