Barkov or Matthews?

[Slap]

No player has ever gone on to win a Conn Smythe after having a bad playoff series before

I'd like to see him make the conference final before I start projecting Conn Smythe trophies

 

[goblin3]

This ones Matthews. Much more dominant.

Honestly, that is a ridiculous comment.

 

[BAM]

Honestly, that is a ridiculous comment.

This is only close because you're comparing Barkov in his D+6 to a player in his d+3 lmao. Compare their first 2 seasons and this isn't even close.

 

[goblin3]

This is only close because you're comparing Barkov in his D+6 to a player in his d+3 lmao. Compare their first 2 seasons and this isn't even close.

Yeah wonder how Matthews would've done with Bergenheim and Boyes.
Barkov also played pk from his first season, something Matthews still hasn't done, despite being called a great two way player. Earlier the Maple Leafs fans reasoning was you don't play your best players on the pk, but I guess not anymore as Tavares played pk?

Matthews is a great offensive player but Barkov dominates everywhere on the ice.

And even though they were drafted 3 years apart Barkov is only 2 years older than Matthews.

Honestly the reason it's even this close is because people compare their first seasons.

 

[HarryLime]

this site is ridiculous. a 40 goal rookie, over ppg in his second year, takes Toronto from worst to playoffs is losing to the hf 2 way darling who is hilariously overrated by people on here. Nothing wrong with Barkov, he's very good. this site is just wrong.

 

[Deadly Dogma]

this site is ridiculous. a 40 goal rookie, over ppg in his second year, takes Toronto from worst to playoffs is losing to the hf 2 way darling who is hilariously overrated by people on here. Nothing wrong with Barkov, he's very good. this site is just wrong.

I know, just like people saying Leafs need to add to Panarin for Nylander

 

[goblin3]

this site is ridiculous. a 40 goal rookie, over ppg in his second year, takes Toronto from worst to playoffs is losing to the hf 2 way darling who is hilariously overrated by people on here. Nothing wrong with Barkov, he's very good. this site is just wrong.

I mean if we look at just the last two seasons Barkov has higher ppg and easily better two way game.

 

[Asiantuntija]

Absurd result. Answer is Matthews and it's not even close.

 

[LeafChief]

Barkov AINEC no argument.

 

[BostonBruins11]

this site is ridiculous. a 40 goal rookie, over ppg in his second year, takes Toronto from worst to playoffs is losing to the hf 2 way darling who is hilariously overrated by people on here. Nothing wrong with Barkov, he's very good. this site is just wrong.

Correction: Matthews is NOT a PPG player just like Kessel was NEVER a 40 goal scorer.

you sir are hilariously wrong

 

[Face Of Bear]

I don't see any of those trophies in Matthews future as long as McDavid is in the league. Conn Smythe based on his last playoffs is down right laughable. He folded like a lawn chair.

Unless you think McDavid is going to sweep the next decade, someone else is going to get their share. Matthews is a better bet then Barkov, quite easily. And have you taken a gander at Barkov's playoff numbers? I'll save you a google. He's qualified 1 of 5 years and put up 3 pts in 6 games played as a 21 y/o. Matthews has qualified every season and has 7 pts in 13 gp as a 19-20 y/o.

You'll look more and more wrong each passing season as Matthews continues to separate himself.

 

[Face Of Bear]

Correction: Matthews is NOT a PPG player just like Kessel was NEVER a 40 goal scorer.

you sir are hilariously wrong

Do you know what PPG means? It's point-per-game. 63 pts in 62gp is PPG. You must have to try reallly hard to be this dumb. I dont get it...

 

[BostonBruins11]

Do you know what PPG means? It's point-per-game. 63 pts in 62gp is PPG. You must have to try reallly hard to be this dumb. I dont get it...

134 pts in 145 games...... yes i know what PPG means

 

[Face Of Bear]

134 pts in 145 games...... yes i know what PPG means

Well then you dont know how to read because the post you quoted clearly says he was ppg in his second season. Take a break bud.

