mikey287 wrote:That's a pretty slippery slope there. I don't want to take anything away from Francis, but he was never at Jagr's level really...
Francis accomplishments:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60027&p=2252136#p2252136Jagr accomplishments:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60027&p=2251948#p2251948One was the best player on the planet, one was never the best player on the team. I respect what Francis did here big time, I love the quiet two-way guy that does all the little things with the high attention to detail. But there isn't enough faceoffs in the world for him to take that could broach what Jagr did in his time here. It's simply not close.
We simply have a different criteria for defining greatness in the context of the Pittsburgh Penguins, something entirely subjective. To me, it's a balance of talent and leadership, offense and defense, clutch plays and consistency. Composure and poise take precedence over emotion and bravado. The good done for the team is offset by the bad. Contribution to team accomplishments are more important than individual accomplishments.
Jagr is a special player and in terms of talent and singular offensive domination, one of the greatest ever. Maybe top five. Maybe second only to Mario. However, he had a lot of faults, and his Penguins are defined by his scoring titles more than anything else. In my opinion, he was a mediocre leader and left the Penguins with a tarnished reputation. In my opinion, he was not a required component to the cup wins in the 90s.
In my eyes, Mario, Francis and Barrasso were all essential to the 90s cups. Francis was a perfect leader, role model and the symmetry of offense and defense to his game was nearly perfect. He sacrificed stature and big money for winning. He did whatever was necessary for the team to win without complaint. Furthermore, I think his guidance was essential to the success of Jagr, and he slowly unraveled mentally without him. I don't recall Francis ever sulking. I'm sure it happened, but I don't recall him losing his cool. He left the Pens with his head high.
But like I said, this is all subjective. All opinion. Nonetheless, that's my reasoning.