Mike Schopp and the Bulldog rank everything. Sometimes, when a player retires, the sportstalking duo will "Stack'em Up". Bulldog is on vacation and Mike was watching Headline News all morning. So, I decided to 'Stack Up' Joe Sakic.
Here are the list of players I consider better than Joe Sakic. Please keep in mind that Joe Sakic was great. If a doctor smacked baby Joe Sakic on the butt, handed him to his father and said, "This kid is going to be the 75th best player in NHL history", Joe Sakic's dad would have been happy. He wouldn't have said, "I can't believe you have Mike Gartner ahead of my newborn son!"
Here is the list. It is not in order of best-to-worst, the players are in the order of which I thought of them.
Peter Forsberg
Steve Yzerman
Wayne Gretzky
Mark Messier
Mario Lemieux
Gordie Howe
Bobby Orr
Glen Hall
Ray Bourque
Tim Horton
Gilbert Perreault
Mike Gartner
Dominik Hasek
Martin Broduer
Patrick Roy
Grant Fuhr
Dale Hawerchuk
Denis Potvin
Jacques Plante
Adam Oates
Dale Hunter
Luc Robitaille
Chris Chelios
Valeri Kharlamov
Johnny Bower
Marcel Dionne
Bryan Trottier
Jarri Kurri
Michel Goulet
Jeremy Roenick
Denis Savard
Nick Lidstrom
Phil Esposito
Rod Brind'amor
Al MacInnis
Sidney Crosby
Vlad Tretiak
Frank Mohovlich
Peter Stasny
Maurice Richard
Jaromir Jagr
Jean Beliveau
Chris Pronger
Dino Ciccareli
Howie Morenz
Doug Harvey
Ron Francis
Terry Sawchuk
Guy Lafluer
Mike Bossy
Cam Neely
Henri Richard
Sergei Federov
Claude Lemieux
Joe Nieuwendyk
Daryl Sittler
Eddie Shore
Bobby Clarke
Bobby Hull
Brett Hull
Scott Niedermayer
Scott Stevens
Bernie Parent
Ted Lindsay
Ron Hextall
Alexander Ovechkin
Pavel Bure
Paul Coffey
Brian Leetch
Stan Mikita
Brendan Shanahan
Jerome Iginla
Teemu Selanne
Mike Richter
Then....Joe Sakic.
Also, I probably spelled half of these names wrong. Go SUNY!
Stack'em Up-Joe Sakic 75th Best Player in NHL History
enter your anti-mike gartner comments here.
07/08/2009 4:34PM
you're crazy
hawerchuck? oates? claude lemeiux? richter? bure? shanahan?
come on greg, you are better than this!
07/08/2009 4:34PM
What . . .
How can you put Crosby and Ovechkin on there and leave off Malkin? When ever you talk about Crosby and Ovechkin I think Malkin needs to be in the coversation.
07/08/2009 4:41PM
players not better from this list
Gartner, Claude Lemieux, Hunter, Nieuwendyk, Shanahan, Iginla, Richter, Luc Robitaille
07/08/2009 5:02PM
Huge Miss
Morris Wanchuk not making this list is a travesty the proportion of which is immeasurable
07/08/2009 5:02PM
Dino?
Dude...Dino Cicarelli?? Dude?!
07/08/2009 5:04PM
huh?
Jeremy Roenick? You should not use the rating from Sega NHL 94 in compiling this list.
07/08/2009 5:07PM
Terribly underrating Sakic
Don't discount Joe because he's still present-day. The Hockey News had him at #94 in 1998, and all he's done since then is add a Hart/Pearson, Cup #2, and about 750 more points. So clutch, too. This is brutal.
07/08/2009 5:38PM
Wow...
I think you might of forgot why you were listing players at some points during this, they were supposed to be better than Joe Sakic, not Andrew Peters.
07/08/2009 6:03PM
LALA
How the hell can you leave patty lafontaine off this list?! disgusting
07/08/2009 6:48PM
Wow, really bad
Sakic is better than a ton of these guys. Hunter, Claude, Leetch, Roenick, Ricter, Bure, Goulet, Oates, Robatille. And I hate to say it, but he is better than Lafontaine as well. Sakic was a great talent, but his intangibles but him well past alot of these guys.
07/08/2009 6:48PM
Uh....
I'm confused. How can a guy with the leadership and professionalism of Joe Sakic be 75th on your best players of all time list and be 8th all time in career points? He's top 25 for sure!
07/08/2009 8:14PM
Wow
More hockey, in July, interesting.... boring
07/08/2009 8:25PM
Oates
Adam Oates is an embarassment to this list
07/08/2009 8:48PM
Did Anyone read the whole list?
Ron Hextall was included - their is no reasonable argument that could justify Hextall as being better than Sakic.
07/08/2009 9:16PM
I'd be embarrassed...
To put that list up. It clearly shows you do not do your homework when it comes to the history of hockey
07/08/2009 9:37PM
goalies
Its just a little weird goalies are on the list as well. i wouldn't have included them. But you did. So whatever.
