Jamie Benn or Brad Marchand?

Who's been the better NHL player to date?


  • Total voters
    175

oconnor9sean

Registered User
Mar 3, 2013
6,107
1,730
DFW
I think it’s tough to say. I’m a Stars homer, but Benn did lead the league in scoring. Both, however, have been products/contributors of “super-lines”.

I’ll give the edge to Benn, to date, but I’d expect Marchand will take this vote in a year or two given the age of hockey we’re in and the stacked team that he’s on.

Let’s not forget that Jamie Benn’s physical peak was from 2011-2014 when his usual linemates were Steve Ott, Erik Nystrom and late-stage Brenden Morrow. Those early 2010’s stars teams weren’t the worst in the league because of Benn and Kari Lehtonen.
 

psycat

Registered User
Oct 25, 2016
3,239
1,149
Marchand is currently better if that's the question. Pretty much a toss up peak-wise.
 

Regal

Registered User
Mar 12, 2010
24,539
13,832
Vancouver
Benn's Art Ross came against a terrible field. Realistically it wasn't much different than what Marchand did last year relative to the league, and overall his 3 year offensive peak was pretty similar to Marchand the last three years, other than Marchand missing some time last year. Both were more complete players early who were better than their point totals suggested due to lack of PP points, and Benn might have a slight edge in years outside their peaks due to production. Difference is Marchand isn't slowing down in his 4th year at his peak, so if he's not ahead now he will be very soon.
 
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Sky04

Registered User
Jan 8, 2009
28,955
17,898
Identical career PPG's, Benn has his Art Ross but only has 2 PPG seasons to his name. Marchand is on his 4th consecutive elite season while being older to boot. I'll go with Marchand for longevity and playoff performance over a 2 year peak.
 
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93LEAFS

Registered User
Nov 7, 2009
33,841
20,899
Toronto
If I could have either player at their peak, I'd probably take Benn. Benn probably had a longer prime, but Marchand is still in his and it could go longer, has aged better and is currently the better player despite being a year older. I'll say Benn for now, but Marchand could easily pass him, and if I had to pick one for the rest of their career it would be Marchand.
 

Regal

Registered User
Mar 12, 2010
24,539
13,832
Vancouver
This is Marchand and it’s not even close. He has multiple seasons better than Benn’s best season

That's highly debatable. He has one season with more points than either of Benn's 2 best, in a much higher scoring year. His production the last three years before this one is very similar to Benn's three year peak given league scoring.
 
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Regal

Registered User
Mar 12, 2010
24,539
13,832
Vancouver
Identical career PPG's, Benn has his Art Ross but only has 2 PPG seasons to his name. Marchand is on his 4th consecutive elite season while being older to boot. I'll go with Marchand for longevity and playoff performance over a 2 year peak.

I'd say Benn was elite for 3. His 79 points in '14 were tied for 8th in the league, and he was only 3 points out of 5th, which is where Marchand placed in '17 and last year. Star player scoring was pretty surpressed those years. Staying elite this year and actually improving on the other three is where Marchand is now separating his peak.
 
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WJCJ

Registered User
Sep 27, 2017
1,641
686
I am sure that Claude Julien had a positive effect on Marchand but he also held him back offensively. For years Marchand was used in every defensive situation and got almost no power play time and was averaging between 14-16 minutes of ice time per game. Marchand's increase in scoring is directly tied to his increase in ice time, power play time, and more offensive zone starts. I have a feeling that he would have a higher ppg over the first half of his career if he was used as ab offensive player more often.

I think at this point Marchand has the better career and will continue to make the gap between them bigger. If this was taken after Benn's best year it would have been very heavily in Benn's favor but now Benn is not the same player and Marchand is better than ever.
 

wintersej

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Nov 26, 2011
21,969
16,660
North Andover, MA
A couple of years ago this was Benn no question, but Marchand’s late career peak has matched Benin’s and pre peak Marchand was a better player than post peak Benn.
 

Ryan Michaels

Registered User
Mar 21, 2017
4,275
5,637
Marchand but he is benefitting from peaking during a higher scoring era, Benn was very good at his peak raw totals don't do this comparison justice.
 
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