Leon Draisaitl is one of the best playoff performers in NHL history

[GoldenSeal]

Drai should wear the C, not Mc D. Fight me.

 

[Akrapovince]

Playoffs performer is different than playoffs producer..
Draisaitl is a great producer but to me there is more to a 'performer' than points.

Yeah the difference between playoff producer and playoff performer is how good their team is.

If you play at a 2.0 points/per game pace and get eliminated in the first round, you’re just a playoff producer.

If you play at a 1.5 points per/game pace and make the conference finals you’re a playoff performer.

Completely out of Drai’s or any top players control.

 

[rogking65]

Kinda hard to call him one of the best playoff performers in NHL history when he's never won a game past the 2nd round.

duh,,,team sport in case you were not aware

 

[Draiskull]

Yeah the difference between playoff producer and playoff performer is how good their team is.

If you play at a 2.0 points/per game pace and get eliminated in the first round, you’re just a playoff producer.

If you play at a 1.5 points per/game pace and make the conference finals you’re a playoff performer.

Completely out of Drai’s or any top players control.

When I think of great performers I think of guys like ROR over Tarasenko , Peca over Hemsky or in this series Miller over Lindholm/Hughes.

Performers play the toughest roles and get you into later rounds. Points are one of the products of your performance.

 

[Akrapovince]

When I think of great performers I think of guys like ROR over Tarasenko , Peca over Hemsky or in this series Miller over Lindholm/Hughes.

Performers play the toughest roles and get you into later rounds. Points are one of the products of your performance.

You don’t have to think of it as “over”. They are both play off performers if they elevate their game from the post-season and get better as the games get more important.

Crosby being as clutch and as much of a beast as he is doesn’t make Kucherov just a playoff producer.

 

[rogking65]

Strange how era adjustments are always brought up until they compare favorably for some players and against others.

how is this an era adjustment? the poster is saying that you cannot compare per game stats for career vs a player in their prime. As a player gets older and skills diminish it will , of course , negatively affect their stats per game

 

[Video Nasty]

how is this an era adjustment? the poster is saying that you cannot compare per game stats for career vs a player in their prime. As a player gets older and skills diminish it will , of course , negatively affect their stats per game

 

[TheNumber4]

It’s wild to me that so many people try to discredit Drai. I don’t get it. He’s as elite as they come.

Oilers haters that have traded their fandom of hockey for Oilers hate.

Drai should wear the C, not Mc D. Fight me.

Lol nah. Connors an amazing captain.

 

[rogking65]

Instead of trying to make a semi-funny quip like that, you might as well have spend five seconds to find out yourself. Then you wouldn't have made quite the fool out of yourself...

He does in fact have 57 even strength points in 58 playoff games. Putting him just one point shy of being the only player other than Gretzky to have 1 even strength point per game. And no one else is even close to that (McDavid and Toe Blake have 49 in 58, MacKinnon has 74 in 87, Lemieux 86 in 107).
And yes, performances drop with age, so he might not be able to stay at that mark when his career draws to a close. But even that doesn't change that there is no player in the recent past who could match that sort of even strength production in the playoffs.


That is such a nonsensical take. Player and team performances are something completely different. All you can ask for from a player, is to do his job as best as he can. If he does it, it is simply disingenuous to badmouth him just because his team wasn't strong enough to win. That is even more true in a league that consists of 32 teams, which makes it much less likely for players to have long playoff runs unless they happen to be so lucky to play on a great team.

Ray Bourque didn't become a better player just because he won a Cup at the end of his career. His performance during that run, while still very good, was but a shadow of the performances he gave on Boston's runs in the late 80s / early 90s. Just Like Dominik Hasek was better on the runs where he didn't win a Cup than he was on the ones in which he did. In fact, Hasek's second Cup saw him lose his job and watch someone else win while he was the backup.

Team results have no business being mentioned when it comes to individual player performances. Otherwise Henri Richard would be the greatest player ever, which he obviously isn't. Heck, Patrick Maroon won three consecutive Cups, and was in four consecutive finals, yet that most definately didn't happen because he was carrying his teams on those runs. On the contrary, he was little more than a depth piece who was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

well said,,,,the " but he hasn't won a cup " is the most thoughtless argument on these boards when valuing a player . If 1 player is responsible for a team winning a cup shouldn't he lead his team to a cup every year if he is solely responsible for the teams results. I guess Makar and Mackinnon are bums because the won a cup but have not won it every year since

 

[Fight4yourRight]

Will get serious consideration for the HHOF.

One of those guts who elevates his game under pressure. Not an easy thing to do.

