38th in points among forwards over the last three seasons (30th in the last two). He's a good goalscorer but guys like Tavares, Huberdeau and Fiala are in front of him when it comes to production and his defense isn't super impressive. I guess it depends on your definition of elite, he's a leading player at least but when you compare him to Nylander, Marner or Matthews he falls short.
There's probably around 20 forwards I'd trade him for. I don't see him winning any hardware.
You should be comparing Tage to his peers, other centers. Wingers don’t belong in that discussion. Center is the more difficult position and as such the production any player has there is impacted by that.
Against his follow centers those 3 seasons Tage ranks,
5v5
9th in points
7th in goals
Overall
16th in points
7th in goals
Thats with playing through a broken hand last season. He may have squeaked up a few spots had he been healthy and our PP wasn’t so bad.
I agree with you that he’s not great in our end. He actually drives me nuts at times with his play there. But it’s pretty hard to argue he’s not one of the best goal scoring centers in the game and best goal scorers period.
I don't think Benson will be better than Tage but there's some sort of possibility. Probably me being a fan though.
I love Benson, excited to see what he can become.
Dahlin is 7th among defense over those three years while playing a complete game. Has a chance to become the best swedish defenseman ever but that might be more generational than elite.
He is amazing. Though like the others, he struggled under the pressure at the start of last season and has been a non factor in the two games this season.