 

[BostonBruins11]

Well then you dont know how to read because the post you quoted clearly says he was ppg in his second season. Take a break bud.

i'm not a fan of people who cherry pick Stats
Matthews is a 0.92 ppg player (for now)

and if we include last years playoffs he's definitely not over PPG

 

[goblin3]

Unless you think McDavid is going to sweep the next decade, someone else is going to get their share. Matthews is a better bet then Barkov, quite easily. And have you taken a gander at Barkov's playoff numbers? I'll save you a google. He's qualified 1 of 5 years and put up 3 pts in 6 games played as a 21 y/o. Matthews has qualified every season and has 7 pts in 13 gp as a 19-20 y/o.

You'll look more and more wrong each passing season as Matthews continues to separate himself.

LOL as if single players qualify for playoffs by themselves.

 

[BAM]

Yeah wonder how Matthews would've done with Bergenheim and Boyes.
Barkov also played pk from his first season, something Matthews still hasn't done, despite being called a great two way player. Earlier the Maple Leafs fans reasoning was you don't play your best players on the pk, but I guess not anymore as Tavares played pk?

Matthews is a great offensive player but Barkov dominates everywhere on the ice.

And even though they were drafted 3 years apart Barkov is only 2 years older than Matthews.

Honestly the reason it's even this close is because people compare their first seasons.

Use your brain, it's not that hard to see why a player in his d+6 year has had more development than a player in his d+3 year, all you have to do is look at Barkov's first 2 years. He wasn't the player he is now.
Matthews' wingers in his career have been Hyman, Brown and Nylander. Outside of Nylander he hasn't exactly had winger support either. Especially with Hyman and Brown who are blackholes offensively. Matthews doesn't need to play pk because the Leafs have bottom 6 forwards that can handle that role. Babcock doesn't overplay any of his forwards, he listens heavily to the Leafs sports science department. JT plays pk because it allows for more minutes to be spread around AM, JT and NK. They all will probably play 18 minutes each so obviously with JT's pk experience he gets extra minutes on the pk.

The Leafs have had a top 10 pk the last 2 years without Matthews on it, whereas Barkov was on the 16th ranked pk unit in the league last year. Average...and all you've done is burnout your best player while you team was short-handed. What's the point of bragging about Barkov being on the pk when it doesn't even lead to results that are more than average. The Leafs have the better pk and they don't need to risk their best player blocking shots because they have guys like Hyman, Brown, Kapanen and in the past Komorov that fill the role just fine.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Use your brain, it's not that hard to see why a player in his d+6 year has had more development than a player in his d+3 year, all you have to do is look at Barkov's first 2 years. He wasn't the player he is now.
Matthews' wingers in his career have been Hyman, Brown and Nylander. Outside of Nylander he hasn't exactly had winger support either. Especially with Hyman and Brown who are blackholes offensively. Matthews doesn't need to play pk because the Leafs have bottom 6 forwards that can handle that role. Babcock doesn't overplay any of his forwards, he listens heavily to the Leafs sports science department. JT plays pk because it allows for more minutes to be spread around AM, JT and NK. They all will probably play 18 minutes each so obviously with JT's pk experience he gets extra minutes on the pk.

The Leafs have had a top 10 pk the last 2 years without Matthews on it, whereas Barkov was on the 16th ranked pk unit in the league last year. Average...and all you've done is burnout your best player while you team was short-handed. What's the point of bragging about Barkov being on the pk when it doesn't even lead to results that are more than average. The Leafs have the better pk and they don't need to risk their best player blocking shots because they have guys like Hyman, Brown, Kapanen and in the past Komorov that fill the role just fine.

During the Leafs broadcast on Tuesday they were saying how John Tavares did not start playing on the penalty kill until Doug Weight started coaching him with the Islanders which was during the 2016-2017 season. So if Tavares didn't start playing on the PK until this late in his career and he's doing it now, so no one can use it as a negative that Matthews does not yet play on the PK.

 

[Plural]

I think people arguing different things here. I believe the vast majority is saying that Matthews will likely be the better player through their careers. The thing is we're comparing them right now. At this very second, I believe Barkov is the better player. He's an elite defensive center and great offensive center. His overall impact on his team is greater than Matthews.

