Nathan MacKinnon

[CobraAcesS]

RW, RW and RW. I don't know. I'm not saying he can't be a very good C but if the Avs want to get the most out of him, they might have to resign themselves to move him back to wing. I'm willing to give him a bit more time at C until he gets very good, consistent wingers (Mikko needs to take the next step for this) but at some point we might have to realize that it is best from everyone to make that change. For that reason I'm really starting to want Hischier. They only problem with that is we would be quite small in the middle with Hischier, Jost and Compher.

C, RW, and RW but I agree with you to an extent. He can be a center in the NHL if you find him the right winger though. He has performed the best at RW against NHL players and top talent internationally.

 

[Foppberg]

If we end up with Patrick, and he can remain healthy, I think we could have pretty good center depth.

Patrick-Jost-Compher, with the ability for MacK to play center if needed.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

C, RW, and RW but I agree with you to an extent. He can be a center in the NHL if you find him the right winger though. He has performed the best at RW against NHL players and top talent internationally.

Yeah sorry you are right. He was C during the Memorial Cup. As I said I willing to give him more time at C considering next year might be a write off anyway and see what happens. However at one point they will need to make a decision if his production doesn't reach 65+ pts consistently.

 

[Avs71]

I just thought this was funny, and thought of it during the McDavid vs. Matthews thread.

Auston Matthews rookie season: 82 games, 69 points (40 goals), 19 years old. Then Leafs fans started arguing that Matthews playoffs was better than McDavid's. Matthews has 5 points in 6 games.

Wind back the clock to MacKinnon's rookie season. 63 points in 82 games. 18 years old. Playoffs he had 10 points in 7 games.

When you look at playoffs and the regular season combined, MacKinnon had 73 points in 89 games. Auston Matthews had 74 points in 88 games. MacKinnon was an entire year younger.

One is now considered a franchise game changing center, and the other HF believes could be had for a couple mediocre players.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I just thought this was funny, and thought of it during the McDavid vs. Matthews thread.

Auston Matthews rookie season: 82 games, 69 points (40 goals), 19 years old. Then Leafs fans started arguing that Matthews playoffs was better than McDavid's. Matthews has 5 points in 6 games.

Wind back the clock to MacKinnon's rookie season. 63 points in 82 games. 18 years old. Playoffs he had 10 points in 7 games.

When you look at playoffs and the regular season combined, MacKinnon had 73 points in 89 games. Auston Matthews had 74 points in 88 games. MacKinnon was an entire year younger.

One is now considered a franchise game changing center, and the other HF believes could be had for a couple mediocre players.

Yeah Mack is the forgotten about star. People think he's a lot older than he is too just because he's been around so long. It's funny because a quick google search shows names like Nylander and Ehlers are both 21. Nathan Mackinnon.... 21 also.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Yeah and it's easy when you are a rookie, no set expectations and less responsibility and just go out there and play. Let's see where guys like Matthews and Laine are in their 4th seasons. People are like why can't we have a star like them and totally forget the rookie season Mack and and he won the Calder!

 

[AvsGuy]

C, RW, and RW but I agree with you to an extent. He can be a center in the NHL if you find him the right winger though. He has performed the best at RW against NHL players and top talent internationally.

I've been saying RW for quite some time now. If we want to slug it out with MacKinnon at C, I think the growing pains continue for quite some time. Move this guy to where he's obviously more comfortable and more able, and let him do his thing.

 

[cgf]

Move this guy to where he's obviously more comfortable and more able, and let him do his thing.

Agreed. MacK's best NHL stretch has come at Center, so we should absolutely keep him there.

 

[Avs44]

I still don't think MacKinnon's best year was his rookie year, and don't understand why some others are convinced it was. He was sitting on the wing with zero defensive responsibilities, with two great linemates who got him the puck, had zero expectations (which resulted in nobody actually examining his flaws, which has been extensively done for the past couple years), and was also bolstered by a PPG Matt Duchene alongside Ryan O'Reilly attracting the other teams' attention. MacKinnon today carries his own line, is the focus of the other teams shutdown players, and has significantly improved in his own end. I take MacK today over rookie season MacK, no problem.


And I really don't care about his international play. During the World Cup they tried him at centre with Gaudreau on his wing as well as MacK on the wing with RNH, and he looked brilliant there at centre too.

 

[AvsGuy]

Agreed. MacK's best NHL stretch has come at Center, so we should absolutely keep him there.

 

[cgf]

That's a weird gif to use to agree with such a blatantly accurate post.

 

[Ivan13]

That's a weird gif to use to agree with such a blatantly accurate post.

