Is it safe to say that Nathan MacKinnon is a better hockey player than Connor McDavid

[hockeydog23]

you stick two guys on Mcdavid all game and his linemates won't do anything.

You stick two guys on Mackinnon, and you get eviscerated by the rest of the Avs.


They don't have anyone close to Makar, or any wingers at the level of Mackinnons. If Mcdrai aren't stacked its climbing Mount Everest every shift

kinda like... the avs two years ago—a 1 line team with no depth. Mackinnon was still crushing the playoffs, and the team came an offsides away from advancing to conference finals, not getting swept by a middle seed.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Let me know when MacK wins a ross. Or a hart. Or a lindsay. Or is 1st AST.

 

[Giant Panda]

After watching these playoffs and after watching both MacKinnon and McDavid, I have come to the conclusion that Nathan MacKinnon is a better all round player than Connor McDavid(this can all change of course.)

MacKinnon can do it all, hit, score, take over games, MacKinnon is a freak of nature, kind of like a young Sidney Crosby.

Glad you specified all round player. I feel that part is true, McDavid has some major warts to his game especially when the puck ain't on his stick. I've seen it happen enough times now where teams can figure out how to stop/ slow him in certain circumstances, Habs seem to have his number and he lacks the physicality to overcome it.

But really, McDavid is the best player in the world. Might not be the most effective, definitely not the best utilized, but nobody is better at hockey than McDavid right now.

There's two centres I'd build a team around before McDavid (Mackinnon and Matthews) but that doesn't make them better than him.

 

[hockeydog23]

Why is he better? Pretty sure one plays on a getting stacked team, while the other plays on a team where he and a few others are it.

Same rosters as the regular season. Doesn’t change the fact that mackinnon ppg goes up in the playoffs and Mcdavid’s goes down.

 

[Daishi]

I know these are just single random fans’ takes but this actually make me wish that McDavid will personally never have any success in playoffs ever and will have to watch MacKinnon have lots success in the playoffs on tv. And I’m not remotely an Avs fan nor I dislike McDavid but damn the smugness of some of this is too much.

McDavid did jack shit in playoffs and you can’t completely blame his team for him not remotely being the best forward in any the four games.

MacKinnon kicked it up a notch starting in the last playoffs and McDavid can do the same in future playoffs. And, yes, that requires individual effort and I believe “the best player in world” is up to that sort of thing but I guess his super fans have to rabidly defend his honor rather than demand more from him.

McDavid will have made 100 million after his contract is finished. Afterwards he still has time to take a pay cut and join a contender and win a bunch of cups.

If he does stay a career Oiler, he’ll never come near a Stanley Cup.

 

[Islay1989]

McDavid will have made 100 million after his contract is finished. Afterwards he still has time to take a pay cut and join a contender and win a bunch of cups.

If he does stay a career Oiler, he’ll never come near a Stanley Cup.

Never is a long time.

 

[space321]

Same rosters as the regular season. Doesn’t change the fact that mackinnon ppg goes up in the playoffs and Mcdavid’s goes down.

McDavid's sample size this year was 4 games, and that's not his fault.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

MacKinnon is the best playoff player in the league. However, he is clearly not as dominant during the regular season. Mack elevates his game once it matters, #4 all time in playoff PPG says it all.

 

[sr edler]

His play a few years back contradicts that.

MacKinnon already had 10 playoff points in 7 games in 2014 as an 18-year old though, handedly outscoring all of his older teammates Duchene, O'Reilly & Landeskog. That wasn't a juggernaut team, but he was still money in the playoffs himself.

McDavid played with Draisaitl these playoffs who's an amazing player, but he still managed to be held off the scoresheet in 50% of the games, and then had 3 secondary assists on goals all powered by primary Draisaitl points. The point here isn't that his team lost, because that happens all the time, the point is that he wasn't the best player in that series. All of Scheifele, Draisaitl and Nurse were better than McDavid in that series, and perhaps some other guys too.

Pavel Bure had a 16 game point streak during the 1994 playoffs playing with Greg Adams, and you complain about McDavid having to play with Leon Dreamsaitl? Come on dawg.

 

[DisbeliefInDW]

I mean, anyone with half, hell, even a quarter brain has known this. McDavid has one talent: Skill. Can he make one, two, MAYBE three plays a game? Sure, but its rare. Otherwise, you hardly notice he's on the ice,

McKinnon on the other hand you notice every time he's on the ice. Even if he doesn't have the puck you notice him. He's an all around player, the type that hits back or defends himself/teammates instead of cowering/throwing completely dirty "hits" like McDavid since that's the only way he'd get an opposing player to move since he's so physically weak. I thought this question, or theory, was settled 2-3 years ago.

 

[pandro]

It reminds me of the Crosby vs Toews debate.

