Barkov or Matthews?

[HOPE]

Thats a difficult one... Offensive wise Matthews is clearly ahead... but Barkov is on an other level defensively and defensive centers with a great offensive are underrated...

you have to ask yourself if Matthews is Matched against Barkov 82 games a year who has the upper hands? Barkov might counter Matthews offensive!

To me Barkov is probably gonna end up the Upgraded version of bergeron of this era!

this was too hard to vote considering their 2 years difference.

I voted Matthews wich is kinda ironic with my post, but the 2 years difference is a big factor, matthews is decent defensively but better offensively. so my vote is based on future consideration because i think as we speak Barkov would counter Matthews in a current matchup.

 

[authentic]

Jagr does not touch 66 points with out Barkov on his line.

Or lets talk about the times he had to carry the superstar Seth Griffith and still going PPG for 25+ games. Or the fact that he had the studs in Brad Boyes and Sean Bergenheim on his line to start his career.

Lets ignore the fact that he even said that defense was his biggest priority coming in to the league hence the lack of production

Barkov did miss 16 games that season though so I'm not sure he boosted Jagr as much as you might think.

 

[authentic]

Goals matter. But there is a lot more to the game then goals. There is preventing goals and helping other people score goals, two things that Barkov is elite at. You can't discount two extremely important factors of the game and expect people to take it in stride.

Matthews is like the best defensive player on his team though.

 

[Beezeral]

Matthews is like the best defensive player on his team though.

On a team that is brutal on defense.

 

[authentic]

On a team that is brutal on defense.

They were 12th in goals against last season.

 

[Beezeral]

They were 12th in goals against last season.

Great goaltending doesn’t equal good defense.

 

[authentic]

Great goaltending doesn’t equal good defense.

They're not good no, but did you ever think Matthews might've helped with that? He was +26 in 62 games afterall. He can more than hold his own away from the puck, he's one of the better defensive forwards in the league combined with his offense is a better player than Barkov.

 

[Beezeral]

he's one of the better defensive forwards in the league

Feel free to back this point up with any sort of statistics outside of +/-

 

[authentic]

Feel free to back this point up with any sort of statistics outside of +/-

The fact that you even question it tells me all I need to know about how much you're aware of his game, keep in mind I didn't say one of the best, he is better than most though and that much is obvious to those who watch him regularly. His defensive play and ability stand out quite a bit.

 

[Atomos2]

Feel free to back this point up with any sort of statistics outside of +/-

Go to 2:48

 

[authentic]

Go to 2:48

I'll add that it's extremely rare for great goal scorers to be very good defensive players. All the other highly touted two-way players of this era are primarily playmakers.

 

[Halla]

Go to 2:48

hfboards aint gonna like that

 

[Halla]

Feel free to back this point up with any sort of statistics outside of +/-

2nd in defensive plays/game

go away now

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Feel free to back this point up with any sort of statistics outside of +/-

Welp. This is an embarrassing one for you.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

Welp. This is an embarrassing one for you.

Using plus minus to argue if someone is good defensively is as embarrassing as it gets.

 

[Beezeral]

hfboards aint gonna like that

Interesting. You know how led the league in defensive plays last year? Barkov. He also killed penalties at an elite level and had one of the lowest offensive zone start %’s of any forward in the NHL

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Using plus minus to argue if someone is good defensively is as embarrassing as it gets.

It wasnt?

 

[Deadly Dogma]

Interesting. You know how led the league in defensive plays last year? Barkov. He also killed penalties at an elite level and had one of the lowest offensive zone start %’s of any forward in the NHL

Barkov is a great player but if the Matthews we have seen this year stays then its not even close

 

[Binister]

They're not good no, but did you ever think Matthews might've helped with that? He was +26 in 62 games afterall. He can more than hold his own away from the puck, he's one of the better defensive forwards in the league combined with his offense is a better player than Barkov.

You just didn't use +/- as a comparison.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

It wasnt?

Go look up why Plus Minus is a crap stat.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Go look up why Plus Minus is a crap stat.

Why would I do something silly like that?

 

[Bedards Dad]

Interesting. You know how led the league in defensive plays last year? Barkov. He also killed penalties at an elite level and had one of the lowest offensive zone start %’s of any forward in the NHL

And Barkov is great defensively, no arguement there. Your point was Matthews is not great defensively, which is flat out wrong.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Go look up why Plus Minus is a crap stat.

Why are you talking about plus minus?

 

[LeafFever]

Matthews quite easily. Only McDavid is the better young player.

 

[Beezeral]

Barkov is a great player but if the Matthews we have seen this year stays then its not even close

If you extrapolated his stats after 4 games to an entire season it would result in one of the best seasons in NHL history. Also, Barkov is on pace for 0 points this year. What’s your point?