GDT: Avalanche @ Senators 03/16/23 5:00PM Mountain Time (Emergency GDT)

[RoyIsALegend]

You know, I was going to agree with the McDavid vs MacKinnon remarks here, but the number of points that McDavid feasts on the PP are definitely a negative in my book. He's definitely the better player no doubt, but a lot closer than you lot think. I think the better argument is between McDavid and Makar where it is a lot closer for me. Give me Conn Smythes over Art Rosses or Harts' any day personally.

My thoughts:

1. McDavid dominates the PP because having one less player on the ice than a McDavid team is a cheat code. You’re toast.

2. If McDavid had a team like MacKinnon has had, McDavid would most certainly have those playoff awards as well.

Just my $0.02 CAD.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

My thoughts:

1. McDavid dominates the PP because having one less player on the ice than a McDavid team is a cheat code. You’re toast.

2. If McDavid had a team like MacKinnon has had, McDavid would most certainly have those playoff awards as well.

Just my $0.02 CAD.

Well that is not worth a lot.

 

[S E P H]

My thoughts:

1. McDavid dominates the PP because having one less player on the ice than a McDavid team is a cheat code. You’re toast.

2. If McDavid had a team like MacKinnon has had, McDavid would most certainly have those playoff awards as well.

Just my $0.02 CAD.

Oh absolutely and solid points, I am not saying Makar is better than him. However, head-to-head in the playoffs was a pretty telling story about how close Makar is to him. You could also make a sound argument that Cale was better than him last season considering everything. This year, yeah no questions asked about who's the best player in the league.

 

[Pokecheque]

IMO the Sens might be close. They're excellent on special teams, they just don't have the goaltending and might need another defenseman (thought a full year of Chychrun and Sanderson might be even better).

I'm guessing DJ Smith is a goner after this season, but I'd keep the assistants.

As for Dorion, dude can pick talent, just not sure he makes great decisions with veterans. Swapping Gustavsson for Talbot has been an abject disaster (though Gus would not have posted the numbers he has in Minnesota for the Sens, I still think that was a bad trade) and snagging Hamonic at the behest of Pierre Maguire was another dunderheaded move.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

In playoffs, it's harder to get powerplays. Hopefully, that will hurt McDavid's production.

 

[John Mandalorian]

My thoughts:

1. McDavid dominates the PP because having one less player on the ice than a McDavid team is a cheat code. You’re toast.

2. If McDavid had a team like MacKinnon has had, McDavid would most certainly have those playoff awards as well.

Just my $0.02 CAD.

There's a video out there with McD and Gretzky. Gretzky makes a comment or asks a question about scoring (it was probably a question based on McDavids response). But McDavid's reply was that scoring is most important because that's how they're judged.

Not only is it telling regarding his lack of buy-in defensively. But it also highlights a dichotomy between US sports fans and Canadian sports fan. And if you didn't already know, McDavids reply makes it obvious he's Canadian. In American sports, team success has become more important than counting stats.

In the NBA, they go by ppg. Practically no one can tell you how many total points the leading scorer had. And the leading scorer is ppg, not total points. So you can miss 13 games and still win the scoring title. And it's also not assumed most points = best player.

The sport where counting stats have mattered most has historically been baseball. But that's been diluted. Possibly it's steroids or possibly its less appealing due to the regularity of 4 hour games. Or maybe it'd OPS supplanting batting average?

In college FB, the Heisman trophy winner has become the QB from one of the best contending teams - not the best or most productive player.

None of this indicts Canadian sports fans or what they prioritize. But I think it affects how one views certain players. And if you ask a lot of American sports fans, McDavid kind of seems like the Rich Harden of the NHL.

It's also probably a simpleton comment to talk about swapping players between the teams. Role modeling is involved and almost always gets over looked. If MacKinnon is more committed to defense, pretty soon the Edmonton players are more committed. If McDavid isn't committed, you can't assume Avs players don't stop embracing a defensive commitment.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

McDavid is clearly the best player in the league.

He put on a show last playoffs as well on a meh team, ending the McDavid doesn't produce in the playoffs talk.

 

[The Abusement Park]

McDavid is clearly the best player in the league.

He put on a show last playoffs as well on a meh team, ending the McDavid doesn't produce in the playoffs talk.

He’s the best player since Mario. But people have to be contrarian and find the dumbest things to nitpick on the guy to not give him his due.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

There's a video out there with McD and Gretzky. Gretzky makes a comment or asks a question about scoring (it was probably a question based on McDavids response). But McDavid's reply was that scoring is most important because that's how they're judged.

Not only is it telling regarding his lack of buy-in defensively. But it also highlights a dichotomy between US sports fans and Canadian sports fan. And if you didn't already know, McDavids reply makes it obvious he's Canadian. In American sports, team success has become more important than counting stats.

In the NBA, they go by ppg. Practically no one can tell you how many total points the leading scorer had. And the leading scorer is ppg, not total points. So you can miss 13 games and still win the scoring title. And it's also not assumed most points = best player.

The sport where counting stats have mattered most has historically been baseball. But that's been diluted. Possibly it's steroids or possibly its less appealing due to the regularity of 4 hour games. Or maybe it'd OPS supplanting batting average?

In college FB, the Heisman trophy winner has become the QB from one of the best contending teams - not the best or most productive player.

None of this indicts Canadian sports fans or what they prioritize. But I think it affects how one views certain players. And if you ask a lot of American sports fans, McDavid kind of seems like the Rich Harden of the NHL.

