Post-Game Talk: Sweet McDavid Tears

[ottomaddox]

Current state of the Oilers fan base: Completely and utterly delusional.

It's like the entire league has a schizophrenic episode when the Leaf's are good, and I would argue we're not even playing close to our potential atm.

View attachment 413841

I'm sorry. What are they delusional about?

 

[Joey Hoser]

That's a mother of all hot takes

Not really.

I'd be surprised if he plays more than 3 or 4 more games this year, and they aren't going to re-sign him.

 

[Jmo89]

Current state of the Oilers fan base: Completely and utterly delusional.

It's like the entire league has a schizophrenic episode when the Leaf's are good, and I would argue we're not even playing close to our potential atm.

View attachment 413841

I don't get worked up by the oil board. I do get a chuckle from time to time when people post some of the hottakes.

It's hard to take seriously though when you think about it... It took their fourth 1st overall in six years to become a bubble team. Ironically, the guy who finally changed things for them was a Toronto kid who was a huge Leafs fan. Outside of Drai and Nurse they have very little outside the sure-fire McDavid.

One thing I do genuinely find odd on HF though (and to be fair Leafs fans do this too,) is the amount of people who want opposing teams top players to be worse than they are so they can chest thump. I personally want the Leafs to be good enough to beat the best teams and best players. They should want Matthews to be as good as he is so that victory would be that much sweeter. Likewise, McDavid and Drai are top tier and I want Toronto to beat them at their best.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Personally if my team had the clear best player in the sport...like objectively there would be a certain confidence level to that. That does not seem to be the case with a lot of Oiler fans. It just honestly comes off as incredibly insecure.

Ultimately it is a team sport and unlike basketball, players don't play for 80-90% of the game so 1 or 2 players dominance can only go so far. The takeaway that IMO NHL fans should get out of these games is that McDavid and Draisaitl are great players, Nurse has taken huge steps forward, Barrie is doing well offensively for us and Smith has been solid in net for us. Beyond that we have some useful pieces but not much help offensively against a really good team like the Leafs. Matthews and Marner are great players, I personally prefer Marner from the games that I have watched (except last night's game) and IMO Nylander is a lot better than he's given credit for by many other teams fans. That said if I'm building a team I'd take our top 2 players over yours but I'd then take Nylander over any of our forwards and IMO only Puljujarvi may eventually reach his level albeit with a different skill set. RNH and Yamamoto have been very poor for us this season. Regardless, I just wanted to chime in and say that Matthews isn't the Antichrist according to Oilers fans, it has more to do with his hype and in our opinion unjustified comparisons to 97. FWIW the same can be said of MacKinnon, just that he hasn't been compared to Connor as long as Auston has.

 

[Gallagbi]

Ultimately it is a team sport and unlike basketball, players don't play for 80-90% of the game so 1 or 2 players dominance can only go so far. The takeaway that IMO NHL fans should get out of these games is that McDavid and Draisaitl are great players, Nurse has taken huge steps forward, Barrie is doing well offensively for us and Smith has been solid in net for us. Beyond that we have some useful pieces but not much help offensively against a really good team like the Leafs. Matthews and Marner are great players, I personally prefer Marner from the games that I have watched (except last night's game) and IMO Nylander is a lot better than he's given credit for by many other teams fans. That said if I'm building a team I'd take our top 2 players over yours but I'd then take Nylander over any of our forwards and IMO only Puljujarvi may eventually reach his level albeit with a different skill set. RNH and Yamamoto have been very poor for us this season. Regardless, I just wanted to chime in and say that Matthews isn't the Antichrist according to Oilers fans, it has more to do with his hype and in our opinion unjustified comparisons to 97. FWIW the same can be said of MacKinnon, just that he hasn't been compared to Connor as long as Auston has.

I'm still torn on Draistl. He's clearly a top 10 player, but is he closer to #2 or #10? McDavid is such a wildcard because he's by far the best player in the league IMO and playing with him opens up so much. Playing after him, when they're separated, leaves second pairing defenders and PP time.

 

[Judas Tavares]

Personally if my team had the clear best player in the sport...like objectively there would be a certain confidence level to that. That does not seem to be the case with a lot of Oiler fans. It just honestly comes off as incredibly insecure.

I was just thinking that and completely agree. You have the best player in the world. Like you did once before. Enjoy it! Who cares about other players. You have your guy and he happens to be the best. That should be an amazing feeling. It's like there isn't allowed to be other good players in the league. And if some media says Matthews is good, who the hell cares? So is McDavid!

Really has me wondering what Oiler fans thought of Lemieux. Truly bizarre behaviour.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'm still torn on Draistl. He's clearly a top 10 player, but is he closer to #2 or #10? McDavid is such a wildcard because he's by far the best player in the league IMO and playing with him opens up so much. Playing after him, when they're separated, leaves second pairing defenders and PP time.

