Matthews vs Kucherov, who would you rather have?

[Brownies]

Healthy player sitting on LTIR so Lightning can gain some extra cap space is wasting your prime. You don't play because you put cheating above being on the ice at your prime.

I want a hockey player, not a puppet who is willing to be playoffs only specialist and who is fine with circumventing the cap instead of playing.

That's like your opinion man. If you believe the guy had surgery strictly to help his team cap wise, I don't know what to say. If you believed they faked the surgery, I don't know what to say.

The only thing I can agree is that perhaps without a cap that surgery might have been done a bit earlier/later, tough even that would be talking way out of my ***.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

So you do believe he wasn't in condition to play until playoffs started?

By coincidence at the time when cap doesn't matter. Sure, see you at Robidas' Island at the Convention of Excuses!

 

[Hoochi Papa]

That's like your opinion man. If you believe the guy had surgery strictly to help his team cap wise, I don't know what to say. If you believed they faked the surgery, I don't know what to say.

You sure don't know what to say. But you try to give answers to things that people didn't say.

 

[Brownies]

You sure don't know what to say. But you try to give answers to things that people didn't say.

Then tell me how from your chair you are able to tell whether Kucherov needed that surgery ?

 

[Hoochi Papa]

Then tell me how from your chair you are able to tell whether Kucherov needed that surgery ?

Did I say he didn't need surgery?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Have to go with Kucherov here. Matthews is the better goal scorer and he does play center but Kucherov is just a step up in overall production and he's done in it the playoffs. For Matthews to reach that next level he's going to add a playmaking dimension to his game and step up at critical moments.

 

[Brownies]

Did I say he didn't need surgery?

Ok I might have misread your post when you said he stayed at home healthy instead of playing by the rules. I thought you were saying he was always healthy, but maybe you meant he could have come back a month before the playoffs or something. I read it can take from 2-6 months to return to normal, but normal looks to be more like walking/running. Contact sports look to be more 5-6 months (Hip Surgery for Three Prominent NHL’ers), which fits the timeline. Of course most people would try to do it as quick as possible after a season ends to miss as little time as possible, but with the late playoffs last year + postoned surgeries due to Covid, who knows ?

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Oh Kucherov and it's not even close. Better contract + better player + better facial hair.

+ better nostrils.

And also the better playoff performer. Kucherov every day and twice on Sundays.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Kucherov. I had him as the better player even before the postseason started.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Who would win? Player A who sucks in the playoffs or Player B who doesn't

 

[WarriorofTime]

Why should I feel dumb?
Have you proved that Tampa didn't cheat with Kucherov's LTIR?

He had hip surgery. Do you think he "faked" that? Are you... all there?

 

[T REX]

Kuch

 

[WarriorofTime]

Did I say he didn't need surgery?

You said he cheated LTIR, so yeah you implied it. Or do you think players don't miss significant time after surgery? What do you mean?

 

[Hoochi Papa]

You said he cheated LTIR, so yeah you implied it. Or do you think players don't miss significant time after surgery? What do you mean?

I don't.

Don't you find it cunning he was ready to go immediately when playoffs started?

 

[MadLuke]

I don't.

Don't you find it cunning he was ready to go immediately when playoffs started?

6 days between the last regular season and playoff games + different criteria use by people to be able to play a playoff games versus meaningless regular season of a clinched team make it possible too, to be close to natural if not fully the same that would happen in a capless world.

Forsberg played is first game in the playoff one season before the cap in 2002 has well and he played in the very first game of the playoff has well without playing a single regular season game.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I don't.

Don't you find it cunning he was ready to go immediately when playoffs started?

I think he timed his recovery to be ready for the postseason, the same thing any logical person would do... do you think he was ready 2 months ago or something??

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Anyone else find it ironic that someone defending a player on a team that used the Horton and Clarkson LTIR contracts to "cheat" the cap rules would criticize Tampa and Kucherov for doing something similar?

"You cheated worse than we cheated!"

 

[Vukotal Recall]

I would take Kucherov over Matthews and Marner combined.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

Forsberg played is first game in the playoff one season before the cap in 2002 has well and he played in the very first game of the playoff has well without playing a single regular season game.

That didn't have anything to do with cap though.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

I think he timed his recovery to be ready for the postseason, the same thing any logical person would do... do you think he was ready 2 months ago or something??

I believe he was ready before playoffs began. If Tampa wins championship, this could open a new loophole.

 

[JasonRoseEh]

Kucherov by a landslide.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

Anyone else find it ironic that someone defending a player on a team that used the Horton and Clarkson LTIR contracts to "cheat" the cap rules would criticize Tampa and Kucherov for doing something similar?

"You cheated worse than we cheated!"

Did Matthews participate in cap circumvention?

I believe situation with Horton and Kucherov wasn't identical at all. Why would you use such example when there's Joffrey Lupul and Robidas' Island?

 

[MadLuke]

That didn't have anything to do with cap though.

that was my point, an example of a player coming for the first game on the playoff that had nothing to do with the cap, showing that it is possible and could be a similar case here.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Kucherov doesn't seem to know what rust is. The dude is a big game player.

 

[WesMcCauley]

Did Matthews participate in cap circumvention?

I believe situation with Horton and Kucherov wasn't identical at all. Why would you use such example when there's Joffrey Lupul and Robidas' Island?

Toronto had the highest total salary in the NHL this season. Only team above 100 mill in salaries. They are "cheating" the system by front-loading the hell out of contracts to give players incentives to play for them. Tampa "cheated" the system with Kucherov on ltir. Still have a lower total salary than Toronto though... Toronto isnt any better, stop making excuses.

When it comes to Kucherov vs Matthews, look at how Matthews played in the Habs series and compare that to how Kucherov has played for Tampa so far since he came back. Kucherov is all over the ice and involved in everything that happens out there and annoys the shit out of his opponent with his skill, physicality and behavior after the whistle. Matthews so far in his career has shown no interest in adapting in the playoffs and play that type of a game....