07/08/2009 9:38PM
Do you even know who Sakic is?
Without putting too much thought into it, I immediately place Sakic higher than atleast 45 names on your list. Oates, C. Lemiex, Hextall? Is this material from your stand-up act? My own $.02, Lafontaine is better then a quarter of this list too
07/08/2009 11:16PM
Not serious?
This list was probably written just to get a discussion going (it worked). I don't think Greg actually thinks a lot of these guys are really better than Sakic. 8th all time in points, 7th all time in playoff points, most OT playoff goals ever... the list goes on. I'd say he's at least top 50.
07/09/2009 12:05AM
Really?
I love the humor of G.Bauch, but please, there are no less then 30 guys on that list that Sakic had a better career than.
07/09/2009 2:04AM
hey how come...
no one has a problem with forsberg? i find that hard to believe, sakic captained that colorado team. that's the one you can argue with, i mean, c'mon hextall was pure entertainment.
07/09/2009 4:21AM
SORRY GREG
I feel bad for Greg, but we all make mistakes. That SEGA comment is absolutely hilarious though!!! We can argue about this forever, the fact of the matter is GO SABRES GO...the only players I care about are SABRES!!! PECA 4 LIFE!!!
07/09/2009 8:43AM
The sad thing...
..is that if Joe Sakic was a self-promoter, grand-stander, showboat etc., then he would have been listed higher in anybody's rankings. He played his entire career in a class manner and had great integrity. Because he wasnt an ESPN "look at me" kind ofguy, he gets punished on his ranking. Ron Hextall was better?? LOL
07/09/2009 9:06AM
Did you forget....
the great Eric Lindros? LOL!
07/09/2009 11:07AM
Bang on!
The perfect list. The oft-overlooked Dale Hunter absolutely belongs though most would leave him off. The only thing I would debate is that Hardy Astrom could possibly be added. Just a thought.
07/09/2009 11:27AM
The increasingly sad thing....
is that there is someone out there that mistakes Greg's numerous attempts at humor with actual comedy. The fake Jack Buck broadcasts, the Panther and the other slapstick are nothing but wallpaper over a radio show that contunues to underachieve and underwhelm. Anytime Andy Roth decides to replace these rectums with ESPN Radio would be welcomed
07/09/2009 12:57PM
i agree
just run the Jim Rome show twice. Greg, Schop, and the Bulldog suck. So does Corey Griswold, by the way. Give Nick Mendola and Andrew Filiponi the morning show, and bring back Brad Riter to team with Jeremy White in the afternoons.
07/09/2009 1:04PM
Ameteur
every talk show on 550 should be cancelled, and just loop rome all day. this list is a perfect example of why.
07/09/2009 1:07PM
haha
i like that idea. rome 8 times per day. better than the crap that is on the air the rest of the day on wgr
07/09/2009 1:08PM
Do you watch hockey?
Do us all a favor and start ranking the best wnba or lpga plaers of all time, that way we wont have the interest to look at your borderline retarded lists.
07/09/2009 1:09PM
?
explain how sid crosby is ahead on this list?
07/09/2009 1:12PM
yikes
You guys should really, really not have a sports show.
07/09/2009 1:13PM
wow
everyone who watches baseball knows who brett gardner is since last year you tool
07/09/2009 1:16PM
WORST wgr staff members ranking
1. cory griswald
2. mike schop
3. greg bauch
4. howard simon
5. jeremy white
6. dan hager
7. the bulldog
07/09/2009 1:22PM
Weird
What are you guys that hate WGR so much doing on the website? Get a life posers.
07/09/2009 1:31PM
ummm
there arent too many breaking sports news websites that focus on buffalo sports, so we take what we can get. doesnt mean we should accept sub-par programming, especially since it is the only one in town
07/09/2009 1:37PM
what?
It really seems like you are biased towards the players of the 80's, 90's and present. That just shows how stupid this list is.....
07/09/2009 2:25PM
"Weird" got OWNED!!!!!
hahahaha
07/09/2009 5:02PM
To "Weird"
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid and wearing the Coach mask. "Ummm" is on target - the monopoly that GR has doesn't mean it doesn't suck
07/09/2009 5:04PM
Useless
The only thing worse than the Sakic list is another Jeremy White poll!! All Brad Riter Radio Network, all the time!!!
07/09/2009 5:08PM
Rome
I think Rome's show is aweful. Schopp and Bauuch are much wittier and dont have to go "slummin" to be funny. I'll take the afternoon show over Rome anyday.
07/09/2009 8:33PM
Crosby??
Come on now...Crosby??
Don't be like the NHL who loves their "baby"...Crosby doesn't deserve to be on this list, especially seeing as how he hasn't been in the league very long
07/09/2009 11:44PM
Where's Vladimir Tysplakov?
Man, he never gets any love.