Draisaitl IMO is either the 1st or 2nd best passer in the game. It didn't result in a goal last night but if you recall his backhanded pass to McDavid cross ice tape to tape last night it just goes to show how immense his skill is and that's not even taking into consideration his goal and assist to Barrie. He isn't as flashy as McDavid, he doesn't have Matthews shot (even though he has a very good shot), but he is just a solid all around player. Solid on draws, solid defensively, great goal scorer and a great passer. He is an incredibly intelligent player. His issue at times is consistency, when he has a bad game he looks uninspired, slow, whatever. IMO this is because we also see Connor on a daily basis and even in his bad games he will make things happen so it's kind of unfair to hold Drai to that standard. Mind you last season when Connor was not at 100%, Leon won the Art Ross and Hart. He is an elite level player and IMO at least is the 2nd best player in the NHL.

The Oilers problem is that we have only really had 1 really high end non McDavid line and that was the RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto line and it was broken up before the play-ins against Chicago and has only been seen once since which is beyond puzzling. Matthews has Marner, Tavares has Nylander, when we split Connor and Leon up, they do not have a player in either of those tiers to play with at ES. The bottom line is that even great players need skill to play with.

 

[Gallagbi]

Draisaitl IMO is either the 1st or 2nd best passer in the game. It didn't result in a goal last night but if you recall his backhanded pass to McDavid cross ice tape to tape last night it just goes to show how immense his skill is and that's not even taking into consideration his goal and assist to Barrie. He isn't as flashy as McDavid, he doesn't have Matthews shot (even though he has a very good shot), but he is just a solid all around player. Solid on draws, solid defensively, great goal scorer and a great passer. He is an incredibly intelligent player. His issue at times is consistency, when he has a bad game he looks uninspired, slow, whatever. IMO this is because we also see Connor on a daily basis and even in his bad games he will make things happen so it's kind of unfair to hold Drai to that standard. Mind you last season when Connor was not at 100%, Leon won the Art Ross and Hart. He is an elite level player and IMO at least is the 2nd best player in the NHL.

The Oilers problem is that we have only really had 1 really high end non McDavid line and that was the RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto line and it was broken up before the play-ins against Chicago and has only been seen once since which is beyond puzzling. Matthews has Marner, Tavares has Nylander, when we split Connor and Leon up, they do not have a player in either of those tiers to play with at ES. The bottom line is that even great players need skill to play with.

I agree, especially on the backhand comment, he's likely tops in the league there and is a bit of a throwback.

I would say I'm not sold on him bring the clear #2 in the league. It's not to say he isn't elite, but would he dictate the game in the way other top 10 players do nightly with say Marner/Nylander instead of McDavid? That's tougher the gauge for me.

Your depth is highly questionable and it really seems like Nuge has dropped off. The fact you're as high in the standings as you are just highlights how good that top pair is.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I was just thinking that and completely agree. You have the best player in the world. Like you did once before. Enjoy it! Who cares about other players. You have your guy and he happens to be the best. That should be an amazing feeling. It's like there isn't allowed to be other good players in the league. And if some media says Matthews is good, who the hell cares? So is McDavid!

Really has me wondering what Oiler fans thought of Lemieux. Truly bizarre behaviour.

Honestly I think that a lot of it has to do with the media coverage. I don't live in Canada but have been there enough and know enough people there (as well as watch enough intermissions, hockey, etc,) to know that hockey media is Toronto centric. Prime example, earlier this season Matthews had a 4 point game I believe and McDavid had a 5 point game the same night. So naturally the media starts asking Connor if he dialed things up because of Matthews performance. You just get tired of having the same stuff rammed down your throat IMO.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I agree, especially on the backhand comment, he's likely tops in the league there and is a bit of a throwback.

I would say I'm not sold on him bring the clear #2 in the league. It's not to say he isn't elite, but would he dictate the game in the way other top 10 players do nightly with say Marnee/Nylander instead of McDavid? That's tougher the gauge for me.

Your depth is highly questionable and it really seems like Nuge has dropped off. The fact you're as high in the standings as you see just highlights how good that top pair is.

Yeah he is a great passer and ridiculous on the backhand.

Most definitely he would. Like I said RNH-Drai-Yamamoto was arguably the best line in hockey last season while it was together and Marner or Nylander are lightyears better offensively at ES than RNH and Yamamoto. The question for me would be how would they work on the PP compared to him and Connor? Believe it or not, Connor is a harder player to find chemistry with than Drai is. Drai can play the passing or shooting roll at an elite level.

If RNH isn't hurt I don't like the idea of signing him long term and I've been a big fan of his over the years. Last night we needed him to show anything offensively and he got caved. Part of that is having Kahun (huge disappointment) and Yamamoto (struggling and returning from injury) on his line. It most definitely does. McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Barrie and Smith are why we are where we are right now.

 

[Twowingcantfly]

The Leafs have given up the fewest shots against within the division and have given up the second fewest goals against within the division.

Imagine that. LOL. The North is the weakest division of the 4 divisions. With the way this team plays defense, it will be far worse playing against the likes of TB, Pitt, Dallas, Vegas, St.Louis, Fla, Car, Colorado, Isles, . An even match would be Detroit, Chicago, or NYR.

