Joe Thornton vs Leon Draisaitl. Better player?

[SPV]

I’d take Thornton in a fight, but Draisaitl in every other way.

 

[tabness]

Thornton despite how he ended up developing softer and without much goal scoring and the disappointing playoff record has something that Crysaitl could never have even if he won cups and scored 300 points each season...

He played in the nineties where hockey was tough and cool rather than in today's powderpuff league where it's an afterthought in the sports culture zeitgeist (used a german word to throw Divesaitl a bone)

 

[Random Comment]

Draisaitl by a significant margin. Mackinnon or Tavares? That's the margin.

 

[Phil Kessels Hot Dog]

Thornton despite how he ended up developing softer and without much goal scoring and the disappointing playoff record has something that Crysaitl could never have even if he won cups and scored 300 points each season...

He played in the nineties where hockey was tough and cool rather than in today's powderpuff league where it's an afterthought in the sports culture zeitgeist (used a german word to throw Divesaitl a bone)

 

[Coffey]

Again, imagine if Thornton played with a prime Lemieux/Jagr/Crosby/whoever from 1997 to 2015 (his last ppg season). Youre vastly underestimated how good Thornton was. Or a guy who chills in the corner and can rip a one timer while the most skilled player weve ever seen dances around distracting everyone.

Averaging 60 assists a year over the last 5 years by ripping one timers

 

[Phil Kessels Hot Dog]

Averaging 60 assists a year over the last 5 years by ripping one timers

The only time Mcdavid gets credit from Avs fans is in a Draisaitl thread

 

[Garbageyuk]

Arguing for Thornton is straight up cooked lol. Big Joe was the original playoff choker before Auston Matthews - he hit the lofty 4 goal mark in a postseason one time in his career lmao. Auston Matthews, for as much shit as he gets, actually has a higher points per game in the postseason than Joe Thornton, as does Marner, and the margin is considerable.

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

Anyone arguing for Thornton is straight up cooked lol. Big Joe was the original playoff choker before Auston Matthews - he hit the lofty 4 goal mark in a postseason one time in his career lmao. Auston Matthews, for as much shit as he gets, actually has a higher points per game in the postseason than Joe Thornton, as does Marner, and the margin is considerable.

That's straight up atrocious.

 

[wetcoast]

Can’t believe this is still being discussed lmao

It's summertime for some people and like its been mentioned if this had an actual pool attached it would have been closed a very long time ago.

Jumbo joe was a great player but Draisaitl simply is better, even if it all ended right now.

 

[McFlash97]

Anyone voting Thornton here knows nothing about hockey

 

[Gorskyontario]

He was routinely asked to carry lesser players to spread offense through his prime & early career. He was 29 when Marleau came to his line, 30 when Heatley came to town, 32 when Pavelski ended up on his wing, and 34 when Hertl arrived. Draisaitl has been playing with the Oilers' best since the day he started in the league and McDavid since age 21.

Draisaitl and McDavid on the same team is what it would have been like with Thornton and Jagr on the same team, or Thornton and Crosby, or Thornton and Lindros.

Thornton always had good players to play with, and he always disappointed when it mattered most.


Draisaitl smokes him, Thornton is rightly getting buried on this thread.

 

[FerrisRox]

Can mods move this to poll section please.

Thornton: 4 NHL All Star Teams, Hart, 2010 Olympic gold, Art Ross, 1,539 points in 1,714 games, .71 ppg in postseason.

Draisaitl: Rocket, Art Ross, Lindsay, Hart, 3 NHL All Star Teams after this year, 956 points in 790 games, 1.47 ppg in postseason.

I take Thornton. Not by much. He had the toughest matchups and was still a top 5 C throughout his career.

What say you?

Draisaitl by a very large margin.

 

[The Macho Man]

Drai. Not close.

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

Not close? Joe is an NHL legend. First ballot HHOFer.

Taking Draisaitl is more than ok.

