Where will Leon Draisaitl rank all-time by the end of his career?

[Son Goku]

He will end up behind Kucherov and potentially Mackinnon and ofcourse Mcdavid

Every players max ceilings

Mcdavid - 2nd all time

Kucherov - 5th to 15th all time

Mackinnon- 10th - 20th all time

Draisaitl - 12th-20th all time

Each of them still have a ways to go and realistically, Kucherov wont end 5th all time and be likely top 20ish Mackinnon probably ends top 25ish and Drai top 30ish while Mcdavid likely ends 4th or 5th

But 4 of the top 40 players ever dominated this era. 2020 to now has been ridiculously stacked for all time great forward talent

Mcdavid will never be #2. He’ll never pass Howe, Lemieux, or Orr.

 

[Draiskull]

Malkin couldnt crack the top 100 list so I have Drai outside of top 50 but within top 100 ..

reevaluate once he hits 1000 games mark.

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

He will make the HHOF.

I think there are several tiers of centers:

1: Gretzky and Lemieux
2: McDavid, Crosby, Beliveau
3: Sakic, Yzerman, Messier, Clarke, Esposito, Dionne, Malkin, Draisaitl, Mikita, Forsberg, Richard,
4: Francis, Oates, Bergeron, Thornton, Larionov, Sundin, Modano, MacKinnon
5: Sitler, Nieuwendyk, Matthews, Tavares, Roenick
6. Marleau

I didn't include everyone. I know I'm missing names.

It's too hard to compare skaters with D or goalies.

I did struggle with putting him in tier 3 or four.

 

[Slats432]

He will make the HHOF.

I think there are several tiers of centers:

1: Gretzky and Lemieux
2: McDavid, Crosby, Beliveau
3: Sakic, Yzerman, Messier, Clarke, Esposito, Mikita, Forsberg, Richard
4: Francis, Oates, Bergeron, Larionov, Draisaitl, Sundin, Modano
5: Sitler, Nieuwendyk,

I didn't include everyone

It's too hard to compare skaters with D or goalies

Fair assessment, but at the end of the day, I would see Draisaitl with a bit more team success (A couple cups) into that 3rd tier.

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

Fair assessment, but at the end of the day, I would see Draisaitl with a bit more team success (A couple cups) into that 3rd tier.

Tbh I struggled with tier 3 or four. It's disrespectful to him to put him in a tier with a guy like Sundin. Draisaitl is much much better. But I guess you could say he isn't on Messier or Sakic level etc.

Rankings are so tough.

 

[Slats432]

Tbh I struggled with tier 3 or four. It's disrespectful to him to put him in a tier with a guy like Sundin. Draisaitl is much much better. But I guess you could say he isn't on Messier or Sakic level etc.

Rankings are so tough.

I agree, but I watched every one of those guys play other than Beliveau and not much of Mikita. And it isn't wrong, but what Draisaitl has done the last two playoffs while hurt is the stuff of legends. Nothing wrong with being in tier 4 on your list.

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

I agree, but I watched every one of those guys play other than Beliveau and not much of Mikita. And it isn't wrong, but what Draisaitl has done the last two playoffs while hurt is the stuff of legends. Nothing wrong with being in tier 4 on your list.

I put him in tier 3.

He will always have the stupid narrative around him that he benefited from a generational player. Despite evidence to the contrary. Draisaitl can center his own line. He would be the #1C on every single team but Edmonton & Colorado.

 

[wetcoast]

Mcdavid will never be #2. He’ll never pass Howe, Lemieux, or Orr.

Mario is actually very much in McDavids sights unless one is only looking at fantasy video game stats.

Orr an Howe are tricky for different reasons but not out of the realm of possibility either.

 

[wetcoast]

Fair assessment, but at the end of the day, I would see Draisaitl with a bit more team success (A couple cups) into that 3rd tier.

Draisatal already looks like he belongs in the 3rd tier though right?

I mean how many guys in that 4 tier are even ahead of him right now?

 

[McFlash97]

Mcdavid will never be #2. He’ll never pass Howe, Lemieux, or Orr.

He should, and he will

 

[avocadosmoothie]

Mcdavid will never be #2. He’ll never pass Howe, Lemieux, or Orr.

he's already passed Howe and Orr

 

[Xspyrit]

McDavid is the best hockey player of all-time

The 80's stats boost will always put some shade on that but it will be realized with time. And not only that, outside of Draisaitl, he's not playing on all-star team like Gretzky and even Lemieux did.

 

[M2Beezy]

Not old enough to have seen a lot of players but man o man is Draisatl such a dominant player. Mcdavid aside, Drai can just take over a shift out of nothing. He scores so many goals that noone else would ever attempt to do but he nails it. He takes over games that his team should not be in. He influences so much on the Oilers its truly remarkable

 

[Video Nasty]

Mcdavid will never be #2. He’ll never pass Howe, Lemieux, or Orr.

Close minded. He likely has ten seasons remaining and that’s a lot of time to continue to add to an already stellar legacy.

