Eric Staal Or Sebastian Aho?

[DitchMarner]

Staal's peak is higher, but CAR has been a more consistently competitive team with Aho as their top C. That's not entirely due to Aho, but he does seem to have more compete than Staal. Moreover, he's a better defensive player than Staal.


Which centre would you rather have?

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[centipede2233]

Staal. There is a reason why nhl GM’s go gaga over big centers. There are other things they can do like play a physical aspect to the game, also big centers are typically really good on draws.

 

[KrisLeturnover]

I picked Staal. but I think it's much closer than the results indicate currently (7-0)

 

[DearDiary]

I picked Staal. but I think it's much closer than the results indicate currently (7-0)

If X is 1% better than Y, then the poll should be 100% in favor of X. Poll results have nothing to do with the gap between the choices.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Peak Staal, career Aho, poll doesn't specify which one

 

[HockeyWooot]

I think it depends how the rest of Aho’s career goes, but probably Staal in terms of higher peak and sustained high level play for many years including a late career bounce with the Wild.

 

[tarheelhockey]

As a long time Canes fan who saw both of their careers up close, Aho is a guy who leads you places. He competes, he pays attention to the details, and he’s scrappier than he gets credit for. There’s a reason they’ve been so good with him as their 1C, despite not having a particularly star studded roster. He capably fills a lot of functions and gives other players space to be their best selves.

Staal had more offensive talent but he was not a particularly well rounded player in the 200 foot game. More importantly, he visibly lost his compete around age 29 or so. The circumstances that he played under were not his fault, but he also could have led the team to better results if he had shown up ready to play consistently. The Canes arguably lost entire seasons to the dustbin of history because he couldn’t be bothered to perform for half the season.

 

[bleedgreen]

Aho for me. Staal was a big man who couldn’t be stopped around the net, lots of rebounds and wrap arounds but I didn’t find him to be the best driver of offense, a very good playmaker or someone who scored very often with a nice shot from distance. Aside from his strength around the net I’d take Aho everywhere else so I choose Aho. Better skater, passer, playmaker, shooter, arguably better defensively. Neither are/were great one on one threats for being number one centers.

 

[Mulletman]

Aho gets underated because he's a vanilla midget. People just asume Staal was better since he's a tall blonde handsome alpha male that won the cup. But looking at the stats he's actually behind Aho at the same age. Aho at 26 right now sits at 254+303=557 points and +114 in 597 games. Staal at 26 was at 226+278=504 points and -13 in 560 games. And Aho already has more career playoff points than Staal had during his whole career. If Aho looked like prime Kevin Nash instead and somehow lucked into winning the cup, he would be winning this poll easily right now.

 

[Felidae]

Staal's 2005 and 2012 seasons were he finished 6th and 7th in scoring are better than anything Aho had done (Aho's best is 18th in scoring)

But outside of that, Staal was a 70-80 point player just like Aho (tbf in a lower scoring environment than when Aho has playedl while not being as good defensively.

So Staal for peak, but Aho is on track to have the better prime.

 

[biturbo19]

If X is 1% better than Y, then the poll should be 100% in favor of X. Poll results have nothing to do with the gap between the choices.

People often seem to completely misconstrue the results of these sort of polls as an indicator of spread. Which isn't correct.

But when it's really close and subjective (as better player polls inherently are), it can be somewhat reflective of the distribution of opinions. Contrary to that comment, a ~60/40 split is within the realm that i think actually does suggest that it's reasonably "close" in that sense though.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

Like some others have mentioned, Staal had the better peak while Aho is very on track to have the better career.

If I’m building my team from scratch and have a choice between the 2 players, I’m picking Aho as he’s more well rounded than Staal, while also being seemingly more consistent from season to season.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Aho gets underated because he's a vanilla midget. People just asume Staal was better since he's a tall blonde handsome alpha male that won the cup. But looking at the stats he's actually behind Aho at the same age. Aho at 26 right now sits at 254+303=557 points and +114 in 597 games. Staal at 26 was at 226+278=504 points and -13 in 560 games. And Aho already has more career playoff points than Staal had during his whole career. If Aho looked like prime Kevin Nash instead and somehow lucked into winning the cup, he would be winning this poll easily right now.

Mulletman....provided good data?