It's also probably a simpleton comment to talk about swapping players between the teams. Role modeling is involved and almost always gets over looked. If MacKinnon is more committed to defense, pretty soon the Edmonton players are more committed. If McDavid isn't committed, you can't assume Avs players don't stop embracing a defensive commitment.

A lot of wrong and generalization in that comment. You couldn't be more wrong regarding Canadian fans and athletes. You will always have your exceptions in any country but I am 100% certain that if you ask Canadian fans or athletes they will all tell you team comes first. Canada wouldn't have done that well internationally if players would come first.

And McDavid is not wrong. Unfortunately in hockey, and most other sports, production like goals/points get you paid and it is the most important way to judge players.

 

[Bowe Byrum]

McDavid is clearly the best player in the league.

He put on a show last playoffs as well on a meh team, ending the McDavid doesn't produce in the playoffs talk.

He didnt against the Avs. A few points but was harsly a factor. He doesn't touch the puck enough against us

 

[John Mandalorian]

Deleted

 

[forsbergavs32]

He didnt against the Avs. A few points but was harsly a factor. He doesn't touch the puck enough against us

Definitely a spot where Bednar’s system deserves credit. McDavid got completely shut down when it mattered. Through the whole playoffs the Avs only got murdered once and that was one game against the defending champs.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

He didnt against the Avs. A few points but was harsly a factor. He doesn't touch the puck enough against us

It was his worst round for sure, but McDavid still put up 7 points in 4 games against a tremendous Avs team.

 

[henchman21]

McDavid is the absolute least of Edmonton's issues.

 

[Pokecheque]

McDavid is the absolute least of Edmonton's issues.

It's so silly we see so many obvious flaws on that team. A blueline that's still below-grade, inconsistent production out of anyone not named McDavid, Draisaitl, or Hyman, and of course, the goaltending.

But yeah...it's McDavid's fault, the guy who's outpacing everyone in scoring by a sizeable margin.

It's my grand hope the Oilers continue to screw up with him, because even a GM of mediocre competency would have them well on their way to multiple Cups.

 

[SirLoinOfCloth]

It's so silly we see so many obvious flaws on that team. A blueline that's still below-grade, inconsistent production out of anyone not named McDavid, Draisaitl, or Hyman, and of course, the goaltending.

But yeah...it's McDavid's fault, the guy who's outpacing everyone in scoring by a sizeable margin.

It's my grand hope the Oilers continue to screw up with him, because even a GM of mediocre competency would have them well on their way to multiple Cups.

The way I see it, McDavid is the best player in the world but just because he piles on points it doesn't leave him above criticism for his play on the other side of the puck. Like it or not, defense is part of the game. Is he the biggest problem there? Of course not. He's not even top 10 problems on that team, but that doesn't mean he can't improve his commitment to backcheck and help out his team. Especially when he knows how badly they need help. They suck on the blueline, one-way forwards don't help that matter at all.

We've seen plenty of criticism of players in the past for being lazy on the backcheck. Mack a few years ago cruised around off the puck and got shit for it, rightly. He's not the best and nor should anyone expect him to be the best, but he puts in the effort and tries and that's about all you can ask. He's clearly O-first, but he's not O-only. That's an important distinction. EK gets a lot of shit for being bad in the d-zone, even though he outscores his team mates by a sizeable margin. Yes, he is meant to be a d-man so it's different to McDavid, but the point is one-dimensional offensive players can hurt teams because you never have the puck 100% of the time.

I agree that acting like McDavid backchecking would turn around the fortunes of that franchise, that's clearly complete shit. But, it could be a small part of an improvement. Fixing all the other things is higher priority, though.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I simply wish McDavid had been drafted by another team. I mean, does anybody actually watch the Oilers on purpose? Sucks that so much of his prime is wasted by being in Edmonton.

 

[henchman21]

I simply wish McDavid had been drafted by another team. I mean, does anybody actually watch the Oilers on purpose? Sucks that so much of his prime is wasted by being in Edmonton.

Throwback to this gem!

 

[CobraAcesS]

In playoffs, it's harder to get powerplays. Hopefully, that will hurt McDavid's production.

Being eliminated works too

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Throwback to this gem!

McJoy

 

[The Abusement Park]

In playoffs, it's harder to get powerplays. Hopefully, that will hurt McDavid's production.

Well good thing he’s an elite ES scorer as well.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Well good thing he’s an elite ES scorer as well.

MacK is better

 

[SaltySkywalker]

I simply wish McDavid had been drafted by another team. I mean, does anybody actually watch the Oilers on purpose? Sucks that so much of his prime is wasted by being in Edmonton.

I don't. Then it'd be a waste of two months of playoff hockey (or less) just like every individual award is already with him winning everything. We still get to enjoy what he does on a nightly basis, but I am just fine with him wasting away in the great expanse that is EDM.

With that said, there's not a chicken dicks chance he resigns again in EDM if they haven't won anything by then. Sort of surprised he signed the first extension honestly.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I don't. Then it'd be a waste of two months of playoff hockey (or less) just like every individual award is already with him winning everything. We still get to enjoy what he does on a nightly basis, but I am just fine with him wasting away in the great expanse that is EDM.

I don't though. I have no idea why I dislike Edmonton so damn much. I've never been there and it's not like Fairbanks, Alaska is some freakin' international mecca everyone is dying to visit. But I just absolutely zone out every time I watch the Oilers. This goes back to the 90s. They're just one of those teams for whatever irrational reason that I can't stand. The Islanders, Devils, Jets, Coyotes and Preds are the other teams. If those are my options, I'd rather play video games like MacK than watch hockey for the night.

 

[The Abusement Park]

MacK is better

I mean this season? He has. But as a whole, McDavid laps the field in ES scoring.