going forward: Thompson-Cozens vs Zegras-McTavish vs Stutzle-Norris

[amnesiac]

Who ya got, going forward?

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[LemonSauceD]

Right now Thompson/Cozens, but in the future could very well be Zegras/Mactavish

 

[haulinbass]

That is a tough one. Good poll

 

[Lavar Ball]

Good poll OP. I wouldn't fault anyone for taking any of the choices. I think they end up stacking up like:

Thompson
Stutzle
Zegras
McTavish
Norris
Cozens

Went with Buffalo, the bottom three are all close, as are the top three for me

 

[TommyDangles]

In order

1. Tage / Cozens
2. Stutzle / Norris
3. Zegras / McTavish

Cozens is underrated / Zegras is overrated

 

[BKarchitect]

I beginning to think Cozens is going to be the best of the #2 options of this group. That may be unfair to Norris who is hurt and McT who is a very young rookie but I’ve just been super impressed with Cozens this year. I’d definitely have him above Norris who I think may be eventually passed by Pinto on his own team.

Combined with Tage, I think the size and strength that those two bring as a duo in the middle is going to be a problem for teams to match up with. I think an argument can be made for all these guys but the way things are actually playing out for the Buffalo pairing it’s hard for me to choose agains them.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

I beginning to think Cozens is going to be the best of the #2 options of this group. That may be unfair to Norris who is hurt and McT who is a very young rookie but I’ve just been super impressed with Cozens this year. I’d definitely have him above Norris who I think may be eventually passed by Pinto on his own team.

Combined with Tage, I think the size and strength that those two bring as a duo in the middle is going to be a problem for teams to match up with. I think an argument can be made for all these guys but the way things are actually playing out for the Buffalo pairing it’s hard for me to choose agains them.

I doubt Norris will be surpassed by Pinto. Right now, Norris is a good bit better at every facet of the game and is just 6 months older than Pinto.

Cozens is a great young player, and I would take him above Norris, but Norris is nothing to sneeze at and a legit high-end C.

 

[Belmar Bandit]

Ottawa's duo is way out of their league here, Stuetzle is below Thompson and Zegras and Norris is far below Cozens and MacTavish

 

[Korpse]

Ottawa's duo is way out of their league here, Stuetzle is below Thompson and Zegras and Norris is far below Cozens and MacTavish

Feels like bait. You would be more successful calling Stutzle a winger.

 

[Belmar Bandit]

Feels like bait. You would be more successful calling Stutzle a winger.

great rebuttal, as Id expect theres nothing to support the Ottawa duo over the other two.

Norris is the worst here by a large margin , nowhere near a ppg player. And Stuetzle is the third best

But hey dont worry, your six win team will pick it up eventually

 

[Korpse]

great rebuttal, as Id expect theres nothing to support the Ottawa duo over the other two.

Norris is the worst here by a large margin , nowhere near a ppg player. And Stuetzle is the third best

But hey dont worry, your six win team will pick it up eventually

I see you’re new, over time I’m sure the trolling will get better. First post was a poor attempt, too focused but you’ve followed it with an even worse effort, too transparent.

Look trolling is an art. I’m far from an expert on it but if you want to get under the skin of opposing fans, throw in a controversial statement in the midst of a broader point and whatever you do, don’t follow it up with easily disputed non-factual statements.

 

[Gurglesons]

Wouldn't have said this until the last few weeks, but gotta be Cozens and Thompson.

 

[bert]

Good poll OP. I wouldn't fault anyone for taking any of the choices. I think they end up stacking up like:

Thompson
Stutzle
Zegras
McTavish
Norris
Cozens

Went with Buffalo, the bottom three are all close, as are the top three for me

Norris just had 35 goals in 66 games last season while playing #1 Center. I dunno about the slotting.

 

[NyQuil]

Who ya got, going forward?

"Going forward" is an interesting wrinkle because Thompson for example has been a revelation but he's 25 years old, ~5 years older than Stutzle and 4 years older than Zegras.

Age-wise combined, we're looking at:
-Buffalo - 46 years old
-Ottawa - 43 years old
-Anaheim - 40 years old

Obviously not everyone improves at the same rate, or hits their ceiling, but Anaheim in particular has a lot of room to grow for both of their centres.

 

[HaNotsri]

I'm very happy with the combination of Thompson/Cozens. While Thompson is older than the others he's locked up for 7 more seasons after this one.

I think any duo could end up being the best one. Really enjoy watching both the Ottawa and Anaheim guys.

 

[amnesiac]

Ottawa's duo is way out of their league here, Stuetzle is below Thompson and Zegras and Norris is far below Cozens and MacTavish

based on what, draft position?

 

[Mrb1p]

Thompson easy

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

"Going forward" is an interesting wrinkle because Thompson for example has been a revelation but he's 25 years old, ~5 years older than Stutzle and 4 years older than Zegras.

