MacKinnon has 150 points in his last 82 games

[olli]

People forget that he started slow last season relative to the rest of his season. I can see him repeating another 140 point season given his 24 points in 13 games start. And with the Avs brutal depth and injury luck they’ll need him to produce as much as ever to even make the playoffs.

Click to read more...

 

[Three On Zero]

He’s alright at this hockey thing

 

[BKarchitect]

It’s impressive but I worry about burnout.

The load that top line is carrying right now is not sustainable. Lehkonen’s first game back and had to log over 22 minutes.

I’d rather 120 points and being fresh for the playoffs.

 

[PainForShane]

MacK is good at that thing we call hockey.

Happy for him

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

People forget that he started slow last season relative to the rest of his season. I can see him repeating another 140 point season given his 24 points in 13 games start. And with the Avs brutal depth and injury luck they’ll need him to produce as much as ever to even make the playoffs.

He actually finished with 5 points tonight I think so 25 in 13 games, so would that be 150 in his last 82?

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Be right back, making some Chickpea pasta so that I can get 149 points in my last 82 beer league games too.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

He's such a unit. It's amazing what the sports psychology help unlocked in him after a few years where there was plenty talk around here of a "disappointing" first overall

If he's playing my team in the playoffs, there is quite literally no other player besides maybe #97 I'm afraid more of when he has the puck in the offensive zone

Wonder how long he will go playing at the level he does

 

[tarheelhockey]

It’s his bad luck that he happened to come into the league at around the same time as McDavid. There was a long stretch of years where anyone putting up this kind of offensive performance would have stood out as the top scoring threat in the world (even if you adjust it for lower scoring and call it say 130 points).

 

[olli]

He actually finished with 5 points tonight I think so 25 in 13 games, so would that be 150 in his last 82?

Yeah I updated the title, I thought it was just 4 when I made it originally

 

[TheStatican]

Mark my words - MacKinnon will reach 100 assists this season. He's on a the warpath, aiming to show McDavid and Kucherov that 'anything you can do, I can do too.'

 

[JoeSakic13]

 

[vancityluongo]

his maturation as a player has been incredible

 

[BKarchitect]

It’s his bad luck that he happened to come into the league at around the same time as McDavid. There was a long stretch of years where anyone putting up this kind of offensive performance would have stood out as the top scoring threat in the world (even if you adjust it for lower scoring and call it say 130 points).

I mean there were a few “dead” years where Benn and Tavares were leading lights but for the most part, there’s always going to be a generational talent like 99, Mario, Sid/Ovie and McDavid around and in their prime or close enough to it that they kind of cast a shadow.

I feel pretty confident the way MacK is aging (and he’s still barely 29), that with a Cup and Hart and a really impressive string of top 3 Hart finishes already and more to come - he will be squarely in that just a shade below generational line with guys like Sakic and Yzerman by the time he is done. And that’s all-timer legendary company.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I mean there were a few “dead” years where Benn and Tavares were leading lights but for the most part, there’s always going to be a generational talent like 99, Mario, Sid/Ovie and McDavid around and in their prime or close enough to it that they kind of cast a shadow.

I feel pretty confident the way MacK is aging (and he’s still barely 29), that with a Cup and Hart and a really impressive string of top 3 Hart finishes already and more to come - he will be squarely in that just a shade below generational line with guys like Sakic and Yzerman by the time he is done. And that’s all-timer legendary company.

It’s probably easiest to say that at his present level he wouldn’t have contended for best player in the world during the primes of Orr, Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid. That’s most of the past 50 years but there were also some years in the late 60s, late 70s, late 90s, early 00s, and mid 10s where he’d have been right in the conversation with guys like Lafleur and Jagr and Crosby. I think of Sakic‘s crazy peak in 2001, MacKinnon has been around that level recently. It’s something to see, and really doesn’t get enough attention because we’ve been seeing some other all-time seasons at the same time.

 

[Video Nasty]

Fractionally even better over a few games larger sample size.

After starting with 9 points in his first 10 games last season, he has 156 points over his last 85 games since—1.835 PPG vs 1.829 PPG over his the 82 games outlined in the topic.

Unbelievable start. It would be something else to see him add an Art Ross to his collection and repeat as the Hart winner.

McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon. These guys are able to do what the previous Big Three never could. Put together 70 games, 80 games, and beyond heaters.

 

[bleedgreen]

I mean there were a few “dead” years where Benn and Tavares were leading lights but for the most part, there’s always going to be a generational talent like 99, Mario, Sid/Ovie and McDavid around and in their prime or close enough to it that they kind of cast a shadow.

I feel pretty confident the way MacK is aging (and he’s still barely 29), that with a Cup and Hart and a really impressive string of top 3 Hart finishes already and more to come - he will be squarely in that just a shade below generational line with guys like Sakic and Yzerman by the time he is done. And that’s all-timer legendary company.

