McDavid Right Now vs. Crosby at His Peak

[Trap Jesus]

Do you think McDavid is a better player right now than Crosby was at his peak? I think most people would consider Crosby's peak when he put up 51 goals (and 109 points in 81 games in 2009/10) and then 66 points in 41 games the next year before his injury issues, but it's up to your interpretation what his peak is.

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[Midnight Judges]

McDavid right now is better than Crosby's peak, and below Ovechkin's.

 

[snipes]

McDavid now.

Most talented player since Lemieux.

 

[TheGuiminator]

Crosby’s absolute peak was the full 2010 calendar year : he scored 60 goals, 66 assists in 80 games. I assume he would have finished around that total if not for the concussion in 2010/11 considering how dominant he was.

McDavid is on his way to reach that level, he should be as good or better than peak Crosby by the end of this season if he stays healthy

 

[Gardner McKay]

I don't know. As a Rangers fan I got to see plenty of Crosby and as much as I can't stand him, he was unstoppable. I think it is Crosby at his peak by a marginal amount.

 

[CanadianPensFan1]

I dont think you can go wrong with either. Both are dominant in different ways and can beat anyone in different ways.

As a Pens fan, I go with Sid. That's really my only tie breaker is being a bigger Sid fan. If not for that, I probably couldn't choose without throwing a dart

 

[Plural]

Sid still, but it's close. I feel like Crosby had more tools to beat you with. But McDavid has that insane speed and puckhandling (along with other elite traits) that might beat Crosby's best soon enough.

 

[Captain Controversy]

Crosby’s absolute peak was the full 2010 calendar year : he scored 60 goals, 66 assists in 80 games. I assume he would have finished around that total if not for the concussion in 2010/11 considering how dominant he was.

McDavid is on his way to reach that level, he should be as good or better than peak Crosby by the end of this season if he stays healthy

Never scored 60. What are you smoking ?

 

[Bomber0104]

If McDavid can maintain this level, it's him for sure..

 

[Captain Controversy]

McDavid is a better offensive threat. Crosby is a better hockey player with his toolkit.

 

[Madap]

I think about this all the time. It's so hard to compare. I'll give it to Crosby slightly for now, but I think McDavid ends up passing him eventually.

McDavid is so flashy and skilled and its so easy to see how dominant he is. But Crosby did every single little thing right, and a lot of it goes unnoticed for the average fan. He really was unbelievable.

 

[TheGuiminator]

Never scored 60. What are you smoking ?

See 2010 calendar year :

 

[Empoleon8771]

Never scored 60. What are you smoking ?

He was talking about the 2010 calendar year, so the 2nd half of 2009-2010 and the first half of 2010-2011. That's completely reasonable to say was Crosby's peak.

 

[snipes]

See 2010 calendar year :View attachment 265683

That’s misleading though because you’re splitting seasons up.

Not taking anything away Sid because he was excellent during that stretch.

 

[WillTheThrill]

Crosby but its close.

 

[TheGuiminator]

That’s misleading though because you’re splitting seasons up.

Not taking anything away Sid because he was excellent during that stretch.

It’s just an illustration on how dominant he was at his peak level of play. I’m aware that Crosby lacks of peak seasons and McDavid will very likely peak higher.

 

[Future GOAT]

McDavid right now, comfortably.

 

[Steven Toast]

Never scored 60. What are you smoking ?

Calendar year not NHL season: NHL.com - Stats

 

[Plural]

See 2010 calendar year :View attachment 265683

Damn, didn't realize how f***ing impressive statline Stamkos had at that time too.

 

[Regal]

Let's see where he is at the end of the year. I don't think he's ever been as good as Sid leading up to the concussion, but Crosby never put up a full year at that level and their best full seasons so far are similar. McDavid has been racking up the points this year but he still hasn't looked on top of his game yet. He's turning 23 halfway through the year though, which means he'll probably be putting up a peak season either this year or next. So he very well could be, but he'll have to show it over more games.

 

[Brucelenok]

People forget one important thing that peak Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin played in an era way more tougher than McDavid is playing now. Back then you could check a star player with clean old hit, nowadays I feel like those type of plays are almost gone which gives McDavid more space as hockey became more softer. P.S. And hasn't NHL created several rules few seasons ago up till now to increase scoring including making goalies' equipment smaller ? Therefore Crosby but not by much

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

People forget one important thing that peak Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin played in an era way more tougher than McDavid is playing now. Back then you could check a star player with clean old hit, nowadays I feel like those type of plays are almost gone which gives McDavid more space as hockey became more softer. P.S. And hasn't NHL created several rules few seasons ago up till now to increase scoring including making goalies' equipment smaller ? Therefore Crosby but not by much

Going by era toughness for assessing why a player is better is silly.

 

[snipes]

People forget one important thing that peak Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin played in an era way more tougher than McDavid is playing now. Back then you could check a star player with clean old hit, nowadays I feel like those type of plays are almost gone which gives McDavid more space as hockey became more softer. P.S. And hasn't NHL created several rules few seasons ago up till now to increase scoring including making goalies' equipment smaller ? Therefore Crosby but not by much

They actually called obstruction back then though.

McDavid gets water skiied by opposition all game every game when he doesn’t have the puck.

 

[Sky04]

Crosby because he was actually doing stuff in the playoffs too.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Yeah I’m biased, but Crosby is a different type of dominance, and one I prefer. I have never seen a player as unstoppable as him at his best. Absolutely nothing teams can do.