At what point does Kucherov gain the respect he deserves?

[Bounces R Way]

He already does have the respect he deserves and he's in that tier right below McDavid. Most had him #2 before his injury and rightfully so.

Well that's just plain not true.

 

[majormajor]

I unreservedly respect that Kucherov is one of the top 5 talents on the planet.

I don't think he deserves much respect as a player though.

 

[Hockey4Life91]

4th in points per game played during that period though...

Yet, the three players above him in PPG - MacKinnon, Draisaitl, and Rantanen - have played far less games (less than half). And the games they have played, have solely been in the first and second rounds. Kucherov, by contrast, has played in TWO Stanley Cup finals and FIVE conference finals. Much tougher sledding, and his playoff PPG after 100+ games is mind-boggling.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Second best player in the world is pretty high praise.

 

[Honest M]

NHL Stats

Not sure if the link will work but the top 6 since 2013-2014:
Kucherov: 103 gp, 41g, 76a, 117p
Crosby: 92 gp, 29g, 57A, 86p

Malkin: 87 gp, 28g, 49a, 77p
Hedman: 104 gp, 18g, 59a, 77p

Ovechkin: 83 gp, 40g, 34a, 74p
Marchand: 78 gp, 29g, 44a, 73p

Wow didn't realize how high in this list Hedman is.


And regarding Kucherov, I think i would chose him ahead of McJ in playoff.

 

[geoo9]

The point is: it is easier to win when you're way over the cap. Even if it is against the rules we've learned from Robidas' Island and Lupul's situation that these things don't actually matter to NHL.

you can like it or not but Kuch performed better than anyone else 5 or more years in a row. People just tries to catch black cat in drak room when theres no cat there. He have an injury and he still skating slow very slow.

 

[geoo9]

He'll gain the respect once he doesn't sit out the entire regular season just so he can shine in the playoffs. That's too Peter Forberg like and one of the big reasons why so many could never stand Peter Forsberg to begin with. Oh, and once he shows he can do this without his laywers manipulating the cap.

He ll gain more respect than guy who racking regular points to make individual hardware and blown away when it matters. Guy dominates this league at postseason but people just tired to catch his injury and this season - carefully avoiding all kucherov postseason statistics.

 

[geoo9]

Wow didn't realize how high in this list Hedman is.


And regarding Kucherov, I think i would chose him ahead of McJ in playoff.

99% of GM would do same choice

 

[geoo9]

Second best player in the world is pretty high praise.

why not best? what he have to do to recognize him best?

 

[geoo9]

injured Kucherov performs better at playoffs than healthy McJesus - it is what it is - no matter how painful it for people to realize.
Kucherov never had guy Like Draisatl to buff his stats at regular games.
He does hardest and most important stuff in NHL better than anyone else scores at postseason. Can we call him best if he does his job better than anyone else last 6 years - yes without the doubt.
Can we call player who can score at highest levels only at regular season while having top 3-top 5 player playing with him (Draisaitl) but blown away at Playoffs? - no i dont think so.

hockey is not about -that guy who looks stroner faster , looks skilled - is better, That is just not right.
Guy who perfoms better is just better hockey player. True hockey starts at postseason

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

why not best? what he have to do to recognize him best?

Be better than Connor McDavid, for one.

 

[boytoy314]

No one disrespects him LOL

 

[Hoochi Papa]

injured Kucherov performs better at playoffs than healthy McJesus - it is what it is - no matter how painful it for people to realize.
Kucherov never had guy Like Draisatl to buff his stats at regular games.
He does hardest and most important stuff in NHL better than anyone else scores at postseason. Can we call him best if he does his job better than anyone else last 6 years - yes without the doubt.
Can we call player who can score at highest levels only at regular season while having top 3-top 5 player playing with him (Draisaitl) but blown away at Playoffs? - no i dont think so.

hockey is not about -that guy who looks stroner faster , looks skilled - is better, That is just not right.
Guy who perfoms better is just better hockey player. True hockey starts at postseason

- Kucherov has several elite players around him.

- Hardest and most important stuff, like being LTIR when healthy?

- It's easier to dominate at postseason with stacked team that's 20% over the salary cap.

But do go on and dry hump that Draisaitl strawman until it burst into flames.

