In a redraft - who do you take first? Crosby/Malkin vs McDavid/Draisaitl vs Hedman/Kuch/Vasi vs Mack/Ranta/Makar?

[Albatros]

MacKinnon, Rantanen, Makar easily. That's 1C, top-line winger or 2C, and defensive leader & QB all covered.

 

[Offtheboard412]

Coin flip between Pens and Oilers duos. The Avalanche trio is very close behind though, having a player on the back end like Makar makes them a very tempting option. Ultimately though I think there is no bigger advantage in hockey than having multiple elite centers who can carry their own lines.

I think the Detroit trio of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom would have been an interesting option to add here as well.

 

[SillyRabbit]

I thought about all of the options for a while honestly, but I think Crosby and Malkin is the safe bet.

You really can't go wrong with having the #1 and #2/3 best players in the league, in arguably the most impactful position.

This logic would also apply to the Oilers duo for the most part but obviously you've gotta go with the guys who proved they could win Cups eight years apart.

That's one hell of a contending window.

 

[Video Nasty]

Murray was good but they 2016 Penguins were pretty unlucky in the playoffs and still won the cup because they were so dominant. When the team plays well the goalie tends to put up good numbers. See: the next year when both Fleury and Murray had good stats.

How were they unlucky? Was it when they faced the #6 Western Conference seed?

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Except center. There's no guarantee that Lightning trio has Point/Stamkos down the middle.

This is why the Avs is the obvious choice. You get an elite 1C in Mack, the best D in the world in Makar, and Rantanen can either play on Mack's wing, or slot in at 2C, so you can adjust depending on how the rest of the roster shakes out. Add a couple of good wingers and/or a 2C, plus some defensive depth, and you've got a solid contender. And they've already shown they can win with mediocre goaltending.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Crosby/Malkin the most successful... McDavid/Draisaitl probably the "Best"... But for me Vasi/Hedman/Kuch is the most well-rounded.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

How were they unlucky? Was it when they faced the #6 Western Conference seed?

Unlucky that some of their series went much longer than you'd expect given the level of play. SCF should have been a sweep and TB was very lucky to make it to game 6, let alone 7. After Washington it didn't really matter who the Penguins played, but SJ had the 2nd best GF in the West after Dallas, who were the most obvious paper tiger I've seen in the last decade.

 

[hamzarocks]

This is why the Avs is the obvious choice. You get an elite 1C in Mack, the best D in the world in Makar, and Rantanen can either play on Mack's wing, or slot in at 2C, so you can adjust depending on how the rest of the roster shakes out. Add a couple of good wingers and/or a 2C, plus some defensive depth, and you've got a solid contender. And they've already shown they can win with mediocre goaltending.

The Avs won with medicore goaltending with a superteam on offense and forward

Kadri + burakovsky + landeskog + LK + Nuke

And Toews + Byram + Manson

The Avs were loaded and probably the best team since 2006 for forwards and defense.

Mack + Makar + Rantanen are a fair option for the poll, but they arent good enough to win with a solid/offensive+defensuve depth level

Avs have lost in R2 and R1 past two years due to heavy reliance on these guys and depth being reduced via departures/declining play or off ice issues

That core is great nucleus but it would need still another 2 core level players to win a cup.

Its like Mcdavid + Draisaitl cant win/almost win without Bouchard + Hyman/RNH/Ekholm as core players

Crosby & Malkin couldnt win without Kessel + Letang + MAF/Murray

Tampa had absurd depth throughout their team from 2015 to 2022, peaking in their 2 cup runs

In the NHL if you put prime years 87 + 8 + 97 and surround with just above average players that team likely wont win more than 2 rounds at most for th

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

The Avs won with medicore goaltending with a superteam on offense and forward

Kadri + burakovsky + landeskog + LK + Nuke

And Toews + Byram + Manson

The Avs were loaded and probably the best team since 2006 for forwards and defense.

Mack + Makar + Rantanen are a fair option for the poll, but they arent good enough to win with a solid/offensive+defensuve depth level

Avs have lost in R2 and R1 past two years due to heavy reliance on these guys and depth being reduced via departures/declining play or off ice issues

That core is great nucleus but it would need still another 2 core level players to win a cup.

Its like Mcdavid + Draisaitl cant win/almost win without Bouchard + Hyman/RNH/Ekholm as core players

Crosby & Malkin couldnt win without Kessel + Letang + MAF/Murray

Tampa had absurd depth throughout their team from 2015 to 2022, peaking in their 2 cup runs

In the NHL if you put prime years 87 + 8 + 97 and surround with just above average players that team likely wont win more than 2 rounds at most for th

Obviously, you need quality depth to win in the NHL, but having Mack, Makar and Rantanen means they have a solid base to build upon, with both 1D and 1C covered for the next 10+ years, with another 100 point forward to boot. Find a decent goalie, surround them with some good depth (mostly acquired at affordable prices), and you've got a superteam.

With the Tampa trio, you could spend years trying to find a 1C that can play with Kucherov at a high enough level. With Crosby/Malkin or McDavid/Drai, it's the constant struggle to find a 1D that could be a hinderance. Those are much harder things to find than a decent G and some depth.

 

[pi314]

Can see arguments for all 4.

But when in doubt, pick the homer option.

Go Pens.

 

[Hisch13r]

The duo that had the most success even with shoddy health

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

1,2,3,4 for me. 2 could be equal to 1 if they had better management, but I go with the safer bet. Having the two best centers in the league for a decade is such a huge advantage.

