Will Auston Matthews be a better player than Mike Modano?

[Filthy Dangles]

Based on what you've seen from him in his early career so far.

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[Thenameless]

He already is, if we're going by the same point in their careers. If he just keeps up more or less the same level, he pretty easily surpasses Modano.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Besides Modano winning a Stanley Cup he never won any individual awards, where as Matthews has won the Calder Trophy. He's also going to be a favorite for the Rocket Richard and so far in Matthews career he's finished T-2 with 40 goals in 2017 and 3rd with 47 goals in 2020.

It's also possible that Matthews might break the record for goals scored by an American born player which Modano has and that's at 561 career goals.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

It took me too long to settle on which I thought would be better, so I went with roughly even.

 

[CatchyTune]

Absolutely

 

[Sheppy]

I think he will be.

 

[HockeyVirus]

He already is. Injuries and the pandemic have made his overall stat totals not impressive until you see his goals / game and points / game. Basically the 2nd best goal scorer in the league after Ovi.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

Mike Modano was an excellent two way player for a long time so I say no. And I like Matthews. But I’m not giving in to recency bias on this one.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Not until he wins a cup.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Mike Modano was an excellent two way player for a long time so I say no. And I like Matthews. But I’m not giving in to recency bias on this one.

Matthews is better without recency bias. He's only 23 and already has more 40 goal seasons than Modano had over his entire career. And he's paced for 40 in all 4 years of his career.

Modano paced for >40 one time. And at 23 he really wasn't a great two way center. Certainly not as good as Matthews is now.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

And Modano had already played in the Stanley Cup finals at 23.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Mike Modano was an excellent two way player for a long time so I say no. And I like Matthews. But I’m not giving in to recency bias on this one.

I don't think Modano was regarded as a strong two-way player until later in his career. Pretty sure he was more thought of as an offensive guy in his early years.

 

[explore]

I think Matthews is already more offensively talented than Modano, but the question is whether he can maintain his peak for as long as Modano did.

Modano is in the HOF for a reason, and this question is best asked five-to-ten years from now

I don't think Modano was regarded as a strong two-way player until later in his career. Pretty sure he was more thought of as an offensive guy in his early years.

This is true, Modano didn't improve his defensive play to a notable degree until Hitchcock coached the Stars

 

[Bedards Dad]

And Modano had already played in the Stanley Cup finals at 23.

When did team accomplishments become a metric for how good an indivial player is?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

When did team accomplishments become a metric for how good an indivial player is?

When Jonathan Toews was selected to the Top 100 list because he captained his team to 3 Cups.

 

[Bedards Dad]

When Jonathan Toews was selected to the Top 100 list because he captained his team to 3 Cups.

He had an absolute Allstar team helping him. To act like those cups are only Toews doing us ridiculous.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

He had an absolute Allstar team helping him. To act like those cups are only Toews doing us ridiculous.

That was my point ... I was being sarcastic about his inclusion and the reason for his inclusion.

 

[Bedards Dad]

That was my point ... I was being sarcastic about his inclusion and the reason for his inclusion.

Woosh, I missed that completely.

 

[Video Nasty]

I see typical HFBoards hypocrisy is rearing its head again. All I hear about is league wide scoring across eras, but we pick and choose depending on the player don’t we?

First off, peddling the Calder in some of these arguments is so laughable. Modano had 75 in 80 games and finished second to Markarov. What an ignorant viewpoint. Matthews beat Laine. Okay.

Most of Modano’s best seasons were age 25 and beyond which also coincided with Hitchcock taking over the Stars in 1995-1996 and implementing his defensive system.

Modano averaged over a PPG while playing a fantastic two way game during the dead puck era. He had multiple great playoff runs.

From 1997-1998 through 2002-2003, the league got as low as 5.14 GPG and no higher than 5.52 GPG. It was usually around 5.25.

Most of Matthews’ career has enjoyed an environment upwards of 6 GPG.

This question is too early. Matthews is on the right track, but Modano was a great player and is a Hall of Famer for a reason.

Hopefully one day soon, Matthews will also have a 50 goal season to his name like Modano. See, just as obnoxious.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

When Jonathan Toews was selected to the Top 100 list because he captained his team to 3 Cups.

OT but I wonder if people would consider the guy in this poll, Modano, a Top100 player. At worst I don’t think it’s a hot take. And I think Toews was a better player than him.

I guess people were more upset at his contemporaries (Malkin, Thornton) being left out than the player himself being in?

 

[Regal]

Matthews is certainly better at the same age and is arguably better than Modano at his best, though I think it's pretty close. Nothing is a given but he should end up the better player.

 

[J T Money]

Modano made it out of the first round

 

[LeafsNation75]

I see typical HFBoards hypocrisy is rearing its head again. All I hear about is league wide scoring across eras, but we pick and choose depending on the player don’t we?

First off, peddling the Calder in some of these arguments is so laughable. Modano had 75 in 80 games and finished second to Markarov. What an ignorant viewpoint. Matthews beat Laine. Okay.

Most of Modano’s best seasons were age 25 and beyond which also coincided with Hitchcock taking over the Stars in 1995-1996 and implementing his defensive system.

Modano averaged over a PPG while playing a fantastic two way game during the dead puck era. He had multiple great playoff runs.

From 1997-1998 through 2002-2003, the league got as low as 5.14 GPG and no higher than 5.52 GPG. It was usually around 5.25.

Most of Matthews’ career has enjoyed an environment upwards of 6 GPG.

This question is too early. Matthews is on the right track, but Modano was a great player and is a Hall of Famer for a reason.

Hopefully one day soon, Matthews will also have a 50 goal season to his name like Modano. See, just as obnoxious.

In Matthews first season he also finished T-2 with 40 goals and was the first rookie since Alex Ovechkin in 2005-06 who scored 40 goals.

 

[Koivu11]

When did team accomplishments become a metric for how good an indivial player is?

It seems to matter to certain Leafs fans when they bring up making the playoffs when comparing Matthews with Eichel.

I agree it shouldn’t matter though.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Matthews should be better but he’s got big shoes to fill. Mo was an excellent player for a long time.