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

[Three On Zero]

Crosby the best player out of the list, Malkin arguably the third best. I give them a very slight edge over both trios, but it’s really close.

 

[Markster]

Props to the OP for this one. The answer is not obvious - plenty of different angles to consider and pros and cons for each. Good poll.

For me, 3 > 2.

 

[Neutrinos]

I think Colorado is the easy choice here...

 

[Stephen]

That doesn't mean he was a foundational piece, you usually don't refer to a part time player as such..

Marc-Andre Fleury played just under 700 regular season games for Pittsburgh over a decade and a half. That’s not a part time player.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Marc-Andre Fleury played just under 700 regular season games for Pittsburgh over a decade and a half. That’s not a part time player.

Palat played 630 games with TB, I don't see you pining for him to be added to choice 3.

 

[McVespa99]

If it was an equal poll with 2 players for each team I would 100 % take McDrai. In this poll I took the Avs,

 

[wetcoast]

Or there’s a lot of scenarios out there where they win less. Murray being lights out was the reason they won back to back Cups. Keep Fleury in or anyone giving a lesser performance, and we’re talking about how disappointing it was that Crosby and Malkin won only one Cup 15 years ago. Can’t only project roses all the time.

They won 3 Scs with that duo and lost 4-2 against a really great Detroit team in 07-8 it's not hard to imagine 4 Scs with just a slightly better roster than the immortal Adam Hall scoring 2 of the Pens 10 goals in that SC finals right?

 

[daver]

Marc-Andre Fleury played just under 700 regular season games for Pittsburgh over a decade and a half. That’s not a part time player.

MAF played 17 games out of 49 in the Pens' back-to-back to Cups.

That IS a part time player.

 

[Sasso09]

Makar, Mack and Rantanen should have every single vote

 

[bobholly39]

Why is Crosby Malkin presented as a duo when the Penguins core of the 2000s and foundation of success included Marc-Andre Fleury and or Kris Letang?

Lightning had more than those 3 players, there's Point also, and Stamkos. And yes - Letang definitely a big part of Pittsburgh's success.

The rationale is simply that I tried to create equal options

Crosby/McDavid are definitely the 2 best players here. And Malkin/Drai both have arguments for being 3-4, or close. So - makes the choice between 2 and 3 players more difficult.

Better question is how does this thread make any sense when we are comparing haphazard groupings of 2’s and 3’s at different positions from teams with multiple championships to zero championships, cores that have been together for 2 decades? It’s comparing apples to oranges to bananas.

It's a poll on an internet hockey forum meant to have a fun discussion.

Making the choices very different is by design. It's meant to be apples and oranges, so it's harder to choose. What did you expect, another Ovechkin vs Crosby thread instead?

 

[CanadienShark]

Avs
Lightning
Oilers
Pittsburgh

 

[Stephen]

MAF played 17 games out of 49 in the Pens' back-to-back to Cups.

That IS a part time player.

You’re talking about a guy who went to 4 finals appearances also and won a cup in 2009.

 

[Video Nasty]

Makar, Mack and Rantanen should have every single vote

I think most of the voters have missed the point that they themselves are management in this hypothetical. I look at the results and I’m baffled that 92% of voters have little faith that they, and the people they surround themselves with, could have the most success with the best combo on this list.

They won 3 Scs with that duo and lost 4-2 against a really great Detroit team in 07-8 it's not hard to imagine 4 Scs with just a slightly better roster than the immortal Adam Hall scoring 2 of the Pens 10 goals in that SC finals right?

I’m providing balance to whatever is in Pittsburgh water that causes the need to always over project.

 

[Regal]

You’re talking about a guy who went to 4 finals appearances also and won a cup in 2009.

He only played in 2 of those finals and was a big part of the team losing in the years between 2009 and 2016. He isn’t mentioned because he’s hugely overrated and completely replaceable on those Pens teams by any above average goalie.

