Matthews, Kakko vs Laine, Hughes?

[Sasso09]

If/When Kakko switches to center, in which he most likely excels better than Hughes.. Then Hughes becomes the weakest link..

Hughes offensive play is only thing, that he's ahead of Kakko.. And Kakko has advantage in boards and defensive aspect of the game.

So which one in your mind makes a better center?

Although, i might be talking to a brickwall.. After all, you left answered my question earlier..

I know that, it only because you cant provide any real proofs; that why it isnt debatable that Kakko might be equal or better than Hughes.

"If, when, maybe"

Neither of these guys hold the value of Matthews or Laine.


Its between Hughes and Kakko and on every mock
Hughes is the consensus #1 on everyone's list.

He's the weakest link.

 

[LeafsNation75]

"If, when, maybe"

Neither of these guys hold the value of Matthews or Laine.

Hughes is the consensus #1 on everyone's list.

He's the weakest link.

Since Matthews was the consensus #1 on everyone's list prior to him being drafted shouldn't that put his value at the same as Hughes is right now?

 

[LOFIN]

To be honest this poll is more about Matthews vs Hughes and Kakko vs Laine.

Kakko is already much better than Laine was at the same age.

 

[Sasso09]

Since Matthews was the consensus #1 on everyone's list prior to him being drafted shouldn't that put his value at the same as Hughes is right now?

No... it's much higher. He's a proven commodity

 

[loyaltotheend]

Laine is the best player here but Matthews doesn't fall too far short. I'm not at all sure how it'll end up with Kakko and Hughes but right now Kakko's play reminds me of Forsberg's and while he has some similarities to Matthews, I think Kakko's even stronger on the puck (at the same age). Laine tips this for me though, so going with him and Hughes.

lol

Good one.

Laine is only able to keep up in one way: goal scoring. And given that's so close, Matthews being better in every other aspect means Laine is not the best player in this discussion

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

lol

Good one.

Laine is only able to keep up in one way: goal scoring. And given that's so close, Matthews being better in every other aspect means Laine is not the best player in this discussion

Name a few please?

 

[Narow]

Name a few please?

The main one is probably only skating...most others are likely splitting hairs.

Heres what how i see it

Matthews better at
Skating (agility, acceleration elusiveness)
Shot production
Backhand shot
Stickhandling (slight advantage due to how strong he is in close)

Laine
Shot arsenal besides the backhand
Shooting accuracy, velocity etc
Physicality (hitting mainly)
Passing (slight advantage)
Top speed (skating)


Off the too of my head probably forgotten qualities for both. Most other things not listed are probably close to equal or a tie such as disguising shots.

And as shooters matthews is still better in close while laine is really good there aswell and laine is better from a far altho matthews aint bad from there either.

I left out defense on purpose but since their position demands different roles but ill touch on that aswell.

Tenacity : matthews
Blocking lanes: laine
Shot blocking: tie
Closing lanes: laine (due to position)
Stealing puck: matthews ainec

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

The main one is probably only skating...most others are likely splitting hairs.

Heres what how i see it

Matthews better at
Skating (agility, acceleration elusiveness)
Shot production
Backhand shot
Stickhandling (slight advantage due to how strong he is in close)

Laine
Shot arsenal besides the backhand
Shooting accuracy, velocity etc
Physicality (hitting mainly)
Passing (slight advantage)
Top speed (skating)


Off the too of my head probably forgotten qualities for both. Most other things not listed are probably close to equal or a tie such as disguising shots.

And as shooters matthews is still better in close while laine is really good there aswell and laine is better from a far altho matthews aint bad from there either.

I left out defense on purpose but since their position demands different roles but ill touch on that aswell.

Tenacity : matthews
Blocking lanes: laine
Shot blocking: tie
Closing lanes: laine (due to position)
Stealing puck: matthews ainec

Very fair assessment, there’s probably an argument to be made against Tenacity and Stick handeling but like you said it’s allot of splitting hairs.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Kakko is getting underrated here. Laine as a complementary player is as good as they come but Kakko is a possession god and a pretty damn good shooter too.

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

Kakko is getting underrated here. Laine as a complementary player is as good as they come but Kakko is a possession god and a pretty damn good shooter too.