Age-wise combined, we're looking at:
-Buffalo - 46 years old
-Ottawa - 43 years old
-Anaheim - 40 years old

Obviously not everyone improves at the same rate, or hits their ceiling, but Anaheim in particular has a lot of room to grow for both of their centres.

Fair but Thompson did just turn 25 a little over a month ago. He started the season at 24. Doesn’t mean much other than he’ll still be 25 at the start of next season.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

This is really close. Stutzle and McTavish have the most runway IMO. Thompson is currently the best, but he's also the oldest, and he came out of nowhere to do what he's doing. I'd be surprised if he had the best 2025-2026 out of all these players.

Zegras is about to get paid, but McTavish still has 2 more ELC. Thompson is on a great contract, Cozens will get paid, Stutzle/Norris are both on pretty good contracts (with some more wiggle room re: Norris).

Buffalo - Best current player, most points now. Oldest duo
Ottawa - Locked in contract value, sky is the limit with Stutzle. I don't feel as comfortable with Norris
Anaheim - High end talent in Zegras, McTavish has the most question marks (good and bad)

I feel the least good about Zegras/McTavish, and the most confident about Thompson/Cozens. BUT With ANA's pair they're both going to be good over the next 7 years; and they'll peak concurrently. To make it worse: I also feel I'd trade any of the other 5 players for Stutzle.

 

[bsu]

I'd keep my guys but it's close and I don't fault anyone for taking any option.

 

[Xspyrit]

Really great poll, very close. Buffalo leads at the moment but it could go wither way in the future

I doubt Norris will be surpassed by Pinto. Right now, Norris is a good bit better at every facet of the game and is just 6 months older than Pinto.

Nitpick but Norris is 1.5 years older actually

Norris just had 35 goals in 66 games last season while playing #1 Center. I dunno about the slotting.

People are in general not very familiar with Sens players, which is a bit normal as it's a small market in between the 2 biggest markets. Not sure how people see Norris but he's a goal scoring 2-way Center, his GPG and defensive work vs TOP competition at 21 and 22 y/o is nothing to scoff at. The thing is a lot of fans determine how they know hockey players by looking at hockeydb.com. Norris is the worst here by a large margin!

 

[CowbellConray]

This to me is a classic "where is your team right now" poll.

Playoff team needing that last piece to put you over the top? Buffalo's two
Rebuilding team needing butts in seats and a great future? Ducks' two

I do think Ottawa's duo is a VERY slight tier below (I think Norris is a 2nd line guy and I feel everyone else has top line potential), but even then, if you want the home run potential, Stutzle is right there.

Of course I'm happy as a Sabres fan, but all three have their place at the top.

 

[amnesiac]

This to me is a classic "where is your team right now" poll.

Playoff team needing that last piece to put you over the top? Buffalo's two
Rebuilding team needing butts in seats and a great future? Ducks' two

I do think Ottawa's duo is a VERY slight tier below (I think Norris is a 2nd line guy and I feel everyone else has top line potential), but even then, if you want the home run potential, Stutzle is right there.

Of course I'm happy as a Sabres fan, but all three have their place at the top.

problem too is that Cozens is breaking out big time just this past month or so, but now in his 3rd season. Whos to say McTavish wont be well above Cozens in his 3rd year? You could argue McT was a better prospect than Cozens by a bit so its very possible. And by then Zegras could very well be just as good or better than TT.

So unfortunately this poll is a lotta what have you done for me lately bias, as I kind of expected. But after last night, everyones clearly just voting the BUF duo.

 

[CowbellConray]

problem too is that Cozens is breakout out just this past month or so, this in his 3rd season. Whos to say McTavish wont be well above Cozens in his 3rd year? You could argue McT was a better prospect than Cozens by a bit. And by then Zegras could very well be just as good or better than TT.

So unfortunately this poll is a lotta what have you done for me lately bias.

That's all fair. They could be. However, I even struggle with Zegras over Cozens honestly. I was always high on Cozens. Higher than most. I posted last year I thought he would be a 30-30 guy for a decade plus. With scoring going up, and goaltending skill decreasing, we could see him be a 40-40 player at 45% O-zone starts, which is insane.

There is so much growth potential on ALL of these guys, so what ifs are so challenging.

 

[amnesiac]

That's all fair. They could be. However, I even struggle with Zegras over Cozens honestly. I was always high on Cozens. Higher than most. I posted last year I thought he would be a 30-30 guy for a decade plus. With scoring going up, and goaltending skill decreasing, we could see him be a 40-40 player at 45% O-zone starts, which is insane.

There is so much growth potential on ALL of these guys, so what ifs are so challenging.

agreed... I mean, if I did this poll last year after the Milano-Zegras goal, or soon after the WJC last July, the ANA duo probably wins it.

I do think TT may the best going forward, even though hes a little older. His size and skillset is just so rare to see. Question is can he do it for long with his 6'7 frame? knees/back may be an issue into his 30s.