Back when the Hawks won the Cup in 2013 and 2015, people made the argument that Toews was the better player than Crosby. Or opinions along the lines of "Crosby is the better player, but Toews is the type of player you win with" or "Crosby puts up the points, but if I'm picking a player for the playoffs, I go Toews 10/10".

So I find it kind of funny when people compare MacK to a young Crosby.

There is a quite big difference: by that time Crosby had his Cup and had been to two finals.

Let me know when MacK wins a ross. Or a hart. Or a lindsay. Or is 1st AST.

The way things are going, it looks like pretty soon people will be able to respond with "Let me know when McDavid wins a Cup or a Smythe".

 

[daver]

It reminds me of the Crosby vs Toews debate.

Back when the Hawks won the Cup in 2013 and 2015, people made the argument that Toews was the better player than Crosby. Or opinions along the lines of "Crosby is the better player, but Toews is the type of player you win with" or "Crosby puts up the points, but if I'm picking a player for the playoffs, I go Toews 10/10".

So I find it kind of funny when people compare MacK to a young Crosby.

Toews was no where close to Crosby offensively as Mac has been to McDavid in the regular season (this very abnormal year being the exception) and was also no where close to Crosby in the playoffs offensively, let alone being on par, let even more alone, significantly outproducing Crosby.

Big difference.

 

[Zirakzigil]

He might not be as great offensively as McDavid, but if I am picking between the two to give whatever it takes to win, its MacK. MacK has an extra level to do whatever it takes, something McDavid has yet to show.

 

[Eisen]

After watching these playoffs and after watching both MacKinnon and McDavid, I have come to the conclusion that Nathan MacKinnon is a better all round player than Connor McDavid(this can all change of course.)

MacKinnon can do it all, hit, score, take over games, MacKinnon is a freak of nature, kind of like a young Sidney Crosby.

I have no idea why you came to that conclusion when McDavid just had a season for the ages.

 

[Islay1989]

To be fair, this whole narrative in regards to McDavid is completely unfair to him. Sure, he shouldn't be above criticism, and the inane takes from Edmonton make fans of other teams bitter and salty, but his game is noticeably impacted by playoff reffing or lack thereof.

 

[flyfysher]

McDavid, Draisaitl, Matthews and Marner are great players*
* = during the regular season. MacKinnon in the POs though.

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

Yeah let's see MacK do what he's doing on a shitty Edmonton team.

Probably not hard for Mack to at least match McDavid's postseason totals on any team.

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

No, look at the supporting cast for mcdavid.

Supporting cast as in "the second best player in the league" dubbed by Edmonton fans?

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

It's safe to say in the sense that doing so will carry no real consequence, but I don't think it's safe to say in the sense that you may not be wrong.

I know, because I said exactly this earlier this year and there were definitely times since then when I felt like I had missed the mark. Mackinnon know how to win better.... not sure he is a better player (maybe better than anyone in the league). I think they are very, very close.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

This again?

Mackinnon is unreal yes... but mcdavid is better

 

[toewsintangibles]

Does anyone track who is the best player in the preseason? We can have a trophy for that, a trophy for the regular season for guys like McDavid and a trophy for the best playoffs performer

 

[Guttersniped]

Let me know when MacK wins a ross. Or a hart. Or a lindsay. Or is 1st AST.

MacKinnon came in 2nd twice for the Hart, including losing to Hall by 70 votes in 2017-18 (McDavid got 270 votes in 5th) and he lost to Drais by 147 in 2019-20 (McDavid got 309 votes in 5th).
McDavid did beat Mac by a whopping 200 votes in 2018-19 when he can in 3rd and Mac in 6th.

But yes, McDavid won a Hart in 2016-17 and will one in 2020-21. It doesn’t change his underwhelming performance when his team was swept in the playoffs. Arguably his historical season (statistically 9th greatest ever or whatever) makes it look even more underwhelming. You would think, win or lose, McDavid would be a lot more dominant but he wasn’t.

I’m assuming he’s going use that personal failure as fuel to drive him to do better but if his super fans are happy with that performance, ok.

I don’t even care that much but the smugness and the need to shield a guy who makes millions, receives endless praise and is already considered an all time great, from any criticism is amazing to me. McDavid is going to hear it until he does more in the playoffs, that’s how sports works. It’s not like he gave a superhuman effort and his team failed him, Draisaitl and Nurse were both better in that series.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

MacKinnon has 0 personal awards and never fully crossed the 100 point mark in 8 years of playing in the NHL. He’s had 2 monster playoff runs in a row but let’s pump the brakes here.

Put McDavid on the Avs and he would take them to even greater heights. McDavid happens to play for one of the worst teams in the NHL if you exclude him and Draisaitl.

 

[ViktorBaeArvidsson]

Both are amazing, I would still probably pick McDavid though.

 

[TeamRenzo]

I'd take the Avs roster over the Oilers roster any day of the week.