Who is the greater athlete: Gretzky, Lemieux or Roy?

Question

I have to say Roy. 4 stanley cups, one his rookie year, 3 conn smythe, 3 vezina, most wins, most games. I met the manl, he;s really nice too. 5 minutes alone in his office. Autographs, conversation, pix, its was really nice.

http://www.joemaloufiii.us/Photo5.html

Answer 1

Gretzky... Roy was great but c'mon.

This is like comparing Michael Jordan to Dennis Rodman.  I know that Roy has a lot of hardware but we are comparing a offensive power against a defensive power....Gretzky had much more of a impact on the game (I hate saying that because I don't want to imply that Roy did not have a impact... but Gretzky became the dream of a standard).

Answer 2

Lemieux for many reasons.   He battled cancer, back problems, etc.  and still won how many scoring titles.  He didn't have McSorely (spelling?) fighting for him.  The other 2 are obviously great in their own rights but I've always been in awe of how much of a warrior Lemieux is.

Answer 3

Gretzky because he was a multiple sport player when he was a kid and can pitch ambidextrous, I'm not sure about the other two but this makes Gretzky a pretty good ATHLETE in my mind.

Answer 4

You say which one IS the greater athlete, so I assume you mean now, not when they were playing. I'd have to say Lemieux because he's quite a good golfer. Roy and Gretzky are both coaches, meaning their main diet is donuts and coffee so they are naturally out of shape,

Answer 5

GRETZKY!

Answer 6

i was arguing with a coworker about this and i think gretzky he thinks lemieux

Answer 7

By far Super Mario. Gretzky played many years where most guys wouldn't even touch hime going into the neutral, or offensive zone. Not to dicredit gretz he is and was and seen as the best to ever play the game and i can't disagree. But to answer your question hoestly Mario is a much better athlete, that endured more physical punishment then gretz ever did. Overall both are AMAZING players.

Answer 8

Nice tribute to Casseau on your website Joe, as he is one of the main reason I started playing goalie I am a tad envious of your having met the man! Anyway the abbreviation for Quebec is PQ (Province de Quebec) or QC (Quebec) .. I know from having gone to college in Trois-Rivieres) and used either PQ or QC .. whether if writing something in French or English never saw QB makes La Belle Province seem like a football player

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Roy set a standard for goalies in his era which we may never see again from anyone .. not Turco, not Giguere, not Luongo, nobody. personne. nadie. As far as the age-old Lemieux-Gretzky debate, Mario gets my vote.

Answer 9

Gretzky, then Lemieux and last Roy.

Answer 10

dude totally Gretzky

Ask yourself this question-who is the hockey god??

hmm?

thats what i thought

Answer 11

Actually, the eggheads at MIT did make a computer program to determine who was best. Because Super Mario lost so much time to injury and illness, the computer projected what he would have accomplished had he played as much as Wayne, therein leveling the playing field, and Mario came out first!

Answer 12

If we are using achievement as the standard then clearly Gretzky is head and shoulders above anyone. If we are using talent then I would say Lemieux. One thing that you and everyone needs to take into account, and something that has yet to be mentioned in the answering of this question is the talent around the players. Gretzky's early 80's and late 70's Oilers were AMAZING he was surrounded by LEGENDS of the game. His point production greatly reduced when he left Edmonton (he was still putting up great numbers but 150+ points a year didnt happen year in and out) Lemieux's Penguins for ALL of the 80s were HORRIBLE, as many others have noted Lemieux also spent much of his career fighting injuries and when he actually did have talent around him the NHL turned into tackle football between the blue lines where hooking, holding, slashing, and cross checking wasnt just allowed it was almost expected.

If you give Lemieux the talent that Gretzky had with the Oilers, reasonable health, and allowed him to play with talent in an open ice era and you force Gretzky to suffer injury after injury and play with AHL talent  for his prime developmental years the numbers take a drastic turn.

Answer 13

I'd have to say Wayne Gretzky because he has the most points all-time in the NHL but if Lemieux wasn't injured, he would have been up there with Gretzky. Yes, Patrick Roy is a great goaltender but you can't compare a player to a goalie. They are two different position and have completely different statistics. But I'd say that Roy is the best goalie all-time.

Answer 14

That's a difficult question, because they Gretzky, Mario, and St. Patrick played such different positions, and not only that, Gretzky and Lemieux had such different styles. You also have to look at the talent around them. Gretzky had a lot of real men to protect his wussy a+s, and Mario couldn't stand playing on the same ice as a real defense. I'd actually say Roy, because he was solid alone in the playoffs (re: St. Patrick of the Playoffs), and he carried the Habs to the Cup.

Answer 15

gretzky is like my idol i wanna b able to play as good as him so i go for gretzky

Answer 16

Are you realllllly asking this? Gretzky is the best! He is my hero!

Answer 17

Gretzky, but if Lemieux didn't go through chronic back pain[even when he was 18], chronic tendinitis, Hodgkin's disease, spinal disc herniations, irregular heartbeat, (etc...etc..) I believe he would've gave Wayne a run for his money.

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Well, it is difficult to compare two forwards to a goaltender, and awards isn't really an accurate way to...determine the greatest athlete, I guess. Lemieux, Gretzky and Roy all hold unique records..... I've met Marty Straka before..with autographs and conversations, it was really nice, hahaha, but that doesn't mean anything =P

Answer 18

I don't know...........this isn't fair to Lemieux. He did expirence more than Pat or Wayne ever did.

Gretz was God.......Roy is amazing.......but Lemieux suffered and still was great.

So...I'll take some c**p here, but I'm going to say Mario. Mario had to train harder, he had to over come a lot of pain just to keep playing.

Answer 19

Normally I would say Gretzky, but when you put Roy in the mix, nobody comes first when it comes to hockey.. for me :D

My answer is Patrick Roy