Mats Sundin Or John Tavares?

[Leafs87]

Sundin and it’s not close.

Sundin vs Matthews is the better comparison.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Sundin did cheat in the 2006 Olympics.

 

[AvroArrow]

Who voted Tavares?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Tavares has those two Hart finalist years, but a lot of that was timing/being on a bad team. There were a number of players on a similar or better level in ‘13 with similar or better point totals, and some with better all around games, but he made it because he had a poor supporting cast (he was only 4th in all star voting at center despite the Hart finish). Then in ‘15 there was one of the worst fields for forward competition ever. I think Sundin in his best years could have certainly been a finalist those years with the right things lining up. Just like how Sundin benefitted in ‘02 and ‘04 in terms of getting 2nd team All Star nods when I don’t think he was any better than some of his other years.

The bolded is so bang on. Just look at the 2013 nomination. Tavares finished something like 17th in league scoring and was under a point per game, but got the nod because the Isles squeaked into the playoffs. There were a bunch of players who were "better" than him that year, but he got the "best player on a shit team" bump.

Having said that, Tavares probably had two seasons (the 2nd place to Benn season and the injury shortened season when he was I believe 2nd or 3rd in scoring at the time he got hurt) where he was a top 5 forward and rivaled Sundin at his best. But, outside of those two seasons, his career pales in comparison to Sundin's prime years.

 

[banks]

There's not many bigger fans of Tavares than me. But this is Sundin without any hesitation.

It's maybe a bit closer than some people think, because Tavares was a long time superstar with NYI before he got to Toronto. But even if it's close, it's not debatable.

 

[spiny norman]

Lopsided result.