Better Prime: Patrick Kane Versus Nathan MacKinnon

[Voight]

Mackinnon and its not even close

2018 --> 2nd best player in the league
2019 --> 5th or 6th best player in the league
2020 --> 3rd best player in the league
2021 --> 3rd best player in the league
2022 --> 6th or 7th best playee in the league
2023 --> 2nd or 3rd best player in the league
2024 --> best or 2nd best player in the league

Kane:

2013 --> 5th or 6th best player in the league
2014 --> 8th or 9th best player in the league
2015 --> 5th or 6th best player in the league
2016 --> best player in the league
2017 --> 4th or 5th best player in the league
2018 --> 25th best player in the league (horrible year which kills this comparison)
2019 --> 4th or 5th best player in the league
2020 --> 11th to 12th best player in the leagur
2021 --> 9th to 10th best player in the league

Mackinnon after 7 years in his prime has more top 3 seasons than Kane in 9 years. Next two years should build that gap more

2017 and 2019 he was arguably a top 3 player.

 

[General Fanager]

wow good one....

Ill go Kane for now but it can change in 3 minutes from now and then change back 3 minutes after that.,....

 

[Fataldogg]

As I said in the MacKinnon vs Crosby thread, check out their trophy cases. Who has achieved more at the highest level? Kane has, be a fairly wide margin. MacKinnon can catch, and even potentially surpass Kane, but he is definitely not there now.

 

[BraveCanadian]

MacK for me.. Center does a lot more than wing.

 

[JaegerDice]

Kane wasn’t the top player for 3 of his Cups, Toews and Keith were both better in at least 2 of them.

Correct.

The difference in deployment and responsibility really is huge here. MacKinnon doesnt have the equivelant of a prime Jonathan Toews dominating matchups ahead of him in the lineup, he is the guy getting the tough matchups and still producing.

Kane has had more playoff success, but largely as the turbocharger behind the twin engines of Toews and Keith, while MacKinnon and Makar are the engines of the Avalanche.

This is kinda hard because you could say Kane is still in his prime now



They were pretty even.

Kane was the best throughout those three regular seasons and all three won Conn Smythes with many people thinking Kane/Keith should have won it in 2010.

Are these ‘many people’ in the room with us right now?

 

[EXTRAS]

A team with Patrick kane and MacKinnon would be cool. One side of the ice dealing with the most slick and slippery player and the other side of the ice dealing with a torpedo that blows past you.

 

[RooBicks]

Correct.

The difference in deployment and responsibility really is huge here. MacKinnon doesnt have the equivelant of a prime Jonathan Toews dominating matchups ahead of him in the lineup, he is the guy getting the tough matchups and still producing.

Kane has had more playoff success, but largely as the turbocharger behind the twin engines of Toews and Keith, while MacKinnon and Makar are the engines of the Avalanche.

No question. In those rivalry years with the Canucks (and as a Canucks fan), it was Toews, then probably Hossa, and only then Kane that seemed like the primary play drivers and threats among the Chicago forwards. That wasn't a controversial opinion at the time, it has only become so after Kane had some big offensive years later on. The retroactive Toews disdain is unfortunate: he was a more offensively talented equivalent of Bergeron in those years, but people on here have gotten tangled up in the "intangibles" discussion. Truth is that what Toews brought to the table wasn't intangible - he was a 200 ft presence in a way few in the league were during those years. Given what he brought to the table and the importance of his role to the team's success, there were very few forwards you could have replaced him with that would have made Chicago a better team. I count Crosby, Malkin, Datsyuk. Maybe Getzlaf. Maybe.

 

[WarriorofTime]

MacKinnon blows Kane away in the being a Canadian Center factor, but other than that, pretty comparable.

 

[HolyHagelin]

Gotta go with Patty Kane right now, because as was mentioned, trophy case.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Correct.

The difference in deployment and responsibility really is huge here. MacKinnon doesnt have the equivelant of a prime Jonathan Toews dominating matchups ahead of him in the lineup, he is the guy getting the tough matchups and still producing.

Kane has had more playoff success, but largely as the turbocharger behind the twin engines of Toews and Keith, while MacKinnon and Makar are the engines of the Avalanche.



Are these ‘many people’ in the room with us right now?

I think Big Phil's word is good enough when he said Kane should have won the Conn Smythe that year

 

[Despote]

MacKinnon is easily better.

 

[JaegerDice]

I think Big Phil's word is good enough when he said Kane should have won the Conn Smythe that year.

Who the heck is ‘Big Phil’?