I'd argue peak Forsberg was probably the greatest player I've ever seen.
I'm not old enough to have seen peak Lemieux.Greater than peak Mario?
Not counting Lemieux I'd say objectively peak Lindros followed closely by peak Forsberg for me. Early Flyers Lindros was a different kind of animal.
I'm not old enough to have seen peak Lemieux.
Entertaining watch. Youtuber reacts to some plays from Hughes and Makar this year and makes a Calder prediction.
I can definitely see why the “average” fan seems to think Makar is the better player. He’s likes to speed the game up which brings a more dynamic element, while Hughes slows the game down and brings about a more cerebral game. Right now I would say Makar is better offensively, and Hughes defensively.
Earlier in the year I would get so upset when I saw people saying Makar was better than Hughes but now I realize they’re both fantastic players and whoever wins the Calder has earned it.
I can definitely see why the “average” fan seems to think Makar is the better player. He’s likes to speed the game up which brings a more dynamic element, while Hughes slows the game down and brings about a more cerebral game. Right now I would say Makar is better offensively, and Hughes defensively.
Earlier in the year I would get so upset when I saw people saying Makar was better than Hughes but now I realize they’re both fantastic players and whoever wins the Calder has earned it.
On the other hand, the majority of hockey experts - such as yourself - polled by Lebrun, preferred Makar’s defensive game over Hughes‘.
It’s not just the “average” fan that thinks Makar is better. Eleven Western Conference team executives were asked who they thought was better and 10 of them picked Makar and one said it was too close to say.
Both deserve to be in the conversation for the award. I think it would have been firmly Makar if he had been healthy, but I can see an argument to pick Hughes given the time Makar missed.
Makar >> HughesI guess it’s everyone who enjoys the more dynamic fast paced game, me included so I can see why they also said Makar.
I guess we’ll agree to disagree there. Hughes was better than Makar mid December onwards in my opinion. Offensively and defensively, not just Makar couldn’t stay healthy.
Whenever people start citing numbers they don’t understand themselves and clearly only heard third hand, that’s when it becomes time to start ignoring their takeIf they actually looked at the numbers they would see Hughes had a better two way impact than Makar, while playing tougher and more minutes too.
If they actually looked at the numbers they would see Hughes had a better two way impact than Makar, while playing tougher and more minutes too.
Greater than peak Mario?
Not counting Lemieux I'd say objectively peak Lindros followed closely by peak Forsberg for me. Pre-concussions Lindros was a different kind of animal.
Gord Miller voted Hughes
Pierre McGuire voted Makar
If they actually looked at the numbers they would see Hughes had a better two way impact than Makar, while playing tougher and more minutes too.
Pierre loves him some Avs players, especially Makar haha.
Saw a tweet that Pierre said on TV or radio or whatever that Quinn Hughes will have the Canadian media bias that might help him win.
I like how underlying numbers mean more than point and PPG totals these days.
For as much as people like to knock Makar’s defensive game, he was was on the ice for 57 goals for and 36 goals against at 5-on-5 this season.
Hughes 5V5 numbers aren’t as good, but Vancouver was also a worse even strength team, so it’s not really a fair comparable. Much like using Hughes stats relative to his teammates isn’t a fair comparable, because Colorado is just better than Vancouver.
I think they have similar upside moving forward. Hughes was drafted a year earlier, Makar is the more raw player with a unique level of athleticism.
The power play will be a big part of this discussion in years that follow. Hughes was awesome on the power play this year and that reflected in his point total. If the Avs continue to struggle on the PP it will limit Makar’s overall production. That’s on Makar to get better in that area too, but if they can become a top-10 power play it will take his point totals to another level.