And Letang was only a #1 after the first two finals appearances and missed the entire playoffs for one of the back to back cups.

 

[wetcoast]

I think most of the voters have missed the point that they themselves are management in this hypothetical. I look at the results and I’m baffled that 92% of voters have little faith that they, and the people they surround themselves with, could have the most success with the best combo on this list.

I agree here as the original question says this

All players are 18 years old. The year is 2025. You are given the option to draft one of the below four options - knowing what you know about how good the players turn out. In this hypothetical - injuries are luck of the draw, though it's fine if you think one player or another is more injury prone and more likely to have issues than another - just don't assume the exact same injuries happen at the exact same time, as this is a redraft scenario.

We know that the Pens duo had the best start out of the gate and have won 3 SC and been a elite 1-2 punch in their long careers.

I think most of the voters have missed the point that they themselves are management in this hypothetical. I look at the results and I’m baffled that 92% of voters have little faith that they, and the people they surround themselves with, could have the most success with the best combo on this list.

I’m providing balance to whatever is in Pittsburgh water that causes the need to always over project.

Except the post you were responding to said that with a slightly different roster and/or luck the Pens could have won 4 SC.

They did in fact win 3, including one were Letang was injured and didn't play and took an excellent Detroit team to 6 games in another SC finals appearance so it's not exactly a stretch to think that they could have 4 SCs right?

Your balance sounds more like "anything could happen"

 

[Video Nasty]

I agree here as the original question says this



We know that the Pens duo had the best start out of the gate and have won 3 SC and been a elite 1-2 punch in their long careers.




Except the post you were responding to said that with a slightly different roster and/or luck the Pens could have won 4 SC.

They did in fact win 3, including one were Letang was injured and didn't play and took an excellent Detroit team to 6 games in another SC finals appearance so it's not exactly a stretch to think that they could have 4 SCs right?

Your balance sounds more like "anything could happen"

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

Avs
Lightning
Oilers
Pittsburgh

Lol

 

[HisNoodliness]

Great poll. I talked myself into each of the 4 options as I considered it. It went something like this:

I think McDavid is a little better than Crosby and Draisaitl is pretty equal to Malkin, so let's take the best player on the list, McDavid and Drai it is.

But you know, McDavid and Draisaitl haven't won anything yet, and Crosby/Malkin have been dominant for so long. Maybe I should go with them for the reliability, and 2 way factor of Crosby. The man's a winner.

Is MacKinnon not just sort of a poor man's Crosby though? And Makar is so good. Maybe that duo isn't quite up to Crosby/Malkin standards but throw in Rantanen and that tips the scales.

And if I'm comparing the trios, I feel like prime Hedman is as good as prime Makar, just in a different style. And then I'll take the Kucherov/Vasi duo over the MacKinnon/Rantanen duo. Plus the Lightning trio feels the most balanced, voted the Lightning trio.


And then I start to say to myself, but McDavid is so good...

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

By the end of their careers, McDavid will top this list on his talent alone. But for now, it’s

Crosby/Malkin
Ovechkin + who cares
McDavid/Draisatl

 

[Sorry]

You take the top two centers in the world and build around them. Not even a question.

 

[LOFIN]

You take the top two centers in the world and build around them. Not even a question.

No you don't. You take three elite players instead of two.

 

[Sorry]

No you don't. You take three elite players instead of two.

You would take Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick to build around rather than Crosby and Malkin?

 

[sting101]

Crosby Malkin easy

3 Cups

And im Canadien so having Crosby and getting Olympic Gold in my hometown 2010 Vancouver makes this even more of a slam dunk plus 2014 and Sochi

 

[bambamcam4ever]

No you don't. You take three elite players instead of two.

The Tampa trio were elite players. Crosby and Malkin are legendary players.

 

[LOFIN]

You would take Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick to build around rather than Crosby and Malkin?

In their absolute primes? Maybe I would. But the two trios in this poll are much better than Kopitar, Doughty and Quick.