 

[MattySnipes]

I mean even for McDived that's a pathetic look. Stop making the game a joke. For such a skill player he sure dives a lot.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Imagine that. LOL. The North is the weakest division of the 4 divisions. With the way this team plays defense, it will be far worse playing against the likes of TB, Pitt, Dallas, Vegas, St.Louis, Fla, Car, Colorado, Isles, . An even match would be Detroit, Chicago, or NYR.

I will just assume this is sarcasm.

 

[IPS]

Most definitely he would. Like I said RNH-Drai-Yamamoto was arguably the best line in hockey last season

Lol they were nowhere near the best line in hockey. You do know defense is a thing, right?

 

[Stigma]

Well, reading this thread, it's obvious which team we hate the most. LOL Seriously. Go check the Ottawa thread from a few days ago and make a direct comparison to this thread.

 

[Jmo89]

Ultimately it is a team sport and unlike basketball, players don't play for 80-90% of the game so 1 or 2 players dominance can only go so far. The takeaway that IMO NHL fans should get out of these games is that McDavid and Draisaitl are great players, Nurse has taken huge steps forward, Barrie is doing well offensively for us and Smith has been solid in net for us. Beyond that we have some useful pieces but not much help offensively against a really good team like the Leafs. Matthews and Marner are great players, I personally prefer Marner from the games that I have watched (except last night's game) and IMO Nylander is a lot better than he's given credit for by many other teams fans. That said if I'm building a team I'd take our top 2 players over yours but I'd then take Nylander over any of our forwards and IMO only Puljujarvi may eventually reach his level albeit with a different skill set. RNH and Yamamoto have been very poor for us this season. Regardless, I just wanted to chime in and say that Matthews isn't the Antichrist according to Oilers fans, it has more to do with his hype and in our opinion unjustified comparisons to 97. FWIW the same can be said of MacKinnon, just that he hasn't been compared to Connor as long as Auston has.

You pretty much prove what the OP is saying though. Who cares if other players are hyped or get compared? You have Connor McDavid, other teams don't. You have to realize that that sounds just a tad ridiculous.

I'd say the same thing to Leafs fans squabbling over whether Matthews is 1st, 2nd, 5th best etc. Fact is we have one of the best centers in the league and one of the best goalscorers with a legit shot at being the best goal scorer. I personally don't really care if McDavid, Drai, Mack, etc. Are better than him. I'm happy with my player.

The funny thing about the Toronto / Edmonton insecurity is that it's about the two wrong players. Both teams got them (McDavid/Matthews) because of how a few ping pong balls dropped. Edmonton did very little for how talented McDavid is, and likewise for Toronto and Matthews. They were consensus #1s.

Marner and Drai were two guys that many fans across the NHL disagreed with their draft position and doubted they would be as good as they are. They were also developed more by each team IMO.

 

[RealisticLeaf55]

I mean even for McDived that's a pathetic look. Stop making the game a joke. For such a skill player he sure dives a lot.

Hey, don't be mean to Connor McPaper.

 

[Twowingcantfly]

I will just assume this is sarcasm.

I watch most games all divisions. The top teams will have no problem shutting down our top line. The leafs would be the only north division team making the playoffs if not for Covid.

 

[NK94]

I will just assume this is sarcasm.

Given how bad Dallas has been and St. Louis is amongst the 10 worst teams in terms of goals against... you just know this guy is full of shit.

 

[Mikeyg]

whos gonna come out and say we win that game with andersen in the net?

 

[Suntouchable13]

I mean even for McDived that's a pathetic look. Stop making the game a joke. For such a skill player he sure dives a lot.

Looks kinda weak but the game is being played on ice so it's easy to lose balance even if you're the best skater in the world. I don't know. I give Connor the benefit of the doubt

 

[Antropovsky]

I really enjoy watching Holl Vs Mcdavid.... he has played him very very well. Can't really ask for much more considering his cap hit.

 

[Antropovsky]

Basically, Smith and the crossbar are what kept it from being a blowout.

It seems Oilers fans are getting hoodwinked by the impact McDavid and Draisaitl have. Just because those guys are going well doesn't mean your team played good hockey.

The other three lines were mediocre and hockey is a four-line affair.

Good point, the leafs really did have the better chances by what seemed like a wide margin.

Also... the oilers truly are a one line team, I feel like I watched the Maple leafs play Mcdavid and Draisaitl, Nurse and Barrie and pool guy or whatever his nickname is.

 

[Gallagbi]

Looks kinda weak but the game is being played on ice so it's easy to lose balance even if you're the best skater in the world. I don't know. I give Connor the benefit of the doubt

Yeah, I don't get the frustration with that play. He's not trying to draw a penalty, so who cares?

 

[moon111]

When the Leafs did bad, they improved through the draft and better management.
When the Oilers did bad, they improved only through the draft with bad management.
I'd expect a better Oiler's management job from your average Leaf fan on this forum.