Patrick Kane vs Chris Chelios

Who is the better player


  • Total voters
    51

Felidae

Registered User
Sep 30, 2016
12,679
16,111
2 of the greatest American born players of all time, but who was better? Consider everything from peak, prime, longevity, etc.



Chris Chelios

Award finishes
Norris: 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 12
Hart: 5, 7, 10, 17

Defenseman scoring finishes
Points: 4, 4, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 10


Patrick Kane

Award finishes
Hart: 1, 6, 6, 7, 8, 15, 17
1 Conn Smythe

Points
2009-10 NHL 88 (9th)
2012-13 NHL 55 (5th)
2015-16 NHL 106 (1st)
2016-17 NHL 89 (2nd)
2018-19 NHL 110 (3rd)
2019-20 NHL 84 (8th)
2020-21 NHL 66 (5th)

PPG
2012-13 NHL 1.17 (4th)
2014-15 NHL 1.05 (4th)
2015-16 NHL 1.29 (1st)
2016-17 NHL 1.09 (5th)
2018-19 NHL 1.36 (3rd)
2019-20 NHL 1.20 (10th)
2020-21 NHL 1.18 (9th)

Goals
2012-13 NHL 23 (5th)
2015-16 NHL 46 (2nd)
2016-17 NHL 34 (10th)
2018-19 NHL 44 (5th)

GPG
2012-13 NHL 0.49 (7th)
2015-16 NHL 0.56 (2nd)
2018-19 NHL 0.54 (8th)
 
Last edited:
Kane's 2016 season is probably the best one between them, but I'd go with Chelios for prime and career. He was a pain to play against and was good offensively in his best years.
 
If you think the answer is Kane you are wrong and too young. You only watched him on the Wings after he already had first ballot HHOF career.

Look at Chelios' Norris finishes. 1,1,1,2,2,3

This is against very tough competition. Bourque, Leetch. Macinnis. Coffey. Lidstrom.
 
If you think the answer is Kane you are wrong and too young. You only watched him on the Wings after he already had first ballot HHOF career.

Look at Chelios' Norris finishes. 1,1,1,2,2,3

This is against very tough competition. Bourque, Leetch. Macinnis. Coffey. Lidstrom.
I'd have to assume people who voted for Kane place heavy emphasis on peak play, but would be interested to hear arguments from Kane voters
 
I'd have to assume people who voted for Kane place heavy emphasis on peak play, but would be interested to hear arguments from Kane voters
I mentioned this in the last Kane poll I responded in, but why is peak generally synonymous just with points?
 
I'd have to assume people who voted for Kane place heavy emphasis on peak play, but would be interested to hear arguments from Kane voters

Despite those two games against Vancouver back in 1995, I never went into an overtime situation thinking "it's okay we have Chelios."

I always had that feeling with Kane. He would just find a way to win it.
(unless he got beat to it by Seabrook or Toews)
 
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Despite those two games against Vancouver back in 1995, I never went into an overtime situation thinking "it's okay we have Chelios."

I always had that feeling with Kane. He would just find a way to win it.
(unless he got beat to it by Seabrook or Toews)

This is kind of the one thing with Kane that kind of makes some comparisons difficult. There was just a feeling that he would make something happen when it was needed that went beyond what his traditional numbers were. Usually I tend to shy away from the “clutch” narrative and maybe that’s just variance and circumstance, but it happened a lot.
 
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This is kind of the one thing with Kane that kind of makes some comparisons difficult. There was just a feeling that he would make something happen when it was needed that went beyond what his traditional numbers were. Usually I tend to shy away from the “clutch” narrative and maybe that’s just variance and circumstance, but it happened a lot.
Chelios was the kind of guy that would crosscheck his mother into traffic if it meant winning a game. And I'm talking moreso his pre-Wing days than as a Wing he was a shadow of himself at that stage but still a rock #2.
 
I mentioned this in the last Kane poll I responded in, but why is peak generally synonymous just with points?

I think it's moreso Kane absolutely dominated the Art Ross and Hart competition in 2015-16 year.

Chelios won 2 of his Norris trophies by a clear margin and I'm generally one who thinks defenseman deserve more consideration for the Hart..

But could you say Chelios was the best player in the league during any of his Norris wins? Even removing Gretzky and Lemieux from the equation.
 
I think it's moreso Kane absolutely dominated the Art Ross and Hart competition in 2015-16 year.

Chelios won 2 of his Norris trophies by a clear margin and I'm generally one who thinks defenseman deserve more consideration for the Hart..

But could you say Chelios was the best player in the league during any of his Norris wins? Even removing Gretzky and Lemieux from the equation.
As much as I'd be willing to claim Kane was definitively the best player in the league? Yeah.
 
Who do you think was better than Kane in 2015-16? I don't think I've ever heard anyone argue against him being the best that season..
I fundamentally disagree with just having a blanket decree of highest scorer = best player. Especially a scorer that provides absolutely nothing else to the game.

So a Doughty (one of the closest to Chelios throwbacks in recent years), Kopitar, Holtby, pick one of the pack of scorers in the 80s that are a bit more well-rounded. Could it have been Kane? Maybe, but it's not a slam-dunk.
 
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Kane was better at his best, but I'd take Chelios based on what he delivered more consistently, a more impactful player overall.
 
Kane peak, chelios prime.

Who is the better player?

I’m not really that sure but I’m leaning toward chelios.
 

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