The question was whether he has closed the gap, and he has to a pretty large extent. Yes Barzal is clearly the better player, you still take him over Zacha without thinking. But is the gap between the two the same now as it was 3 years ago? Heck no, Zacha has definitely closed the gap in a meaningful way.
The gap is still the size of Texas however. And that's no knock on Zacha. It's because Barzal is a franchise player and maybe one of the top four guys in the league. Yes nobody is McDavid but Crosby is aging; Matthews is a better finisher but maybe not a more impactful player than Barzal, and you might come up with a couple other names but Barzal is in that elite class.
You mean when @Omar Little said that Bratt was killing the Powerplay or such nonsense?
Oh I definitely think he’s as good for any club. Take Matthews support from around him and he’s just a sniper. Take Barzal away from the Isles and they are quite mediocre. Put him on any other team and they are immediately formidable. Outside of McDavid he’s the best skater in the league.
Let's see if in 20 years he's the greatest or 2nd greatest goal scorer of all time lol. Wouldn't that be crazy? Both they guys would score 100 in the 70s.
I should learn not to argue but look at who he’s surrounded with? My belief is if you put him on our club we don’t become as competitive as if you give us Barzal. We’d be a better team with the latter. There’s no settling such debates.
Fair enough but also I find I got sidetracked on the point, because comparing Barzal to Mathews really wasn't my point here anyway. (easy to get sidetracked in any discussion). The discussion was about Zacha and in maintaining that Barzal is or isn't in Mathews class I got way off the topic. But the old hare that we didn't draft Barzal instead of Zacha reared it's head again and I chased it down the rabbit hole.
