In the last three playoffs, McDavid has been Draisaitl's most common linemate at ES and a negative player at ES when on his own line. Hard not to think that Draisaitl cannot carry a line offensively quite as well and Mac and Kucherov.
BTW, Kucherov outscored his teammates by 54 points last year. That seems like he is able to produce regardless of linemates/ the contribution of linemates
We'll see how this year pans out. As far as McDavid and Draisaitl are concerned, they have nothing to accomplish in the regular season, it's all about the playoffs. They should not care about regular season trophies.
I didn't say he wasn't. What I am saying is I give the edge to Mac and Kucherov, both of whom are pushing into the Top 50ish all-time.
He is not comparable to peak Malkin, a common comparison.
In 2023 he played with McDavid in the playoffs primarily for two reasons. The first was because he had a significant high ankle sprain which made it hard to play defense as a center. The second reason is that they are so dynamic together that the team as a whole is often more dangerous with the combo together. They can do this when needed because Nugent-Hopkins can mind the fort to allow them this luxury. Together over the last three playoff the team has a 69.09% GF% with the two on the ice. They score at a rate of 6.1 5 vs 5 goals per 60.
Last year Draisaitl also played the second half of the playoff with broken ribs and a significant hand injury. In the first two rounds, before the injuries, he was absolutely dominant. Despite the injuries he ended up with 49 points in 37 games including 25 goals over the last two years. His last year he was health in the playoffs was 2022. He had 32 points in 16 games. Malkin never came close to that level of production. Malkin's top year was 1.5 pts/gm and matching Draisaitl's second best season. Draisaitl has 5 years above 1.2 pts/gm in the playoffs and Malkin has 2.
You can dismiss it all you want as being a product of McDavid. The people who watched every one of those games know differently. I've seen every playoff game Draisaitl played. I was also a season ticket holder throughout the 80's. I have no hesitation to say that Draisaitl's playoff performance rank with the best in Oiler history and would only put them behind Gretzky and peak McDavid.
You also talk about Crosby and Malkin being successful apart, but one of the reasons this was necessary was that Malkin never successfully adjusted his game to fit with Crosby. Draisaitl has the ability to play a completely different style when with McDavid than he does when he is alone. In doing so he raises McDavid's game as much as McDavid raises his, as any serious Oiler fan can attest.
In the end none of this will sway you. I am perfectly aware of this. But you're still wrong about the player regardless of your willingness to accept it so there is that.
