Are McDavid, Kucherov, Crosby, Mackinnon and Kane the top 5 forwards in the league?

[Albatros]

Barkov is great but he’s going to have to put up Mackinnon type numbers in the playoffs before he’s considered better than MacK

Is the same conversely true for every player that has more playoff points than MacKinnon? Logan Couture had 17 (!) more points.

 

[Krewe]

Crosby is a fat tier above MacKinnon

So is kucherov. IMO the top 3 is pretty clear with McDavid #1, and then #2 depends on what you value. MacK had a good postseason but idk where this narrative of him being #2 in the league has come from recently

 

[22FUTON9]

So is kucherov. IMO the top 3 is pretty clear with McDavid #1, and then #2 depends on what you value. MacK had a good postseason but idk where this narrative of him being #2 in the league has come from recently

Not that I agree with him being number two but he’s as impactful as anyone out there if you watch a game. Considering how he’s still one of the youngest it’s not as outrageous to think he might be number 2 this year

 

[Beauner]

Barkov > Kane, Crosby, MacKinnon.

This will be evident to most of the hockey fan world by the end of the season. It’s the reason he’s still voted as underrated by his peers even though he’s ranked as a top 5 C. Overton window is shifting. One big playoff run changes everything. The only people who will rebel against this take venomously (and will be proven wrong) are those who say he’s overrated to feel smart and special (excluding Kane, Crosby and MacKinnon fans).

 

[Krewe]

Not that I agree with him being number two but he’s as impactful as anyone out there if you watch a game. Considering how he’s still one of the youngest it’s not as outrageous to think he might be number 2 this year

Oh no I agree I think he’s amazing and I would have in my top 5. And it’s certainly not the hottest of takes to think he could be #2 after this next season. I just don’t think you can call him #2 already.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

Not as good as the experts and authorities on HF boards!!!

Uhuh, and you are what exactly?

 

[illpucks]

What's up with this consensus? 7/10 people aren't willing to consider Ovi?

 

[deckercky]

Although offence isn't everything, it is for a number of these players. In terms of points per game played over the past two seasons you have:

Tier 1 (1.41 and 1.40 respectively):
Kucherov and McDavid

Tier 2 (both at 1.26):
Marchand and MacKinnon

Tier 3 is a lot tougher to draw a line - there's 10 players between 1.19 and 1.10 and 8 more between 1.09 and 1.05, before there's a bit of a drop off to 1.01.

NHL.com - Stats

My initial reaction to the list was "one of the Boston players probably deserves to be on this list", and Marchand seems to have the numbers to justify being in that top 5.

A picture of the last 3 years has the same tier 1, Marchand remaining in tier 2, then bumps Crosby, Malkin, and Stamkos up to Tier 2, Kane to 2a, and MacKinnon down to tier 3.

 

[JotAlan]

My top 10

1 McDavid
2 Crosby
3 MacKinnon
4 Kucherov
5 Kane
6 Ovechkin
7 Marchand
8 Draisaitl
9 Matthews
10 Pastrnak

 

[canuckking1]

My top 10

1 McDavid
2 Crosby
3 MacKinnon
4 Kucherov
5 Kane
6 Ovechkin
7 Marchand
8 Draisaitl
9 Matthews
10 Pastrnak

Where's Malkin?

 

[Kshahdoo]

Where's Malkin?

And Panarin?

 

[JotAlan]

And Panarin?

Top 15

 

[Kshahdoo]

Top 15

Lol, right now Panarin is better, than Kane, Pastrnak, Matthews, Ovi.

 

[ChiefWiggum]

I voted no because I think a legitimate argument can be made that Panarin and Draisaitl are better than Kane and Crosby at this point

 

[bert]

Barkov > Kane, Crosby, MacKinnon.

This will be evident to most of the hockey fan world by the end of the season. It’s the reason he’s still voted as underrated by his peers even though he’s ranked as a top 5 C. Overton window is shifting. One big playoff run changes everything. The only people who will rebel against this take venomously (and will be proven wrong) are those who say he’s overrated to feel smart and special (excluding Kane, Crosby and MacKinnon fans).