But Joe seems to be getting underrated.

 

[ITM]

The thread restores my faith in the integrity of the sport’s faithful that know right from wrong.

Draisaitl with impunity.

 

[The Macho Man]

Not close? Joe is an NHL legend. First ballot HHOFer.

Taking Draisaitl is more than ok.

But Joe seems to be getting underrated.

Joe sucks. Show up in April. Or May. Or June.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

While I would take Draisaitl here, I do think Thoronton is getting fairly underrated. He played during the absolute height of the DPE. Despite that, he still put up some ridiculously good seasons throughout his career. His playoff resume is the real deal breaker. He just couldn't elevate his game the way Draisaitl can.

On the whole, Thornton is the better playmaker while Draisaitl is more versatile.

 

[Brent Burns]

Thread full of people who never saw prime Joe Thornton getting hooked and slashed every play, leading league in takeaways, driving the powerplay, all while feeding absolute dimes to his guys on the ice. Y'all comparing stats Go watch how much attention Joe Thronton drew while putting his guys in scoring position. Honestly not even a great comparison tbh

 

[Darren McCarty]

Joe Thornton is better. He could also fight.

 

[Jwads]

I was speaking specifically of the conversion from a playmaker first and foremost to a league leading sniper to play with McDavid.

I'll say again, Thornton was a great player. One of my favourites of his generation.

Thornton finished 12th in goals as a 23 year old with Glenn Murray as his best teammate and Nick Boynton as his 1D.

He also finished 17th as a 21 year old with better linemates but on an equally weak team.

I don't think he would have had any trouble scoring goals with McDavid.

 

[Regal]

Thornton finished 12th in goals as a 23 year old with Glenn Murray as his best teammate and Nick Boynton as his 1D.

He also finished 17th as a 21 year old with better linemates but on an equally weak team.

I don't think he would have had any trouble scoring goals with McDavid.

Thornton was a better shooter than he gets credit for but his he wouldn’t be scoring 50 with McDavid like Draisaitl. Draisaitl is one of the best shooters in the league. I’m sure Joe would see an uptick, but I think the fact that Draisaitl is so versatile is something that gets overlooked. A lot of superstars can struggle to mesh with one another.

 

[Tralfamadore]

Drai and it's not even close to being close.

 

[Jwads]

Thornton was a better shooter than he gets credit for but his he wouldn’t be scoring 50 with McDavid like Draisaitl. Draisaitl is one of the best shooters in the league. I’m sure Joe would see an uptick, but I think the fact that Draisaitl is so versatile is something that gets overlooked. A lot of superstars can struggle to mesh with one another.

Saying he wouldnt score 50 is just speculation.

As far as Draisaitl or the topic of the thread goes, I have no opinion because I dont pay enough attention to Draisaitl.

I just like to stick up for my boy JT because its obvious that many on these boards have strong opinions of him without ever having paid attention to his game.

 

[tabness]

Thornton was a better shooter than he gets credit for but his he wouldn’t be scoring 50 with McDavid like Draisaitl. Draisaitl is one of the best shooters in the league. I’m sure Joe would see an uptick, but I think the fact that Draisaitl is so versatile is something that gets overlooked. A lot of superstars can struggle to mesh with one another.

Draisaitl came into the league as a playmaking center with his passing being his biggest asset, he literally developed his goal scoring playing with McDavid because of circumstance and role.

Given Thornton's own talents, it's not exactly hard to see him continue to develop and be a 50 goal scorer, he was trending that way in Boston, even with his linemate situation (isn't like Glen Murray could set him up that well).

Got his face caved in by Lindros, became more of a perimeter player, yada yada.

 

[OverTheLine]

I think Joe Thornton is being a bit underrated here. He scored more points than anyone else in the 2000s. Having a decade point record is a pretty impressive feat. The counting stat comparisons will never be fair given the fairly different eras they played in, but I think Thornton was a better fit for his league and Draisaitl is a better fit for his.