Is Auston Matthews the best player in the world ?

[Teeder Keon]

Here’s my take ....
Can you think of more comparisons?
Or are you against this theory ?
Where would you rank him and project his career to be ?
How about this year ?
What trophies do you think he may earn this year ?
I’m just putting it out there for discussion
I think you can say that AM is like Kopitar with way more offensive skill
Of like Malkin with more of being a complete player
Or like Draistl with more defensive awareness
Or like Mcdavid with way less speed but better defensively and better goal scorer
Or like Crosby but with youth on his side and size
Or like McKinnon with better defensive awareness and better goal scorer
So all in all if things continue, he is and will continue to be the best player in hockey this year and years to come
He may or may not be , but at the moment , I think he is .
Go Leafs Go

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[Raging Bull]

Why we gotta put a label on him. Just enjoy him. We know what he is.

 

[Bomber0104]

No, but he's up there.

What's great is even though he's been progressing every year, I still think there's even more untapped upside to his game particularly on the defensive side of the game.

I think as more players age out and younger players come in and he becomes more of the elder statesman of the league, he's going to start physically overpowering players on a consistent basis.

 

[Notsince67]

He wears a porn moustache because he like to f-up other teams

 

[Buds17]

It's debatable. He is the best goal scorer in the NHL.

 

[Nineteen67]

McDavid and MacKinnon

 

[TMLAM34]

McDavid is clearly the best player in the world.

 

[Mickey Marner]

No, but he's top five this year and probably for the next several seasons.

 

[GreeningOil]

Matthews is damn good. Not #1

 

[The Iceman]

Watching AM on the defensive side this season I will bite.

Yes, at this moment he is my #1 pick for this season.

 

[Toronto makebeleifs]

Haha, I'm glad this is in the leafs forum board. Matthews is absolutely elite-consistently. Personally, he's the most complete, consistently dangerous, line driving player I've seen since sundin. Matthews being the better goalscorer, of course. We, in leafs nation, know how good he is now as well as how he has consistently grown his game since his rookie year. That said, let's wait til he has a bit more hardware in the case before we start proclaiming things like 'best in the world'. I'm beyond thrilled to have a top player in the world, but outright best is disingenuous and hyperbolic when he hasn't yet had a top 5 finish for the hart. Hoping he wins the rocket this year to start stacking the trophy case... Maybe add a cup ring in here soon as well.

 

[Not My Tempo]

I still think McDavid has been better this season, his defensive numbers have actually improved.

but Matthews is number 2 right now, and this is coming from someone who’s favourite player is MacKinnon.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

McDavid is clearly the best player in the world.

McJesus is worlds fastest and world best offensive producer on PP yes but terrible on faceoffs and play in his own end ... to me he is close but not best in world

 

[RealisticLeaf55]

Please stop.

 

[hamzarocks]

McDavid

He is better this year and has been a lot better for four years in the past

It will take Matthews atleast this year and next to pass 97, and right now he isnt playing at a level better than 97.

Matthews I have right now as 4th best player in the league. By season end he might be third and after playoffs potentially 2nd

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I’ve said it on these pages many times. I am just as satisfied having Matthews as i would McDavid. I see a one for one trade as a sideways move. Different players both extremely talented. Matthews is much better defensively. McDavind is lights out the most dynamic.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Best thing about Matthews is he is maturing off the ice and in leadership but he is exactly the same demeanour as always. He’s the same person. Enjoying himself. The same for Marner, he’s enjoying himself again too.
I hope they have fun, that’s nice to see

 

[Teeder Keon]

Here’s my take ....
Can you think of more comparisons?
Or are you against this theory ?
Where would you rank him and project his career to be ?
How about this year ?
What trophies do you think he may earn this year ?
I think you can say that AM is like Kopitar with way more offensive skill
Of like Malkin with more of being a complete player
Or like Draistl with more defensive awareness
Or like Mcdavid with way less speed but better defensively and better goal scorer
Or like Crosby but with youth on his side and size
Or like McKinnon with better defensive awareness and better goal scorer
So all in all if things continue, he is and will continue to be the best player in hockey this year and years to come ? Is he ?
I’m just putting it out there , the possibility of that being correct ?

/QUOTE]

 

[Brobust]

Yes.

 

[Oscar Peterson]

I have him as number 2 in the league behind McDavid, but it's very close.

I will say one thing is that Matthews works his ass off every offseason to master new techniques and hasn't been playing 5v5 hockey as long as most guys in the show. He also has that desire to be great and seems to thrive under responsibility. He's absolutely phenomenal right now and he's still getting better.

 

[Teeder Keon]

Oops my error , my apologies for somehow entering this again

 

[RogerR]

I'm just hapy he should be on everyone's top 3 list. How lucky are we to have him?

 

[Mikeyg]

To me, hes the best in the league right now. I believe this because I think he has the highest top level gear of anyone. Mcdavid will score more points sure, but when both guys play at their very best, imo matty is the more dominant player. When hes at his best, he scores at will, he is elite defensively, and he can single handedly will the team to a win. I think he is ahead of mcdavid defensively by a decent gap as well. He is also much much more physically imposing that mcdavid, but thats harder to compare because that isn’t mcdavids game.

 

[Varcus]

Matthews needs to produce more simply put. He would need to become as good as Ovi was in the early part of his career in order to challenge McDavid.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Still think it's McDavid (no questions asked) and MacKinnon ahead of Matthews. But top 3/5, depending where you rank the likes of Draisaitl and Kucherov, is pretty damn good.