Who's the best? Let the debate begin.(NHL)

Hockey fans were spoiled in the '80s, but they also were missing out in a way. Who was the best player of that decade? There was never a question, considering the greatest of all time was at his best then. With Wayne Gretzky on the ice night after night, season after season, fans across North America were deprived of debate.

Maybe late in the decade, a few people argued Mario Lemieux was better. Maybe. But for the most part, there wasn't a question about the identity of the best. Maybe who was No. 2 or 3. Or, perhaps, the best goalie. In the "all-time" debate, a few might have been willing to choose Bobby Orr because he changed the way the game was played instead ...