Gotta love a complementary player who can score 40 goals in his sleep.

 

[RageQuit77]

Kakko is getting underrated here. Laine as a complementary player is as good as they come but Kakko is a possession god and a pretty damn good shooter too.

Laine is getting underrated here as a complimentary player as god as they come.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Gotta love a complementary player who can score 40 goals in his sleep.

I would bet my house that Kakko will be a 40 goal scorer too.

 

[Binister]

I would bet my house that Kakko will be a 40 goal scorer too.

Well Team Finland is having a great time so to say.

 

[joe dirte]

Had they said that about OV with the exception of Sid we'd all still be laughing.

Well Ovechkin is a little more than "elite" though.

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

I would bet my house that Kakko will be a 40 goal scorer too.

I’d bet my bank account you don’t have a house to bet knowing that.

 

[kelsier]

lol

Good one.

Laine is only able to keep up in one way: goal scoring. And given that's so close, Matthews being better in every other aspect means Laine is not the best player in this discussion

Haha. Laine being only ahead in the goal scoring and yet still somehow doesn't freeze up when the big games begin. Matthews hasn't been able to take his team through the first round these last three seasons (NLA & NHL x 2). Meanwhile, despite Laine playing far below his level, he was still concrete piece of his team when the Jets reached the conference finals. Of course as most of you know, in the playoffs prior to that one when he played in Tappara, he actually carried his team to the trophy. Great players don't disappear when they are expected perform at their best and that's something Matthews needs to cope with and eventually actually win something.

Also about Laine being inferior in every other aspect, oh please. His passing, creativity and playmaking are already at a higher level and while Matthews can use that agile skating of his to get past opponents and score goals, he still falls short in the hockey IQ as far as the two are concerned. Let alone the size and the 2-3 inch disadvantage. One throws hits and the other one takes hits.

I seriously wonder what kind of scoring pace Matthews would have been or would be even at the moment with aTOI being 16+ or 15+ minutes. Laine usually plays behind the puck and is often the last forward to cross the blue line, being extremely responsible. He'll be a great two-way force once he's in the prime. Matthews on the other hand is an offensive center who too has tons of work with his defence since the game isn't all about maximizing the production. He is great on his own right, but it has never been a question for me who'd be better moving forward.

Like I said Kakko has some similarities with Matthews and he's enticing prospect, but above all he's physical and not afraid to the slightest of getting his body banged up or engaging players twice his age. Still, no matter how much I love Kakko right now (and believe he actually might have what it takes to be the BPA in the next year's draft), I still wouldn't take the two over Laine and Hughes, where the latter also happens to be extremely talented prospect right now.

 

[kelsier]

Kakko is getting underrated here. Laine as a complementary player is as good as they come but Kakko is a possession god and a pretty damn good shooter too.

Yeah I guess Ovechkin was complimentary player too? And Kakko being pretty damn good shooter? You for real?

As for Kakko I've watched all his games this season and every single shift I could find from last year. Shooting is that one thing he isn't great at. He really needs to focus on his finishing ability in the future. The kid might lead the league in points if he knew when to take the shot and actually have the accuracy to find the corner. He's missed a handful of empty netters (or near empty netters) this year alone. That's the only "weakness" in his game right now. How someone would pick shooting in particular and call that an advantage (when he's basically great in everything else apart from that) is beyond me.

 

[loyaltotheend]

Haha. Laine being only ahead in the goal scoring and yet still somehow doesn't freeze up when the big games begin. Matthews hasn't been able to take his team through the first round these last three seasons (NLA & NHL x 2). Meanwhile, despite Laine playing far below his level, he was still concrete piece of his team when the Jets reached the conference finals. Of course as most of you know, in the playoffs prior to that one when he played in Tappara, he actually carried his team to the trophy. Great players don't disappear when they are expected perform at their best and that's something Matthews needs to cope with and eventually actually win something.

Also about Laine being inferior in every other aspect, oh please. His passing, creativity and playmaking are already at a higher level and while Matthews can use that agile skating of his to get past opponents and score goals, he still falls short in the hockey IQ as far as the two are concerned. Let alone the size and the 2-3 inch disadvantage. One throws hits and the other one takes hits.