 

[JackSlater]

I'd take Staal but I feel kind of dirty about it. Very frustrating player. I just like my odds of winning a bit better if I'm gambling that Staal is on his game. I think I could be swayed to take Aho.

Aho gets underated because he's a vanilla midget. People just asume Staal was better since he's a tall blonde handsome alpha male that won the cup. But looking at the stats he's actually behind Aho at the same age. Aho at 26 right now sits at 254+303=557 points and +114 in 597 games. Staal at 26 was at 226+278=504 points and -13 in 560 games. And Aho already has more career playoff points than Staal had during his whole career. If Aho looked like prime Kevin Nash instead and somehow lucked into winning the cup, he would be winning this poll easily right now.

Fine, but if Staal had prime Scott Hall's machismo this poll would be closed already due to lopsidedness.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

As a long time Canes fan who saw both of their careers up close, Aho is a guy who leads you places. He competes, he pays attention to the details, and he’s scrappier than he gets credit for. There’s a reason they’ve been so good with him as their 1C, despite not having a particularly star studded roster. He capably fills a lot of functions and gives other players space to be their best selves.

Staal had more offensive talent but he was not a particularly well rounded player in the 200 foot game. More importantly, he visibly lost his compete around age 29 or so. The circumstances that he played under were not his fault, but he also could have led the team to better results if he had shown up ready to play consistently. The Canes arguably lost entire seasons to the dustbin of history because he couldn’t be bothered to perform for half the season.

Aho is the more well rounded, intelligent, and competitive player. And he just oozes leadership. He drags his team into the fight, whereas it felt like Eric needed to be dragged into it.

Eric had the size and talent level to be the better player, but he just didn't bring the intensity or all around game you'd want from your 1C. The way he used to coast to the bench at the end of his shifts drove my Dad and Sis (Canes fans) crazy.

Had he brought the sort of intensity and competitiveness Jordan brings, he would have been a top 5 center of his generation.

I would take Aho over him all day.

 

[KrisLeturnover]

If X is 1% better than Y, then the poll should be 100% in favor of X. Poll results have nothing to do with the gap between the choices.

I get that. I’m just saying I was surprised that no one had given Aho x% over Staal.

 

[cptjeff]

Aho is the more well rounded, intelligent, and competitive player. And he just oozes leadership. He drags his team into the fight, whereas it felt like Eric needed to be dragged into it.

Eric had the size and talent level to be the better player, but he just didn't bring the intensity or all around game you'd want from your 1C. The way he used to coast to the bench at the end of his shifts drove my Dad and Sis (Canes fans) crazy.

Had he brought the sort of intensity and competitiveness Jordan brings, he would have been a top 5 center of his generation.

I would take Aho over him all day.

Fully agreed. Somebody upthread mentioned they're taking Staal for his size- the problem with that is that Staal never really used his size, apart from his reach. He wasn't the physical force he should have been. He wasn't a competitor until the playoffs rolled around, and because he didn't compete in the regular season, playoffs were far too rare. When he went to New York and faced accountability for the first time in years, he failed and failed hard. He actually got competitive again for a few years in Minnesota and showed that he could have been a 40 goal guy every year for over a decade if he had tried. But he didn't try. Most of his points came in garbage time or against weak teams. When the opponent was too tough, Staal disappeared. Wasn't worth the effort. And that's what happened to his career. He got his big contract and his Cup when he was a kid, the rest wasn't worth the effort.

Staal had talent. He could have been a monster. But he was was never held accountable for his play in a country club atmosphere with a team that didn't expect to compete, and he helped perpetuate that attitude and culture to the entire team as captain.

I'm taking Aho every single day and twice on Sunday. He may not have the raw size to throw around, but he competes every second of every game and he's an incredibly smart player. It's not an accident that the team has been far, far more effective with Aho than with Staal.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

As a long time Canes fan who saw both of their careers up close, Aho is a guy who leads you places. He competes, he pays attention to the details, and he’s scrappier than he gets credit for. There’s a reason they’ve been so good with him as their 1C, despite not having a particularly star studded roster. He capably fills a lot of functions and gives other players space to be their best selves.

Staal had more offensive talent but he was not a particularly well rounded player in the 200 foot game. More importantly, he visibly lost his compete around age 29 or so. The circumstances that he played under were not his fault, but he also could have led the team to better results if he had shown up ready to play consistently. The Canes arguably lost entire seasons to the dustbin of history because he couldn’t be bothered to perform for half the season.

