bambamcam4ever
107 and counting
- Feb 16, 2012
- 14,520
- 6,589
Its certainly close, as Plural has made the case for here, but I still go with Malkin. Both are similar offensively and can produce no matter who is on their wing, but I still believe that Malkin has the higher top gear despite Kane's '16. I think Malkin is also somewhat underrated defensively. He can be very good when he wants to be and can tilt the ice more than Kane in that regard. Kane also tends to get highly skewed offensive starts. Malkin isn't used much defensively but at least gets the more mixed minutes of the typical star. He also has to share offensive minutes with Crosby's line and has shown when being the go to player on offense he can actually produce more.
It's not just defensive ability, but Kane probably makes more high risk plays to generate a chance than any other player in hockey. This often leads to a breakaway for the opposing team when he tries to make moves near the blueline even when heavily pressured. (see: the 2016 WCOH).