I seriously wonder what kind of scoring pace Matthews would have been or would be even at the moment with aTOI being 16+ or 15+ minutes. Laine usually plays behind the puck and is often the last forward to cross the blue line, being extremely responsible. He'll be a great two-way force once he's in the prime. Matthews on the other hand is an offensive center who too has tons of work with his defence since the game isn't all about maximizing the production. He is great on his own right, but it has never been a question for me who'd be better moving forward.

Like I said Kakko has some similarities with Matthews and he's enticing prospect, but above all he's physical and not afraid to the slightest of getting his body banged up or engaging players twice his age. Still, no matter how much I love Kakko right now (and believe he actually might have what it takes to be the BPA in the next year's draft), I still wouldn't take the two over Laine and Hughes, where the latter also happens to be extremely talented prospect right now.

If Matthews had the easy position Laine does (3rd best player on his team) you could make your case with regard to playoffs.
Laine has never had the situation Matthews does.
Insulated by Scheifele AND Wheeler, tons more PP time, on a stacked unit.

This may actually be the first year Matthews comes close to Laine's usage. So we will see how that plays out.

It might not be a question in anyone's mind who is the better player going forward, but I'd bet you're in the VAST minority that would pick Laine.
He doesn't score more than Matthews, and that's Laine's thing.

Hilarious you think Laine throws big hits (neither guy is a hitter per se) and think Matthews lacks hockey iq.

I'd make a poll but everyone will complain about Leaf threads. I'm sure you know the only reason the Jets fan split these players like this is to try and give Laine a chance.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Yeah I guess Ovechkin was complimentary player too? And Kakko being pretty damn good shooter? You for real?

As for Kakko I've watched all his games this season and every single shift I could find from last year. Shooting is that one thing he isn't great at. He really needs to focus on his finishing ability in the future. The kid might lead the league in points if he knew when to take the shot and actually have the accuracy to find the corner. He's missed a handful of empty netters (or near empty netters) this year alone. That's the only "weakness" in his game right now. How someone would pick shooting in particular and call that an advantage (when he's basically great in everything else apart from that) is beyond me.

I wasn't picking shooting as a strength for him, but it's an underrated part of his game imo. Obviously that's not the best thing about him, he's able to create scoring chances with his tremendous strength with the puck, stickhandling and skating but he can snipe it too. His shot is really not bad at all:

 

[kelsier]

If Matthews had the easy position Laine does (3rd best player on his team) you could make your case with regard to playoffs.
Laine has never had the situation Matthews does.
Insulated by Scheifele AND Wheeler, tons more PP time, on a stacked unit.

This may actually be the first year Matthews comes close to Laine's usage. So we will see how that plays out.

It might not be a question in anyone's mind who is the better player going forward, but I'd bet you're in the VAST minority that would pick Laine.
He doesn't score more than Matthews, and that's Laine's thing.

Hilarious you think Laine throws big hits (neither guy is a hitter per se) and think Matthews lacks hockey iq.

I'd make a poll but everyone will complain about Leaf threads. I'm sure you know the only reason the Jets fan split these players like this is to try and give Laine a chance.

Hilarious. Laine has had nothing to do with Scheifele and Wheelers outside the powerplay whatsoever neither last season, nor today. No, Matthews definitely never had been in the same situation as Laine is, by being used as a secondary scoring with extremely limited minutes. Last season Laine played with aTOI of 16:29 while Matthews cruised with 18:08. I would take the 1,5 minutes in a hard beat over the PP time advantage Laine has. No player in the world can compete in production vs other greats in the league by playing second line minutes. So if you're comparing their positions and who's had the tougher route, that isn't Matthews. Yeah I'd definitely be thrilled if this was the year Laine got the play as much as Matthews, but the likes of Little and Perrault are hardly carved out as "1b" class of players and if the first game gives any indication, the mighty ~15 minutes Laine actually played, I doubt much has changed and he'll be fighting against every odds once again. I just find it extremely entertaining when you try portrait Matthews in an inferior position compared to Laine when the reality is exactly the opposite.

