That's debatable unless you are solely using counting stats.
I'm not going to go back and watch the games but both those guys were centers in that run and looking at Bollands usage I doubt that he played a ton with Kane that year.
However you want to frame it friend. We’re all entitled to our opinions
Thanks for the clarification as your first sentence talked about SC runs and I was looking at the 12-13 playoffs.
I picked Kopitar for prime because most of the time, the offensive gap is pretty minimal on a season per season basis, and of course taking into account usage.
Again, if offense is the one and only thing that factors into peak, Kane has an argument. I don't view a hockey player that way.
Toews scored at around a 15% higher rate at 5v5 from 2010-2014, which is a point in his favor. However, Toews also played with significantly better linemates: over this time period his most common linemates were Kane, Hossa and Sharp. Kopitar did not have any hall of fame wingers on his line, he had Dustin Brown and Justin Williams. And when you take into account that Kopitar played under Darryl Sutter vs one of the best transition teams in Chicago at the time what Kopitar was able to produce looks more impressive. And Kopitar was always better defensively
Sure.. but then I guess the question for everyone would be, at what point does a players offense become too significant for any two way play to overcome in player to player comparisons?
You and a couple others in this thread are trying really hard to sound smart. Nobody has provided a coherent argument as to what made Kopitar such an effective two way player, and why that would close such a strong offensive gap. Offense is obviously not the only thing that factors in to peak, but it is by far the most important factor for a forward.
This is a good question, and seems to be the premise of the thread. Kane usually doubled Kopitar's output in goals. Kopitar hovering around a 20 goal average during his peak, and Kane around a 35 goal average. Kane was the better playmaker as well. How about the playoffs though? That is where Kane really shines. Kopitar managed 5 goals and 8 goals on his Stanely Cup winning runs. Kane had 10, 9, and 11. Kane is the better playmaker and nearly more than doubles Kopitar's goal production in any given season or playoff run.
I can appreciate the different team strategies and deployments. But an over the hill Marian Gaborik got 14 goals when the Kings won their last cup vs. 5 for Kopitar. Kopitar just isn't very effective at scoring goals, especially when things tighten up. Kane lives for those moments, and can literally create something out of nothing. The level in which Kane is dangerous honestly pales in comparison to Kopitar. We got to watch these two go head to head a couple times in their prime with amazing teams around them. Kane was by far the most dangerous player on the ice.
