And im on the hype train ? Matthew is the conductor of the train . Marner was better in every analytic stat, besides PP IP, and Points60 and S%, but that's cause matthews played 20 less games. Marners 2 way play is better than matthews And he also put up 7 more points in the play offs than Matthews ( MARNER 9 , MATTHEWS 2 ). Marner also had Bozak who slumped hard last year and JVR who was usless with out the puck. Marner drove his line every shift. Matthews got to play with Elite Talent Nylander and one of the best work horses in the NHL HYMAN, I'm not taking a shot at matthews at all , by any means. Matthews is one of the best Centers in the league but Statistically Marner was the better players last year, even tho he had a cold start putting in 2 goals in his first 2 months and have like 17 assists or somthing like that before christmas break.