I assure you that if he finishes second to only Gretzky in assists and points for both regular season and playoffs, while winning 5+ Harts, 5+ Lindsays, 6+ Art Rosses, 2+ Conn Smythes, and whatever else he ends up accomplishing, there’s going to be a very vocal, very sizable crowd ranking him behind only Gretzky. Particularly as more and more people who champion Howe and Orr pass.

It doesn’t mean he is a better player than someone like Lemieux, but he might end up being a perfect blend of the three players currently behind Gretzky. Orr and Lemieux get rightfully dinged for playing half careers, while McDavid could be as great as Howe was for just as much time, while doing it 70+ years in the future.

That would be enough to elevate him to second “greatest” of all-time.

 

[daver]

McDavid is the best hockey player of all-time

The 80's stats boost will always put some shade on that but it will be realized with time. And not only that, outside of Draisaitl, he's not playing on all-star team like Gretzky and even Lemieux did.

So should the best player in the league in 2050 be automatically recognized as the best player of all-time?

 

[daver]

He will make the HHOF.

I think there are several tiers of centers:

1: Gretzky and Lemieux
2: McDavid, Crosby, Beliveau
3: Sakic, Yzerman, Messier, Clarke, Esposito, Dionne, Malkin, Draisaitl, Mikita, Forsberg, Richard,
4: Francis, Oates, Bergeron, Thornton, Larionov, Sundin, Modano, MacKinnon
5: Sitler, Nieuwendyk, Matthews, Tavares, Roenick
6. Marleau

I didn't include everyone. I know I'm missing names.

It's too hard to compare skaters with D or goalies.

I did struggle with putting him in tier 3 or four.

Not sure you place him above MacKinnon.

 

[Xspyrit]

So should the best player in the league in 2050 be automatically recognized as the best player of all-time?

Ok I really don't have the time to answer stupid questions.

 

[daver]

Ok I really don't have the time to answer stupid questions.

Seems like you didn't have time to formulate a good opinion either.

 

[Xspyrit]

Seems like you didn't have time to formulate a good opinion either.

Thinking you gotta take in consideration 4 goals per game per team average vs 3 is an "opinion"?

Well, that's kinda the problem with human beings, they value their opinion too much. This is not debatable because 4 > 3

Not only you have to consider the mathematical difference but McDavid scoring 153 pts in a season or 42 pts in a playoffs run against elite competition impresses me more than what anybody has done before

 

[daver]

Thinking you gotta take in consideration 4 goals per game per team average vs 3 is an "opinion"?

Well, that's kinda the problem with human beings, they value their opinion too much. This is not debatable because 4 > 3

Not only you have to consider the mathematical difference but McDavid scoring 153 pts in a season or 42 pts in a playoffs run against elite competition impresses me more than what anybody has done before

Mario and Wayne dominated their competition more than McDavid ever did. And they did it not so long ago that you have to figure they would still stand out more than McDavid has. They only lost Art Rosses to each other. McDavid is on Jagr and Crosby's tier offensively.

 

[daver]

Not only you have to consider the mathematical difference but McDavid scoring 153 pts in a season or 42 pts in a playoffs run against elite competition impresses me more than what anybody has done before

So are Kucherov and MacKinnon on par with Wayne and Mario with their 144 point and 140 point seasons?

 

[wetcoast]

Not sure you place him above MacKinnon.

Mack and Drai are both really close and should be on the same tier one would think given the other posters tiers here and both are 29 and still adding to their already extremely impressive resumes.

3: Sakic, Yzerman, Messier, Clarke, Esposito, Dionne, Malkin, Draisaitl, Mikita, Forsberg, Richard,

4: Francis, Oates, Bergeron, Thornton, Larionov, Sundin, Modano, MacKinnon

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

I put Marleau as a center. But he was mostly a winger once Thornton arrived.

MacKinnon probably deserves tier 3 now that I think of it. He's much better than Sundin was.

 

[Xspyrit]

Mario and Wayne dominated their competition more than McDavid ever did. And they did it not so long ago that you have to figure they would still stand out more than McDavid has. They only lost Art Rosses to each other. McDavid is on Jagr and Crosby's tier offensively.

I should use more images and less words because it's actually a waste of time with some people. There's a thing called evolution. I don't know where it's going as people are now getting dumber and lazier but what we have witnessed in the last decades is evolution. In hockey, players became better, faster, bigger and smarter and from a much much bigger pool (world vs Canada)

So are Kucherov and MacKinnon on par with Wayne and Mario with their 144 point and 140 point seasons?

Actually, they are pretty much super elite as well, very close to generational talents. Can you imagine a beast like MacKinnon feasting on 80's goalies? lol

And it makes you wonder why generational talents like Crosby and Ovechkin can still dominate in their late 30's while Gretzky had a major drop in production in late 20's, then in his early 30's

Could it be related to something else maybe?

 

[daver]

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I should use more images and less words because it's actually a waste of time with some people.