I watched him and a few other greats play- it was a privilege to see them on the ice- I am NOT a hockey fan by any means, but my goodness- when he was playing, it was a whole nother story- you knew you were witnessing history-
It was in my opinion, like someone who would have watched Hank Aaron or babe ruth, or any number of really great ball players for those that were around then- I only wish i coulda seen them too- but i was aroudn for Yazstremski (Spelling), Clemmens, Carlton Fisk- Wade Boggs, etc- that was awesome to watch- Those were great years in America- Not to mentio nthe greats in basketball- Bird, Jordan, McKale (sp?), Johnson, Kareem, etc-
For those who didn’t see him play, there are tons of video clips on youtube of him. He looks like an adult playing children. I was fortunate in that I grew up watching him, from his first season til his last.
Due to his opponents targeting his knees, they gave out, prematurely and cut his career short. If only knee surgery available today (arthroscopic and knee replacement) had been available back then, he inevetably could have played many more years.