Your post sure was blatant ''something'', just not accurate.

 

[cgf]

Your post sure was blatant ''something'', just not accurate.

When has MacK ever been better in the NHL than he was prior to injuring his hand/wrist last season?

 

[Ivan13]

When has MacK ever been better in the NHL than he was prior to injuring his hand/wrist last season?

You're joking right? How about when he played on the wing with Stastny centering him?

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Mack had 24 points in 24 games in October/November 2015.
Mack had 36 points in 36 games from February 2014 until April 2014 (including playoffs)

Those are the two best stretches of hockey he's played production wise. The stretch on the wing as a rookie lasted longer.

 

[cgf]

You're joking right? How about when he played on the wing with Stastny centering him?

You mean that time were he didn't produce any more despite having a lot more help on his line and lot less responsibilities? Are you for seriouslies?

 

[AvsGuy]

I think MacKinnon has come around as a center, I just think he's developed more slowly. Personally I'd take a 75-80 point power winger over a 55-60 point defensively responsible center, since I think MacKinnon is already naturally one of those things and demonstrated such continually throughout his rookie year, but it appears management and most other fans disagree on that.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I think his game is better suited to the wing. But I don't think it's THAT much more better suited to the wing that it's worth putting him on the wing and sabotaging what little centre depth we have left.

It's not like Mackinnon is bad at centre. If Mack plays wing full time our centre depth is just too poor. Considering where we are right now with this franchise it makes much more sense to have him continue to develop as our 1C. If we strike gold down the road with some more centres we can always convert him to the wing then if that seems like a necessity. That would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to convert him into a centre after years spent on the wing.

 

[Ivan13]

You mean that time were he didn't produce any more despite having a lot more help on his line and lot less responsibilities? Are you for seriouslies?

Yes, because his game is better suited for wing.

 

[AvsGuy]

I think his game is better suited to the wing. But I don't think it's THAT much more better suited to the wing that it's worth putting him on the wing and sabotaging what little centre depth we have left.

It's not like Mackinnon is bad at centre. If Mack plays wing full time our centre depth is just too poor. Considering where we are right now with this franchise it makes much more sense to have him continue to develop as our 1C. If we strike gold down the road with some more centres we can always convert him to the wing then if that seems like a necessity. That would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to convert him into a centre after years spent on the wing.

I'd disagree if Duchene didn't have both feet out the door, since Duchene and Soderberg are ideally pretty naturally suited to 1C and 2C, with MacKinnon dominating on one of their wings. But yeah, we don't have a lot of options with Bednar running this team into the ground.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I'd disagree if Duchene didn't have both feet out the door, since Duchene and Soderberg are ideally pretty naturally suited to 1C and 2C, with MacKinnon dominating on one of their wings. But yeah, we don't have a lot of options with Bednar running this team into the ground.

I'd like to see a stretch of 10 games or so with Mikko centering the top line and MacK at RW with him. Just so I can get over the idea. I think Mikko has all of the tools and the IQ needed for the position, especially now that he is clearly more comfortable with the speed of the NHL.

 

[Foppa2118]

I'd like to see a stretch of 10 games or so with Mikko centering the top line and MacK at RW with him. Just so I can get over the idea. I think Mikko has all of the tools and the IQ needed for the position, especially now that he is clearly more comfortable with the speed of the NHL.

Yea, I almost feel the same way, but to slot in behind Nate. I almost need to get that experiment out of my system like you say, because he feels like he could be a great Kopitar/Koivu type center.

As of now, the Avs don't have a big two way center that's traditionally a great fit behind a pure skill guy like MacKinnon. If Mikko can skate well enough for 18+ minutes a night to do it, he could be a great solution.

He's so good on his off RW though. He can play C well at lower levels, but he might be better suited for the wing in the NHL.

I like Nate on the wing a lot, but he needs the right center to play with. Not quite sure Mikko is the right fit, but you never know.

 

[AvsGuy]

I'm all for trying Rantanen at center with MacKinnon on his wing. If it works well, just slot Soderberg in at 2C until Jost is ready.

Seriously, I don't know how Bednar has this hard a time managing his lines.

 

[tigervixxxen]

If you really want Mack on the wing you really need to draft a center this year. Maybe Mikko, maybe Jost, maybe maybe is not how you build a team especially at the center position.

 

[AvsGuy]

If you really want Mack on the wing you really need to draft a center this year. Maybe Mikko, maybe Jost, maybe maybe is not how you build a team especially at the center position.

True, but drafting a natural winger in the hopes of converting him to the kind of center you want isn't really how you do it either.