Will Sidney Crosby be better than number 99 at the end of his career ?

If you are going by how many points Crosby will score in his career, provided he stays healthy, he will not come close to Gretzky. That is because this is a different era. The '80s were the days of horrible goaltending and no defensive systems. BUT... I am a firm believer in the fact that every generation is better than its predecessor. I think we all can agree that Crosby, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, etc. would be able to skate circles around Howe, Richard, Bobby Hull, etc. The game evolves. In the nineties goalies started getting better because they started facing guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, and Yzerman. If you watch old '80s game film, its amazing the goals that actually scored. There is no way in heck those same goals go in on a Junior goalie. But these guys were trailblazers of a "new era" of offense. No one was used to this type of hockey and it took over the '80s. A lot of back hand shots, on ice shots... they just slip through the goalie. This all started to change once the butterfly technique came around. Don't know who started it... I'm assuming Patrick Roy. Now goalies were some of the best athletes on the team, can't say that about '80s goalies. This soon became the norm. Then you start to see the defensive systems too. Both lead to the dramatic drop in goals per game. But it is only a matter of time before the new era begins. We are seeing goal scorers like Ovechkin and Kovalchuk dominate this relatively new breed of goalie. . Now we are also seeing amazing puck handling of players like Pavel Datsyuk. Great passers like Crosby and Thornton. The main difference between today's superstars and Gretzky and Lemieux era stars, is the speed at which these players operate. These guys didn't play at blazing speeds like today's players do. Hockey is evolving constantly. Goalies evolve to learn how to stop Gretzky's and Lemieux's. Skaters evolve to combat new goalies and defensive systems. You can't tell me that Gretzky and Lemieux played anywhere near the speed of Ovechkin, Crosby, or Datsyuk. The reason all these players, old and new, are SO successful is because they are ahead of their time. THAT is what makes a superstar in hockey.

No doubt if someone invents a time machine and brings back Crosby, Ovechkin, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Thornton, Iginla, and many others, that they would easily put of Gretzky like numbers in the mid '80s, my guess is that they would put up more like 300 points. Players are a product of their surroundings. They adapt to what ever the obstacles are.

In reality comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. The only real way to compare the two is to see how far above every one else they are in their own era. That is what sets Gretzky apart. He has more assists in his career than anyone has points. So in answer to your question... Yes Crosby IS better than Gretzky... but so are all the superstars in todays NHL. No, nobody will ever break Gretzky's scoring records. These guys came to the NHL 20 years to late.

No, number 99 played a different kind of game than Sidney Crosby in a time era that had different rules and regulations. No one will ever have anywhere near 215 points or 92 goals in a single season if the NHL remains the same that it is today.

Extra:

Dewman down there provided an essay version of what my post meant.. haha :D

Hard to say. Gretzky and Crosby are in different eras. Wayne had a GREAT team built around him that stayed together. Sidney has a few good players in a time where it is difficult to maintain a team.

I doubt that Crosby will rack up the points, trophies, and Stanley Cups that Gretzky had earned.

Unless there are major rule changes that come... Crosby cannot touch most of Gretzkys records! Just the facts! Its a different ERA and goalies are "as a group" better than they were in the Gretzky Era and have better equipment. Also, there have been many changes to the game, like the TRAP and better team defense.

Gone are the days of 200 point seasons from players.

Gretzky played a different game than Crosby. Gretzky wouldn't be Gretzky today. That being said. Gretzky was a god among men on the ice. There were higher stats back then across the board, but he wasn't just better, he was CONSIDERABLY better. Crosby is great, but he has peers. Malkin, Ovenchkin, Zetterburg, Datsyuk. . . They are all in his league. . . They may not be as good, but they are at least competitive with him. . .

No one was even close to Gretzky, except maybe Super Mario. . .

Those are big shoes to fill. The thing that made Gretzky different was not his skating, his passing, his shooting or any of the normal things you they use to rate hockey players. What set him apart was his vision. He had the ability to know (not anticipate) what was going to happen. He termed it as "going to where the puck was going to be" but I personally believe that it was more than that.

Crosby has exceptional skills, that fact cannot be denied. He is probably a better skater, passer, shooter and stick handler than Gretzky was. I do not think that he has the "vision" that Gretzky had and that is what will prevent him from achieving that same status.

No. I'm not going to say anything more, not point out the obvious fact that neither Crosby's goals or points are even remotely on pace to equal Gretzky's I'm just say straight NO.

No but Crosby is a gamer I mean half his team quit in the Finals but he pushed on

he would be back, yet he's gonna make particular you be at 2 hundred% in the previous he does. He felt solid for like 3 days from what I comprehend, and he nevertheless had indications for sure. So he's likely to desire to experience ok for like a month in the previous he comes back this time.

I don't think so. I doubt that Crosby will play as long as Gretzky did.