Post 2013 Lockout Forward Tournament Tier 1, Round 1: Nathan MacKinnon Versus Nikita Kucherov

[GlitchMarner]

Since the players involved are at different stages of their careers, the best way to vote is probably by answering this question: If I was a General Manager and I could draft one player for my team (having the knowledge that I have about each player at this point in time), which player would I choose?

Some are more accomplished than others and some have been more injury-prone than others, but under different circumstances, how different could things have been?


Tier 1, Round 1:

Connor McDavid
Connor Bedard

Nathan MacKinnon
Nikita Kucherov

Auston Matthews
Leon Draisaitl

Elias Pettersson
Jack Hughes

Jack Eichel
Aleksander Barkov

Kirril Kaprizov
Mikko Rantanen

David Pastrnak
Artemi Panarin

Mitch Marner
Brayden Point

Click to read more...

 

[GlitchMarner]

Nathan MacKinnon:

788 GP
335 Goals, 561 Assists, 896 Points, +149
0.43 GPG, 1.14 PPG

Adjusted stats:

361 Goals, 603 Assists, 964 Points
0.46 GPG, 1.22 PPG

Top ten in Points six times: 2nd (currently), 5th, 5th, 5th, 7th, 8th
Top ten in Goals five times: 4th (currently), 6th, 9th, 9th, 9th


Playoffs:

77 GP
44 G
56 A
100 P
+34

0.57 GPG
1.30 PPG

2014 Calder Trophy winner
2022 Stanley Cup winner
Two time Second-Team All-Star (2018, 2020)
(2, 2, 3, 5, 6 in Hart voting)


Nikita Kucherov:

722 GP
319 Goals, 551 Assists, 870 Points, +138
0.44 GPG. 1.20 PPG

Adjusted stats:

338 goals, 568 assists, 906 points
0.47 GPG, 1.25 PPG

Top ten in Points six times: 1st (currently), 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 5th, 7th
Top ten in Goals four times: 2nd, 6th, 8th (currently), 9th


Playoffs:

142 GP
53 Goals
107 Assists
160 Points
+38

0.37 GPG
1.13 PPG

2019 Hart, Art Ross and Pearson winner
2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup winner
Two time First-Team All-Star (2018, 2019)
Two time Second-Team All-Star (2017, 2020)
(1st, 6th, 12th, 13th in Hart voting)

 

[Steven Toast]

How exactly did you decide the round 1 matchups? Kuch vs MacK should at minimum be a round 1 match up.

Terrible bracket.

 

[GlitchMarner]

How exactly did you decide the round 1 matchups? Kuch vs MacK should at minimum be a round 1 match up.

Terrible bracket.

Look, man, no one is stopping you from starting your own tournament or making your own polls. If you don't like the polls, don't participate. It's not that hard.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Regular season offensive stats are pretty much a wash. Both have played with some good linemates over the years. Playoff stats favor MacKinnon, but Kucherov's sample size is significantly larger. Kucherov has a better Trophy Case and has been a First or Second-Team All-Star more often. MacK has a better Hart voting record.

It's close enough that I'd probably go with MacKinnon just because of the fact that he plays a more important position. I find it lame to pick based on that, but this contest is pretty much a coin flip otherwise.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Regular season offensive stats are pretty much a wash. Both have played with some good linemates over the years. Playoff stats favor MacKinnon, but Kucherov's sample size is significantly larger. Kucherov has a better Trophy Case and has been a First or Second-Team All-Star more often. MacK has a better Hart voting record.

It's close enough that I'd probably go with MacKinnon just because of the fact that he plays a more important position. I find it lame to pick based on that, but this contest is pretty much a coin flip otherwise.

Kucherov is comfortably the better playoff performer with 2 of the 3 best playoff runs (by a skater) post lockout and he did it back to back.

Also, Hart voting record doesn't matter when it's against someone who's almost assured to have 2 of them at the end of the year.

 

[bobholly39]

Kucherov has definitely had the better career so far. To me that's indisputable

But who would you draft is much closer. I voted Kuch still, but its 50/50

 

[The Macho King]

Don't call it the Pearson. It's the one renamed award that they got 100% right.

It's the Lindsay. And it's beautiful.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Results are close. Voting concludes tomorrow morning.