07/10/2009 8:14AM
ha
"Rome" your a deusch. what else do you like about them? that no caller can ever make a good point in their eyes? grow up
07/10/2009 8:47AM
Schopp
The people who hate on Mike Schopp do so because they're idiots. Go back to drinking your beers and sporting your zoobas. I would much rather listen to Schopp and Bulldog than to the same, boring phone calls ("Larry Quinn is a land developer," "The Sabres should have kept Drury"). You're the same people that dislike Colin Cowherd's show, even though his is the most interesting show on the station.
07/10/2009 9:08AM
learn to spell
aweful? NICE, dumbass
07/10/2009 9:53AM
no
No schopp really is a tool your wrong. He can go be non entertaining and second guessing somewhere else. These guys may suffer cause there's more than one inbooth. Where rome may benefit for going it alone, not sure but sometimes it just seems annoying with more people. But in all seriousness Schopp is such a dbag, when I hear him make a point where it doesn't sound like he's reeling into a pile of crap i'll think about it.
07/10/2009 10:55AM
shopp
sucks!!!
07/10/2009 1:50PM
Anyone here over the age of seven?
Is all the hate towards Schopp because he likely knows the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE...?
07/10/2009 2:25PM
no
it is because he sucks
07/10/2009 3:56PM
Get a grip!
Please do us all a favor and keep your negative comments to yourself. No need to rip on these guys. They're makin' a living. Don't like them? Then turn 'em off. No harm done. But calling them names is just lame. Go back to grade school.
07/13/2009 8:37AM
RE: Get a grip!
Keep your negative comments to yourself? This is a comment section, right? Congrats to the folks that are calling out this clown radio station. Turn them off?? They are the sports radio option for the region. The fact that they do a poor job should be called out and the program director, rather than allowing mediocrity, should do something about it. Making a living? Maybe you should stop being a kissarse. These guys are stealing a paycheck with the vaudeville acts and condescending attitudes.
07/13/2009 3:37PM
comments
All these negative comments with no reasoning. Saying the station does a poor job & the staff sucks is fine if you think that. But at least give reasons why you think that. Personally, I think they do a great job. And the funniest comment in here wasthe guy who said "the only players I care about are SABRES!!!" At least I'm assuming that was a joke...
07/13/2009 3:57PM
reasons
they arent funny.
they think they are.
they think they are better than the callers.
there is better (and cheaper) programming available during that time slot.
no one wants to hear about schopp's wife's tennis career, or bauch's unfunny stand-up routine
07/13/2009 11:47PM
?!?!?
How are goalies on this list. Its hard to say a goalie is better than a skater theres nothing to really compare them with. On this list he is much much better than at least 30% of it and shuld at least be ranked in the top 25 if not higher
07/14/2009 12:42AM
"Schopp" was probably written by Schopp
I'm almost positive that "Schopp", the guy defending him was Schopp. No one in their right mind could think he was a good sports talk host. He repeatedly makes statements showing how little he actually likes sports.
07/17/2009 2:14PM
more schopp
schopp is great because he puts idiotic callers in their place. someone needs to do something with the moron sports fans we have around here, and schopp is the guy to keep them in check.
if you dont like schopp, its probably because he shot down yoursimple-minded, moronic opinion when you called in at 3:30 in the middle of your overpaying, easy union job.
BTW...Bauch is also great. those of you who dont find him funny are probably the same idiots who find Ali G funny or Carrot top funny.
07/17/2009 4:38PM
Shopp
Schopp is a nasty egotistical jerk who only tolerates callers who back up his narrow points. I agree that he is intelligent (for a radio guy) but too often he is unwilling to accept any other words from callers but his own. I hear callers tip toeing around fearful that they are going to tick him off. The bulldog alone is a much more friendly and enjoyable show. Shopp could return to some corporate abuse job somewhere and I would never miss him.
07/20/2009 3:09PM
they suck
bauch and schopp, that is
07/20/2009 3:23PM
I agree
I agree with everything just said. Bulldog alone is much better than when teamed with Schopp. Oh and in response to an earlier comment I can't stand Schopp and I do know the difference between your and you're. The former is possessive as in your opinion. The latter is a contraction for you are.
07/21/2009 6:14PM
Tretiak?
Vlad Tretiak never played in the NHL...he retired in 1984 from CSKA Moscow,having never been allowed to play in North America as a professional.I think he currently works as a consultant for the 'Hawks.So,now that space has opened up on the list,I nominate Morris Titanic..as he seems to meet the non-existent criteria as well as some of the players on the list now.
To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 1 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 2 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; tournament; WGR; Jeremy White; Golf; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 3 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy tips.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 4 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 5 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 6 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 7 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala; To prepare you for the WGR Celebrity Golf Tournament 2008, this video focuses on Hole 8 at Tri-County Country Club's course. Video hosts Jeremy White and Steve Warzala will share each hole's layout and strategy.; Golf; WGR; Jeremy White; Tri-County Country Club; Steve Warzala;
E-Mail Story
Print Story