I actually think it’s going to be tough to say who was better between Sakic and Mack in the end, and I hold Sakic in the highest regards. They play/played such different games. Sakic wouldn’t hold the puck much, not like Mack carries it but Sakic always made the right choice and was lethal with the wrist shot. Sakic was also one of the more clutch guys I’ve ever watched. The bigger the stakes and later in tight games the better he got. He just wasn’t one to carry the puck end to end as much as Mack does. Sakic imo generally played on much better teams in the back half of his career though.

 

[benfranklin]

Is that good?

 

[BKarchitect]

Fractionally even better over a few games larger sample size.

After starting with 9 points in his first 10 games last season, he has 156 points over his last 85 games since—1.835 PPG vs 1.829 PPG over his the 82 games outlined in the topic.

Unbelievable start. It would be something else to see him add an Art Ross to his collection and repeat as the Hart winner.

McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon. These guys are able to do what the previous Big Three never could. Put together 70 games, 80 games, and beyond heaters.

Do you think McDavid, MacKinnon and Kucherov will end up as a trio being as highly regarded as Crosby, Ovie and Malkin? We could probably extend that out just a touch in terms of cohorts to something like:

Crosby, Ovie, Malkin, Kane, Bergeron, Kopitar/Toews vs McDavid, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Draisatl, Barkov/Matthews. The later group has a lot to catch up on in terms of Cups, although still have time on their side. In between those 3/4 year cohorts we had a 3 year period with Stamkos, Tavares, Seguin, Hall, etc which probably represented a bit of a dip overall (no slight on the legendary cred of a guy like Stammer).

 

[Video Nasty]

Do you think McDavid, MacKinnon and Kucherov will end up as a trio being as highly regarded as Crosby, Ovie and Malkin? We could probably extend that out just a touch in terms of cohorts to something like:

Crosby, Ovie, Malkin, Kane, Bergeron, Kopitar/Toews vs McDavid, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Draisatl, Barkov. The later group has a lot to catch up on in terms of Cups, although still have time on their side.

Collectively, probably not. I think it comes down to people holding onto superficial things—the 2004 lockout, Crosby vs. Ovechkin dominating the spotlight, then Malkin joining the scene the next season. Many on this board were likely between 10 and 18 when that trio emerged, and they’ve bought into the idea of Crosby and Ovechkin saving the league. That nostalgia is hard to shake unless someone’s truly willing to let it go.

If McDavid, Kucherov, and MacKinnon keep playing like this and continuing racking up hardware, there’s going to be a lot of tough decisions when it comes to ranking the top 20 players of all-time, in a field that only grows more crowded the longer the league is around.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Collectively, probably not. I think it comes down to people holding onto superficial things—the 2004 lockout, Crosby vs. Ovechkin dominating the spotlight, then Malkin joining the scene the next season. Many on this board were likely between 10 and 18 when that trio emerged, and they’ve bought into the idea of Crosby and Ovechkin saving the league. That nostalgia is hard to shake unless someone’s truly willing to let it go.

If McDavid, Kucherov, and MacKinnon keep playing like this and continuing racking up hardware, there’s going to be a lot of tough decisions when it comes to ranking the top 20 players of all-time, in a field that only grows more crowded the longer the league is around.

To add to that, McDavid still has a lot of work to do to carve out the legacy of a Crosby (winner) or Ovechkin (goal record). He might get there, but there’s very little chance of either Kucherov or MacKinnon also having a legacy of that magnitude. So Crosby/Ovechkin are always going to be paired together in terms of how people view them as dueling figures in their all time top-10s, representing an era, whereas McDavid will represent his era as a solo figure. It’s like Gretzky/Lemieux vs Orr, or Howe/Richard vs Hull.

Fair or not, that will influence the way people remember their respective peaks. By the transitive property, MacKinnon and Kucherov’s peaks will be remembered as a step down from McDavid and therefore also a step down from Crosby/Ovechkin. It’s a bias that’s hard to shake outside of the niche communities which put a lot of effort into remembering historical players accurately (which is like 1% of hockey fans).

 

[HockeyWooot]

unreal player

 

[Blue and Green]

From 2017 onward, I think that he's been the second best player in the league.

 

[centipede2233]

This is what separates superstars from stars. It’s their drive and work ethic to be better.Matthews only has the drive for regular season.Maxk has it for both reg and playoffs

 

[Some Other Flame]

What Mackinnon and Kucherov are doing kind of lessons the "generational" impact of McDavid

 

[tarheelhockey]

What Mackinnon and Kucherov are doing kind of lessons the "generational" impact of McDavid

Sort of like saying Ovechkin lessened the generational impact of Crosby. Kind of, but not really.

McDavid has been the MVP and face of the NHL since he first stepped onto the ice. If anything the contrast between him and other guys whose peaks come and go is exactly what solidifies him as a generational player.