I have watched all of these guys play a ton, especially now that they're all in the Pacific. In fact, I was actually pretty skeptical of all of the GAR models that said Stone was the best player in the league, until I watched him against my favorite team, and saw just what an impact on the game that he has.
McDavid and Draisaitl do have a bigger impact at both ends of the ice. It's true. The problem is, their impact on the defensive side of the ice is a major NEGATIVE impact. And while that doesn't I see their terrible defensive play just about every time I watch them. I mean, just look at this defensive effort from both of them, but Drai in particular here:
Of all the players on the ice for this goal, Draisaitl is by far at fault more than the rest, because of his absolutely pathetic effort on the back check. I'm not a fan of using YouTube clips to analyze players, but I'm just showing you an example of what I've seen. I was dumbfounded watching in real time when this happened.
By contrast, ever since Stone came to the Pacific, I haven't seen a single play like this.
I know that for everybody else, common sense says that the guy with a bigger number in the "P" column on NHL.com is the better player. But is that really common sense, or is it just common opinion? Because for me, common sense says that the guy who helps his team score more goals than the other team is the better player.
