Not really.This poll reeks of recency bias
I’d take Gaudreau after Marners next contract easily. He’s going to be making double what Gaudreau makes.
Contracts have nothing to do with who is a better player, if they did, Luicic wouldn't be making 6 million while Hyman makes barely over 2
I mean when players are comparable the contract definitely matters.
Good question, he was just finishing up his first NHL season.What was Johnny doing @ 21 y/o?
Good question, he was just finishing up his first NHL season.
I fought with a lot of people about who the better player going forward would be from this exact poll last time. It was Marner then and it is clearly Marner now. I'm glad a lot of people agree with me this time around.
Gaudreau at 21 was making plays like this in the 2nd round of the playoffs:
Gaudreau at 21 was making plays like this in the 2nd round of the playoffs:
Yes, Marner has been terrific.That's great, have you been watching the Leafs games recently?
I've posted countless clips of Gaudreau making excellent defensive plays in the past - he's always been used to defend leads in one goal games and was an excellent penalty killer in the NCAA - he's asked to play PK but has yet to have a coach who likes to use his stars for that role (like Babcock always has).At 21 Marner is used as a PKer and to defend leads in one goal games to the buzzer. When do we see those clips from Gaudreau?
I've posted countless clips of Gaudreau making excellent defensive plays in the past - he's always been used to defend leads in one goal games and was an excellent penalty killer in the NCAA - he's asked to play PK but has yet to have a coach who likes to use his stars for that role (like Babcock always has).
Almost surprising for the forward who leads the league in giveaways every year.
Almost surprising for the forward who leads the league in giveaways every year.
Almost surprising for the forward who leads the league in giveaways every year.
Well considering giveaways are an indicator of how much you have the puck / pass the puck and not really an indicator of defensive play, it's not really surprising.
His giveaways are due to him having to do all the heavy lifting on his line. His two linemates Monahan and Lindholm (who just combined for 160 points this year) have been shown to produce like 3rd liners when without Gaudreau at 5v5 (if I recall, since 14-15, they've both maintained a P/60 around 1.5 without Gaudreau, but that jumps to around 2.2 with him). So that should give you a good idea of how much he elevates the play of his linemates, which is a result of him carrying the puck often and making lots of passes (both major drivers of giveaways).
Gaudreau and Marner share many similarities, most notably their elite anticipation and awareness.
Yes we've heard it all before. He's so good, that's why he gives it away so much. No other forward in the league carries the puck. No other forward in the league has positive takeaway to giveaway ratios while doing so.
Gaudreau carries the puck more than any winger in the league. It's also shown that he makes an insane amount of passes. In the 2018 WC he led all players in competed passes by a huge margin - and was the only forward in the top 10:
I don't know what is tracked for NHL completed passes, but I would imagine he either 1st or very close to it among all forwards.
Gaudreau at 21 was making plays like this in the 2nd round of the playoffs
Babcock used Zetterberg and Datsyuk. But, he hasn't used any stars with the Leafs outside of Tavares on faceoffs. Generally, his PKers have been 3rd and 4th line guys who don't get PP time (Connor Brown, Hyman, Komarov, Kapanen, Lindholm, etc). Marner is the first-star player he's used consistently, he was the 5th guy rotated in, then started getting full-time duty when they trade Lindholm. Babcock really hasn't used stars consistently as PKers in his 4 years here. He's left Matthews, JT (outside of faceoffs), and Kadri (not a star but was our match-up center) since he got here.I've posted countless clips of Gaudreau making excellent defensive plays in the past - he's always been used to defend leads in one goal games and was an excellent penalty killer in the NCAA - he's asked to play PK but has yet to have a coach who likes to use his stars for that role (like Babcock always has).