Now, all of us who think that fully realize that Barkov is already a seasoned veteran. The fact that Matthews is already close to Barkov and poised to take over soon enough is a testament to Austons greatness. Barkov is legitimately a top-10 C in the game and Matthews is good enough that he can surpass that mark in his third season straight from the draft. It took Barkov 5 seasons to get where Matthews is about to do in 2-3 seasons.

In all honesty though, even if their drafts are 3 years a part Barkov is only 2 years older. But still, it's highly impressive what Matthews is doing.

 

[LeafsNation75]

In all honesty though, even if their drafts are 3 years a part Barkov is only 2 years older. But still, it's highly impressive what Matthews is doing.

Maybe this wouldn't mean a lot given how young both are but what about those who pick a specific player because they are younger and we see that reason mentioned in a lot of other poll questions. So in this example since Matthews is 2 years younger as you said shouldn't that give him a slight advantage?

 

[Plural]

Maybe this wouldn't mean a lot given how young both are but what about those who pick a specific player because they are younger and we see that reason mentioned in a lot of other poll questions. So in this example since Matthews is 2 years younger as you said shouldn't that give him a slight advantage?

I guess it's up to interpretation. If you make a poll worded "Which of the two players you think will be better in the future" I bet you'd get vastly different results. I believe most here are going with the "better now" definition. And as much as I like Matthews I think the answer is Barkov.

 

[goblin3]

Use your brain, it's not that hard to see why a player in his d+6 year has had more development than a player in his d+3 year, all you have to do is look at Barkov's first 2 years. He wasn't the player he is now.
Matthews' wingers in his career have been Hyman, Brown and Nylander. Outside of Nylander he hasn't exactly had winger support either. Especially with Hyman and Brown who are blackholes offensively. Matthews doesn't need to play pk because the Leafs have bottom 6 forwards that can handle that role. Babcock doesn't overplay any of his forwards, he listens heavily to the Leafs sports science department. JT plays pk because it allows for more minutes to be spread around AM, JT and NK. They all will probably play 18 minutes each so obviously with JT's pk experience he gets extra minutes on the pk.

The Leafs have had a top 10 pk the last 2 years without Matthews on it, whereas Barkov was on the 16th ranked pk unit in the league last year. Average...and all you've done is burnout your best player while you team was short-handed. What's the point of bragging about Barkov being on the pk when it doesn't even lead to results that are more than average. The Leafs have the better pk and they don't need to risk their best player blocking shots because they have guys like Hyman, Brown, Kapanen and in the past Komorov that fill the role just fine.

Right now Barkov is clearly ahead of Matthews as a player. Will Matthews get there? Maybe. Maybe he won't. Matthews will develop but Barkov is not a finished product either.

One of the reasons Barkov is so great is he can handle those heavy minutes, Matthews can't, atleast not yet.

Since 2013-2014 Barkov has 4.62 GA/60 on the PK. Here's some other players GA/60 from those years. Kopitar 6.31, Bergeron 6.08, Tavares 8.82.

 

[Regal]

Maybe this wouldn't mean a lot given how young both are but what about those who pick a specific player because they are younger and we see that reason mentioned in a lot of other poll questions. So in this example since Matthews is 2 years younger as you said shouldn't that give him a slight advantage?

That's what his post was about though. Age and experience don't matter in a current player comparison, which is what this thread is about. If it was long term, then Matthews would have an advantage there.

 

[Sojourn]

Do you know what PPG means? It's point-per-game. 63 pts in 62gp is PPG. You must have to try reallly hard to be this dumb. I dont get it...

He was 20 games short of playing a full season. That's a 1/4 of the season.

Matthews was on a PPG pace. He was not a PPG player. You need to actually play a full season(or damn close to it) to earn that label. I'm sure he'll get there, but this is another case of wanting to give him credit for something he hasn't accomplished yet.

Barkov may have fallen short of being a PPG player last season, but between the two, I find 78 points in 79 games to be more impressive than 63 points in 62 games.

 

[LeafsNation75]

That's what his post was about though. Age and experience don't matter in a current player comparison, which is what this thread is about. If it was long term, then Matthews would have an advantage there.

So how come on other polls when two players are compared to each other and it's asked who you want long term going forward, I see other people say go with the player who is 2 years younger.