Peak Evgeni Malkin or Nathan MacKinnon right now?

[Regal]

Never said that, or anything resembling that.

My opinion is that McKinnon is not in debate with only McDavid, which makes your point invalid.

Sorry, in Malkin's best season, nobody in right mind would suggest Stamkos, or Giroux over him...

But McDavid and Kucherov are both a lot better this year than those two were that year. MacKinnon’s gap on Panarin is similar to Malkin’s gap on Stamkos, which is probably closer competition in terms of point production

 

[SuperScript29]

Ask yourself a serious question. Has MacKinnon ever exceeded a level of play reached by Ovechkin or Crosby? Because no matter how brief, Malkin did in 2011-2012 and also out-dueled his own teammate in a complete 2008-2009 regular season and playoff run.

Your argument is not really well thought considering how MacKinnon is competing really well against a player on another level above Ovechkin/Crosby in McDavid.

I was thinking Malkin at first, but the more I think of it the more I think it's too close to vote either way.

 

[SuperScript29]

Malkin was a terror, best player in the world when he was ON. Unstoppable. You know he had to be damn good to get the conn smythe over golden boy. Even better than Crosby at his peak. Malkin ainec.

He got that Conn Smythe because the golden boy was being shutdown by one of the best defensive forwards in the game at the time in Henrik Zetterberg. Malkin had more room to operate in that series.

 

[WalterLundy]

24 MacKinnon:
75 GP: 47 G, 80 A, 127 PTS (1.69)

12 Malkin in ‘24 levels:
75 GP: 57 G, 67 A, 124 PTS (1.65)

It’s even in my opinion I wouldn’t criticize either vote. Malkin dominates his peers greater because he doesn’t have to compete with McDavid or Kucherov who he would also trail this year for point production. I think Nate is better two way. Malkin with the better goals total here and close in ppg would probably lead me to give Malkin the slight edge. That and Crosby being out with Nate this year having the better cast. Might be a tad biased but it’s as tight as it gets in my mind.

 

[klefbombs shoulder]

MacK is pretty quickly becoming an overrated player by some.

 

[GoldenKnight]

Malkin was 20 in his first NHL game. Nate was just a month past his 18th birthday in his.

Malkin's first 100+ point pace season, he was 21. MacKinnon's first 100+ point pace season, he was 22.

Of course, Malkin put up his first 100+ point pace (1.29 PPG) while playing 53 of his 82 games with Crosby, who scored at a 1.36 PPG pace after having 100+ point seasons in each of the previous two years.

MacKinnon put up his first 100+ point pace season (97 in 74) playing with a 2nd year Rantanen (39 points as a rookie) and Landeskog, who, I'm pretty sure we can agree, aren't at Crosby's level.

Crosby and Malkin were not linemates at even strength however (unlike, say, McDavid and Draisaitl).

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Crosby and Malkin were not linemates at even strength however (unlike, say, McDavid and Draisaitl).

Maybe not all the time, but in Malkin's first 100 point season (2007-08), over 53 games, Crosby played 432 ES minutes without Malkin and 360 with him. And even when they were apart, teams were forced to decide whether their top defensive pairing is out there against Crosby's line, or against Malkin's line.

The Avs 2C in Mack's first 107 point pace season (2017-18) was Carl Soderberg, so there's no question who was getting the other team's focus. Their PP1 that year was Mack's line + Tyson Barrie + one of Kerfoot/Jost/Andrighetto, so Mack was very clearly the focus there too.

(Since you wanted to make the comparison, over 80 game together last year, Drai played 818 5v5 minutes without McDavid, and 550 with him. If you do the math, that's Crosby playing 45.45% of his ES minutes with Malkin, and Drai playing ~40.2% of his ES minutes with McDavid, meaning Crosby/Malkin actually played together more frequently when healthy than McDavid/Drai)

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Maybe not all the time, but in Malkin's first 100 point season (2007-08), over 53 games, Crosby played 432 ES minutes without Malkin and 360 with him. And even when they were apart, teams were forced to decide whether their top defensive pairing is out there against Crosby's line, or against Malkin's line.

The Avs 2C in Mack's first 107 point pace season (2017-18) was Carl Soderberg, so there's no question who was getting the other team's focus. Their PP1 that year was Mack's line + Tyson Barrie + one of Kerfoot/Jost/Andrighetto, so Mack was very clearly the focus there too.

(Since you wanted to make the comparison, over 80 game together last year, Drai played 818 5v5 minutes without McDavid, and 550 with him. If you do the math, that's Crosby playing 45.45% of his ES minutes with Malkin, and Drai playing ~40.2% of his ES minutes with McDavid, meaning Crosby/Malkin actually played together more frequently when healthy than McDavid/Drai)

In 20 years there has never been a moment in time where a coach said. "Who are we putting our shut down unit against" when both crosby n malkin are healthy.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

In 20 years there has never been a moment in time where a coach said. "Who are we putting our shut down unit against" when both crosby n malkin are healthy.

Just because everyone chooses to try to stop Crosby, leaving Malkin to feast on their 2nd unit, doesn't mean it's not still a decision.

 

[mr figgles]

One has a Hart, Smythe, and 2 Art Ross trophies, so…

 

[Mirka the Turka]

Peak Malkin was better than peak Crosby, so yeah I pick peak Malkin

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Peak Malkin was better than peak Crosby, so yeah I pick peak Malkin

I would completely agree with that, the caveat being we never got to see peak Crosby unfortunately.

 

[authentic]

I would completely agree with that, the caveat being we never got to see peak Crosby unfortunately.

They were about equal at their peak I think, but I would give the slight edge to Crosby if I had to pick.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

I think it was "tougher" to play, and there was much more physical play, because it was an era where lot of very good forwards battled against a lot of very good defensemen, with only a handful of elite scorers who could make even those very good defensemen look bad. Very few players in the league had elite level skating, so defenders could play tighter and more physical, without worrying about getting walked, which is why size became so important. Being 20 lbs heavier than someone who can't just walk around you is very beneficial, and the ability to do something like make an outlet pass becomes less important.

Today, defenders have to contend with some of the best skaters the NHL has ever seen, and playing tight and physical would be a stupid choice. As a result, we've seen a massive shift to a league where skating and skill matters more than just size. And if I have my choice of trying to skate around Dan Girardi with elite level skating, or skate through Sam Girard with more size, I think skating around Dan Girardi is going to be much easier and more effective.

A huge reason why it’s a better skating league today is that the league rewards skating more than it did a decade ago though. The league shrunk goalie equipment and its referees aren’t remotely allowing the little infractions to slow offense down they used to yesteryear.

 

[gritdash60]

Great poll, i voted MacKinnon purely because its 2024. It's very very close, and while peak Malkin was more dominant, i think it's harder to be as dominant in 2024, and still MacKinnon comes close.