Thanks, Cap’n.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

The EP v Drai comparisons are hilarious. EP has barely even been a factor so far these playoffs. Such a weakling. He can score 150 points in the playoffs but if he can’t produce when it matters, is there even a discussion to be had?

 

[PaulD]

Mcdavid actually struggled early on with playoffs like most young players, whereas Draisaitl was putting up big numbers from his first playoff run

Crazy. Rises to the occasion and beyond.
He is like the kid genius in class......the regular season bores Draisaitl.
He needs the real stuff, then excells to top of the class.

 

[syz]

I recall Draisaitl struggling in his first series. 3 points in 6 games. Then 13 in 7 in the next series.

 

[swiftwin]

duh,,,team sport in case you were not aware

So why isn't he making his team better?

 

[Frank Drebin]

well said,,,,the " but he hasn't won a cup " is the most thoughtless argument on these boards when valuing a player . If 1 player is responsible for a team winning a cup shouldn't he lead his team to a cup every year if he is solely responsible for the teams results. I guess Makar and Mackinnon are bums because the won a cup but have not won it every year since

Exactly. It's a desperate attempt to discredit a player and the argument is never used in good faith.

Draisatl doesn't have what it takes to win but Phil Kessel does. McDavid is lacking but ROR isn't.

It's completely nonsensical

So why isn't he making his team better?

Exhibit a of arguing in bad faith

 

[Sniper99]

Drai should wear the C, not Mc D. Fight me.

Why fight when we can just do this instead.

 

[LTIR]

The EP v Drai comparisons are hilarious. EP has barely even been a factor so far these playoffs. Such a weakling. He can score 150 points in the playoffs but if he can’t produce when it matters, is there even a discussion to be had?

The EP vs Drai comparison is old.. it was bump to an old thread.
EP vs Garland is the real question. Garland looks good.

 

[LTIR]

Oilers haters that have traded their fandom of hockey for Oilers hate.


Lol nah. Connors an amazing captain.

I don't know about amazing captain... what amazing captaincy he is doing that Ekholm can't do? He might actually be producing more if he didn't need to be' leading' in the room or spend energy on rallying the troops.
Whoever decided to give him the C this early screwed him over I think.
I've seen some of his behind the scenes speeches ... nothing special.

 

[TheNumber4]

I don't know about amazing captain... what amazing captaincy he is doing that Ekholm can't do? He might actually be producing more if he didn't need to be' leading' in the room or spend energy on rallying the troops.
Whoever decided to give him the C this early screwed him over I think.
I've seen some of his behind the scenes speeches ... nothing special.

Not all leaders lead with speeches. He leads on the ice with his play. That’s undeniable. He leads off the ice with his work ethic, focus, and character. I disagree about giving him the C too early. He’s the franchise and you want that guy driving the bus.

Ekholm can’t take over games and inspire a whole team to pull on the same rope.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Why fight when we can just do this instead.

Right back atcha!

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

Genuine question: What are his stats in round 3? I'd wager lots of the alltime greats PPG is insanely high in round 1-2 and then drops off the later the playoffs go. Draisaitl could be a round 1-2 merchant and he obviously has basically never faced an elite goalie in playoffs yet.

 

[phrenssoa]

Genuine question: What are his stats in round 3? I'd wager lots of the alltime greats PPG is insanely high in round 1-2 and then drops off the later the playoffs go. Draisaitl could be a round 1-2 merchant and he obviously has basically never faced an elite goalie in playoffs yet.

He’s only been there once, where he scored 6 points in 4 games against Colorado (the year they won the Cup).

 

[rogking65]

So why isn't he making his team better?

what does that even mean

 

[LTIR]

Genuine question: What are his stats in round 3? I'd wager lots of the alltime greats PPG is insanely high in round 1-2 and then drops off the later the playoffs go. Draisaitl could be a round 1-2 merchant and he obviously has basically never faced an elite goalie in playoffs yet.

Round 1 and 2 merchant is a new one.
Also, Markstrom was an elite goalie 2 yrs ago. Ask him how it went in playoffs vs Drai.

So why isn't he making his team better?

His team is in playoffs after another 100 pt season..
Look at the team's goalie, bottom 6 and the defense..
Pretty sure Drai is making his team better

 

[TheNumber4]

Genuine question: What are his stats in round 3? I'd wager lots of the alltime greats PPG is insanely high in round 1-2 and then drops off the later the playoffs go. Draisaitl could be a round 1-2 merchant and he obviously has basically never faced an elite goalie in playoffs yet.

Lol the narratives Leaf’s fans need to come up with.