Well the jury certainly is still out there and that vast little minority has been right about most things in Laine's career so far. He wasn't supposed to be good enough skater, shouldn't have been able to score against NHL level goalkeepers or even play at this level already at age of 18. Yet somehow he's by far the #1 teenager in the history of the game when you look at the amount of the scored goals in the era adjusted scoring charts. So if I'm in the minority that's by all means fine. I have no problems revisiting this topic at a later date.

Laine actually does hit players (and hard as well) and can be considered a hitter. He just doesn't do that too frequently because he doesn't want to lose the position. Matthews on the other hand never really gets physical and use his strength to knock someone out. A fear of retaliation? Dunno.

Ha, that just made my day. "Jets fans trying to make Laine great again". M'kay pal, whatever you say.

 

[wasup]

I wasn't picking shooting as a strength for him, but it's an underrated part of his game imo. Obviously that's not the best thing about him, he's able to create scoring chances with his tremendous strength with the puck, stickhandling and skating but he can snipe it too. His shot is really not bad at all:

is this not the same tournament Hughes led in scoring and was MVP, but yea Kaapo must be better cause you know better than every scout . yikes you guys

 

[Hostile Offer]

is this not the same tournament Hughes led in scoring and was MVP, but yea Kaapo must be better cause you know better than every scout . yikes

I wasn't comparing him to Hughes, though.

 

[DoobieDubas]

never honestly heard of kakko


but matthews vs laine is really a question? Ive never had 1 thought about did we draft the wrong guy? Thats because we didnt, we got matthews.

 

[StatisticsAddict99]

never honestly heard of kakko


but matthews vs laine is really a question? Ive never had 1 thought about did we draft the wrong guy? Thats because we didnt, we got matthews.

There’s no drafting the wrong guy... You either get a Franchise Goalscoring Centerman or a Prodigy Goalscoring Winger. Win / Win for both teams... Tbh I prefer Laine over Matthews for the Jets but only because he is the backbone of our Power Play(Matthew just isn’t as much of a threat and as valueble to that area of special teams) with the shot he provides and the fact we don’t have any Right handed Wingers that can play Top 6 minutes behind Wheeler.

 

[loyaltotheend]

Hilarious. Laine has had nothing to do with Scheifele and Wheelers outside the powerplay whatsoever neither last season, nor today. No, Matthews definitely never had been in the same situation as Laine is, by being used as a secondary scoring with extremely limited minutes. Last season Laine played with aTOI of 16:29 while Matthews cruised with 18:08. I would take the 1,5 minutes in a hard beat over the PP time advantage Laine has. No player in the world can compete in production vs other greats in the league by playing second line minutes. So if you're comparing their positions and who's had the tougher route, that isn't Matthews. Yeah I'd definitely be thrilled if this was the year Laine got the play as much as Matthews, but the likes of Little and Perrault are hardly carved out as "1b" class of players and if the first game gives any indication, the mighty ~15 minutes Laine actually played, I doubt much has changed and he'll be fighting against every odds once again. I just find it extremely entertaining when you try portrait Matthews in an inferior position compared to Laine when the reality is exactly the opposite.

Well the jury certainly is still out there and that vast little minority has been right about most things in Laine's career so far. He wasn't supposed to be good enough skater, shouldn't have been able to score against NHL level goalkeepers or even play at this level already at age of 18. Yet somehow he's by far the #1 teenager in the history of the game when you look at the amount of the scored goals in the era adjusted scoring charts. So if I'm in the minority that's by all means fine. I have no problems revisiting this topic at a later date.

Laine actually does hit players (and hard as well) and can be considered a hitter. He just doesn't do that too frequently because he doesn't want to lose the position. Matthews on the other hand never really gets physical and use his strength to knock someone out. A fear of retaliation? Dunno.

Ha, that just made my day. "Jets fans trying to make Laine great again". M'kay pal, whatever you say.

Yeah, I guess I can see where the real delusions are... not just Jets fans, the Lainiacs

Hope Matthews gets some of the soft Laine-minutes this year, so he gets a fair comparison.
Laine put up almost 50% of his points last year with the star players you think he doesn't see. PP minutes baby.