This one didnt age well.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Your logic is dictated by the back-assward definition that the players use for underrated. Before Barkov, Toews was voted as the most underrated player right before he became the most over-saturated player in the media for being "underrated". It's weird how Barkov is following suit. Also, the video you've posted is exclusively for centres and not all forwards.

You're not going to convince anyone that Barkov is better than Sidney f***ing Crosby, let alone Kane and MacKinnon.

barkov isnt top 5 and im not saying he is but in what world is patrick kane better than sasha barkov

 

[Spilot23]

barkov isnt top 5 and im not saying he is but in what world is patrick kane better than sasha barkov

I don't know man in a world where Kane has always outproduced him minus one season ? Unless of course his defense game is that good that we forget how clutch Kane is but that's me though.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

barkov isnt top 5 and im not saying he is but in what world is patrick kane better than sasha barkov

Uh oh, it’s another Dom take

 

[wetcoast]

Only McDavid and Kucherov are for sure top 5. OV was better than Crosby, MacK and Kane the last 2 seasons (regular season + playoffs) so he should be in. (using 2 seasons because that's when MacK broke out)

17/18 regular season:
MacK/OV
Crosby
Kane

17/18 playoffs:
OV
Crosby
MacK
Kane (didn't play)

18/19 regular season:
Kane/OV/MacK/Crosby

18/19 playoffs:
MacK/OV
Kane/Crosby (both didn't play)

Probably McDavid, Kucherov, Ovechkin, MacK, Crosby.

I missed this thread when it first came up but the part in bold is just ridiculous as the OP is talking about going into the season, thus for the regular season.

Only 2 teams make the SC finals and some great players don't even make the playoffs due to weak supporting casts so including playoffs is really off kilter.

Also why use 2 season just because of Mack breaking out?

What happened 2 seasons ago has little bearing to what happened last season and what might happen in the upcoming season.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

I missed this thread when it first came up but the part in bold is just ridiculous as the OP is talking about going into the season, thus for the regular season.

Only 2 teams make the SC finals and some great players don't even make the playoffs due to weak supporting casts so including playoffs is really off kilter.

Also why use 2 season just because of Mack breaking out?

What happened 2 seasons ago has little bearing to what happened last season and what might happen in the upcoming season.

Playoffs are a plus for the guys who perform. Yeah everyone doesn't get the chance, but that's unfortunate and doesn't take away from the guys who do.

Because if we go further back than 2, MacK probably isn't top 5.

The reason most people use more than one season is for sample size. 1 season can be a fluke. Track record matters. No one is saying use the last 5 seasons, but 2-3 is a good indicator. And yes, how a guy performed in the past is definitely a good indication of how he'll do in the future.

 

[wetcoast]

Playoffs are a plus for the guys who perform. Yeah everyone doesn't get the chance, but that's unfortunate and doesn't take away from the guys who do.

Because if we go further back than 2, MacK probably isn't top 5.

The reason most people use more than one season is for sample size. 1 season can be a fluke. Track record matters. No one is saying use the last 5 seasons, but 2-3 is a good indicator. And yes, how a guy performed in the past is definitely a good indication of how he'll do in the future.

Sure last couple of season play is more relevant than playoffs, if you ask me, amnd age is also a factor as well.

That's why I wouldn't have had Ovi as a top 5 player going into this year, something which clearly played out.

 

[KevinFinnerty]

Panarin, Draisatl, Pastrnak?

 

[KevinFinnerty]

McDavid
Crosby
MacKinnon
Draisaitl
Kane
Kucherov
Ovechkin
Barkov
Panarin
Pastrnak

 

[wetcoast]

I think a better question right now is who are going to be the top 5 forwards going into next year?

 

[John Eichel da GOAT]

I'd throw Panarin in over Kane, but the others, yes.

My order:

McDavid
MacKinnon
Crosby
Kucherov
Panarin