The Canes won a Stanley Cup with the guy who could have led them to better results and have have not made a Cup final with the guy that leads them places.

I get your point, I just think it's a funny twist of the stats.

 

[Stephen]

As a long time Canes fan who saw both of their careers up close, Aho is a guy who leads you places. He competes, he pays attention to the details, and he’s scrappier than he gets credit for. There’s a reason they’ve been so good with him as their 1C, despite not having a particularly star studded roster. He capably fills a lot of functions and gives other players space to be their best selves.

Staal had more offensive talent but he was not a particularly well rounded player in the 200 foot game. More importantly, he visibly lost his compete around age 29 or so. The circumstances that he played under were not his fault, but he also could have led the team to better results if he had shown up ready to play consistently. The Canes arguably lost entire seasons to the dustbin of history because he couldn’t be bothered to perform for half the season.

If you rewind to the end of the 2005-06 season as a snap shot in time, Eric Staal was sitting there at 22 years old with a Stanley Cup, a 45 goal, 100 point scoring number one center with size, freshly drafted just 3 years before, newly minted playoff beast. I would say in that moment he would have been one of the top valued assets the sport would have seen in the past 25-30 years. Obviously his career fell short of that immense potential and high water mark, but you can’t blame him for not taking you places.

Aho can’t touch those heights but he has been a much more reliable franchise building block over the years.

 

[lawrence]

Eric Staal. My gosh I can only imagine if Edler didn't injure him back in 2012, I think his prime would have been extended.

 

[cptjeff]

The Canes won a Stanley Cup with the guy who could have led them to better results and have have not made a Cup final with the guy that leads them places.

I get your point, I just think it's a funny twist of the stats.

In 2006, Staal was young and really motivated, and importantly, was nowhere close to being the leader of that team. Staal put up a lot of points by being young and talented, but Brind'Amour led them to that cup.

 

[Goptor]

Staal was the better player but I would rather have Aho, if that makes sense.

 

[Felidae]

Interesting that his 2 best seasons where he finished top 10 in points are 7 years apart. 90 point pace in 2012-13 and 100 points in 2005-06. In between those years he not only never finished top 10 in scoring, but he only hit 80 points once.

I wonder what's the biggest gap between a players last 2 top 10 scoring seasons?

 

[tarheelhockey]

The Canes won a Stanley Cup with the guy who could have led them to better results and have have not made a Cup final with the guy that leads them places.

I get your point, I just think it's a funny twist of the stats.

Sure, but both of them were gamers in the playoffs.

It’s very rare for a player to increase his scoring in the playoffs, when scoring falls off by as much as half a goal per game — Aho is one of those guys whose numbers actually go up under those conditions. That’s a quality you generally see in players who get a lot of media hype for their intangibles.

Staal was also really good in the clutch. His size and reach came in handy when it came down to prison rules. His 2006 and 2009 playoff runs were exceptional. Unfortunately they were his only two playoff runs in his 20s.

The difference between them is that the Canes make the playoffs with Aho. He shows up night after night to contribute to a consistent winning culture. Staal was notorious for sleepwalking through games that didn’t have urgency scripted into them, such as everything before Christmas. He set entirely the wrong tone for a team that severely underachieved during his captaincy.

but you can’t blame him for not taking you places.

Why not? He was the captain, #1C, 2OA franchise defining draft pick, EA cover athlete, face of the franchise. Cruising along with 70-point seasons wasn’t good enough, and on two different occasions those teams missed the playoffs on the last day of the season.

I don’t mean to roast him completely on here, he was a damned good player and a franchise player of sorts, but he absolutely left effort on the table and as a result he has a weird legacy of being good but not the HHOF’er he should have been. It’s not entirely clear whether the Canes will retire his number, which would have been hard to imagine in 2013, and that speaks to the extent to which his reputation fell off.

 

[Mulletman]

Interesting that his 2 best seasons where he finished top 10 in points are 7 years apart. 90 point pace in 2012-13 and 100 points in 2005-06. In between those years he not only never finished top 10 in scoring, but he only hit 80 points once.

I wonder what's the biggest gap between a players last 2 top 10 scoring seasons?

The record is held by the late great Teemu Selanne who was 5th in points in 2000 and 8th in points 11 years later in 2011.