Crosby vs. Gretzky

Early in his career Eric Lindros was given the nickname the "Next One", while Mario Lemieux was "marvelous"and "super". Along with a list of other players who have been labeled as the next big thing in the National Hockey League (NHL), these are just two of said players who’s stats cannot be compared to the greatest player to ever play the game, the "great one" Wayne Gretzky.

Players have come and gone and not one can even be uttered in the same sentence with Gretzky, until now it would appear. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins is now being labeled as the next superstar in hockey. But the question posed is, will he be the next Gretzky?

Sid the kid has only played two full seasons in the NHL amassing a total of two hundred twenty two points, seventy-five goals and one hundred forty seven assists. He also lead the Penguins to their first post season series in years and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy for the leagues leading scorer, the Lester B. Pearson for outstanding player and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the Leagues Most Valuable Player.

Crosby also has the advantage of playing under Mario Lemieux who is partial owner of the Penguins, playing with future hall of famer Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi and playing with experienced players like Zigmund Palffy, Sergei Gonchar and the newly acquired Petr Sykora. The Experience surrounding Crosby can only make him a better player.

With players like Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, Ryan Malone and future superstar Evgeni Malkin, Crosby has the support of a young team that will be winning a lot of hockey games in the near future. Look for Crosby and the Penguins to finish tops in their division in the up coming season.

If Sidney Crosby can stay healthy in what is a very brutal game and continue to grow as a player, he could easily achieve some great milestones and quite possibly a Stanley Cup win before his twenty-fifth birthday (currently nineteen) or shortly there after.

However, the question is not whether Crosby will be the next big thing in hockey, but the question is will he be the next Wayne Gretzky?

In Gretzky's first two seasons in the NHL back in 1979-1981 he had a total of three hundred one points, one hundred six goals and one hundred ninety five assist. Also in his first two seasons he had two Hart Memorial Trophies, one Art Ross Trophy and one Lady Byng Memorial trophy for sportsmanship.

Gretzky also had a great supporting staff early in his career with the Edmonton Oilers with players like Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson and Paul Coffey. Not only did he have the privilege of playing with some great players in Edmonton early on, but also later in his career with the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers where he eventually ended his career in 1999.

When Wayne Gretzky was twenty-five years old he had six Art Ross Trophies, seven Art Memorial Trophies and four Lester B. Pearson Awards. He also had two Stanley Cup wins with two Conn Symthe Trophies for playoff MVP. But, the most startling fact that proves Gretzky's superior greatness are the numbers themselves. After six seasons in the NHL Gretzky had more then one thousand one hundred points, four hundred twenty-nine goals and six hundred ninety-three assists. These statistics represent just one third of his career totals.

If Sidney Crosby wants to come close to equaling the numbers that Gretzky had early in his career he will need to tally more then two hundred points over the next four seasons. A feat that has only ever been done by one man, Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky scored two hundred points four times in five years, the one season he didn’t he tallied one hundred ninety-six points.

In almost twenty years in the NHL Gretzky's numbers are nothing short of amazing: eight hundred ninety-four goals, one thousand nine hundred sixty-three assists, two thousand eight hundred fifty-seven points, first in all three, almost one thousand points more then second, Mark Messier. Of Gretzky's many records are his ten Art Ross Trophies, nine Hart Memorial Trophies, most goals in a season with ninety-two, most assists in a season one hundred sixty-five and most total points in a season with two hundred fifteen.

To answer the question, is Sidney Crosby the next Wayne Gretzky? The answer is obviously no. The way the game is played now with more skilled players commanding more of the score board and better goaltenders with bigger equipment, Gretzky's records will stand the test of time.

Undeniably, however, is Crosby's hold on todays game. He will be a superstar in the NHL more many years to come. He will win many more individual awards and Stanley Cups. Crosby is not the next big thing in hockey, he is the big thing in hockey. But he is no Gretzky.

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