 

[Three On Zero]

1, 3, 4, 2

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosby n malkin easy poll

 

[HFpapi]

You have to take a trio here as amazing as Crosby/Malkin & McDavid/Drai are because the bottom line is, none of these players win cups without the right supporting cast & a bit of luck (McDavid/Draisaitl prove this). Since we don't know how this hypothetical shakes out, you would be crazy to not take the 3rd elite player from the start.

Sure, Crosby & Malkin won 3 cups but they did so with big perfomances from guys like Letang, Staal, Kessel etc. McD/Drai proves to us even having the two best (or maybe 2 of the top 3) centers in the game might not be enough.

The drop off in quality from McDavid/Crosby to Mackinnon/Kucherov doesn't justify not taking that extra elite player.

Since I think goaltending is sporadic and inconsistent and the Lightning trio are sans #1C, I take Avs trio here.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Either trio. Three is much better than two + neither one of those duos cover defense/goaltening.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Great poll OP

1
3/4
---gap---
2

It's almost impossible to find a duo of players that is more valuable than an elite trio of franchise players, but with Crosby and Malkin, both were just was so great at turning mediocre wingers into consistent scoring threats. They were the two best players in the world for the better part of a decade playing the most important position. A true generational player in Crosby, and another borderline generational player in Malkin. I argue that peak, motivated Malkin was better than peak Crosby, he just didn't have the same consistency as Sid, and was also always getting Sid's leftover wingers (it's not a coincidence that when 87 went down 71 peaked, lapping the rest of the league.

Draisaitl is an elite player, but not good enough to make the Oilers duo comparable with those trios. He's more of a "trio" type of asset. I think you really need two generational level talents to overcome these elite trios.

I would probably take other notable championship trios ahead of that duo as well:

Kane + Toews + Keith
Kopitar + Doughty + Quick
Ovechkin + Backstrom + Carlson
Datsyuk + Zetterberg + Lidstrom
Yzerman + Fedorov + Lidstrom (again)
Elias + Stevens + Brodeur
Forsberg + Sakic + Roy

 

[centipede2233]

Great poll OP

1
3/4
---gap---
2

It's almost impossible to find a duo of players that is more valuable than an elite trio of franchise players, but with Crosby and Malkin, both were just was so great at turning mediocre wingers into consistent scoring threats. They were the two best players in the world for the better part of a decade playing the most important position. A true generational player in Crosby, and another borderline generational player in Malkin. I argue that peak, motivated Malkin was better than peak Crosby, he just didn't have the same consistency as Sid, and was also always getting Sid's leftover wingers (it's not a coincidence that when 87 went down 71 peaked, lapping the rest of the league.

Draisaitl is an elite player, but not good enough to make the Oilers duo comparable with those trios. He's more of a "trio" type of asset. I think you really need two generational level talents to overcome these elite trios.

I would probably take other notable championship trios ahead of that duo as well:

Kane + Toews + Keith
Kopitar + Doughty + Quick
Ovechkin + Backstrom + Carlson
Datsyuk + Zetterberg + Lidstrom
Yzernan + Fedorov + Lidstrom (again)
Elias + Stevens + Brodeur
Forsberg + Sakic + Roy

I’d take the Chicago/both Detroit/ and Colorado trios over the pens duo.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I’d take the Chicago/both Detroit/ and Colorado trios over the pens duo.

I think I'd take the early Avs trio the early Detroit trio, but then the Pens duo over all the rest.

 

[Kegs]

Crosby is the best player on this list imo.

I voted hedman, vas and kutcherov. Elite D, elite F and elite G.

 

[centipede2233]

Crosby is the best player on this list imo.

I voted hedman, vas and kutcherov. Elite D, elite F and elite G.

Vasi hasn’t been elite the last 2 years. He was only elite when he had an elite defensive team in front of him

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Ill take the extra players , if it was all duos Sid and Malkin would run away with this

 

[Kegs]

Vasi hasn’t been elite the last 2 years. He was only elite when he had an elite defensive team in front of him

The year he was injured and the year he came back from injury? Or am I mistaken. Vas has been lights out for a long time previous to that. He is one of the harder goalies to score on in the nhl.

 

[norrisnick]

Vasi hasn’t been elite the last 2 years. He was only elite when he had an elite defensive team in front of him

Vasi has about as many elite seasons as Malkin...

 

[daver]

You have to take a trio here as amazing as Crosby/Malkin & McDavid/Drai are because the bottom line is, none of these players win cups without the right supporting cast & a bit of luck (McDavid/Draisaitl prove this). Since we don't know how this hypothetical shakes out, you would be crazy to not take the 3rd elite player from the start.

Sure, Crosby & Malkin won 3 cups but they did so with big perfomances from guys like Letang, Staal, Kessel etc. McD/Drai proves to us even having the two best (or maybe 2 of the top 3) centers in the game might not be enough.

The drop off in quality from McDavid/Crosby to Mackinnon/Kucherov doesn't justify not taking that extra elite player.

Since I think goaltending is sporadic and inconsistent and the Lightning trio are sans #1C, I take Avs trio here.

The right supporting cast for Crosby and Malkin in 2009 was the worst supporting cast for a Cup winner in NHL history.

Not one player was within 100% of their point totals in both the regular season and in the playoffs. Staal had 9 points in 24 games was a minus 5.