 

[Future GOAT]

The only reason Kucherov isn't the consensus #2 is because he's a winger. But I did notice that he got a bit of disrespect after winning the cup, what with some people calling Point better than him. If they win the cup again I hope he gets the Conn Smythe, he's certainly running away with it so far.

I don't think anyone thinks Point is better than Kuch in general. In that particular instance of last years playoffs though, Point absolutely was better than Kuch, Point elevated himself above everyone else on his team and had one of the best playoff performances we've seen.

But as everyone with common sense knows, one player outperforming another in the playoffs doesn't mean that player is generally better.

 

[geoo9]

Be better than Connor McDavid, for one.

He is better without any doubt - at any postsseason year after year. But i agreed MacD is best regular season player when opponents are not playing that hard, he flyes all over the Ice then but at Playoffs IQ matters more

 

[geoo9]

But as everyone with common sense knows, one player outperforming another in the playoffs doesn't mean that player is generally better.

amazing conclusion. You just trying to say us that regular season points matters more to recognize better player??????))))
So Playoffs points not important for McJesus followers now?
Are regular season points more important or they harder to score? Whats your point?
Guy outscored whole league 6 years in a row at postseason at most important and competetive part of season and ok he worse than someone who turns inro pumpkin at PO year after year

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

He is better without any doubt - at any postsseason year after year. But i agreed MacD is best regular season player when opponents are not playing that hard, he flyes all over the Ice then but at Playoffs IQ matters more

“Year after year.” The Oilers seldom make the playoffs, but when they do, McDavid is over a PPG on a significantly worse team.

 

[psycat]

“Year after year.” The Oilers seldom make the playoffs, but when they do, McDavid is over a PPG on a significantly worse team.

As I already pointed out it's absolutely ridiculous to believe McDavid would have higher ppg on the Lightnings than he does on the Oilers. He would share pp-time and don't get as much as ice-time.

McDavid plays with another top 5 offensive talent in the world but somehow that's not a good linemate, yet their coach incists on having them together at all times. I suppose Draisaitl is the only one benefitting since he is around 1% worse of a player? But Kucherov is obviously a product of Stamkos being on another line, regardless of if Stamkos is injured or not.

Then again people told me Karlsson only got points because he was allowed ice-time and free roaming on a bad team, Roy was better than Hasek solely because of playoffs(on better teams), Harvey should be ranked ahead of Lidström due to team success(despite never scoring a goal in the playoffs) and so on. Mega bias.

 

[Captain97]

Isn't he recognized as arguably the best winger in the league and is universal a top 10 player for everyone and top 5-7 for most. How much more respect does he need.

 

[North Cole]

Top 5 is being disrespectful honestly

Disagree, but thats fine if it's your opinion. Any of the top 5 can take over the game, order is fairly subjective IMO. I dont see how being the top 0.5% of something is disrespect, but to each their own.

 

[Rschmitz]

Disagree, but thats fine if it's your opinion. Any of the top 5 can take over the game, order is fairly subjective IMO. I dont see how being the top 0.5% of something is disrespect, but to each their own.

Of course it can be disrespectful. I’m not comparing him to Gretzky but if you say Gretzky is a top 5 player you aren’t giving him proper respect

 

[BlueAzN]

Uhhh, he's already recognized lol. I've been saying for the last 3 years he's the best winger in the game. He's in the Matthews/MacK tier. Connor McDonald is in a league of his own.

 

[DeathSniper]

You can respect his talent as a hockey player while at the same time not having any respect for how much of a manbaby he is...

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

The idea that McDavid is on another stratosphere is false. The "bad team" excuse is lame. The "he doesn't play with anybody good" excuse went out the window when Draisaitl emerged as an elite player. The fact is, there are other forwards (Kuch, Mackinnon, Panarin, etc) that could put up similar point numbers if they played 22:00+ a night, every second of their teams PPs, and no expectation to play a lick of defense. However those players play for teams that care more about trying to winning hockey games than individual accomplishment.

 

[BurnabyJoe7]

Well that's just plain not true.

O well if you say so then it must be true.

Opinion: lots of people had him as the second best player in the league before his injury and he was almost unanimously a top 5 player. Not sure how much more respect a guy can receive.