oldnews Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Leafs blogger in need of some attention: (Best thing out of Laffland since they proclaimed themselves "Canada's Best Team.") http://editorinleaf.com/2017/01/02/toronto-maple-leafs-matthews-mcdavid/ Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Is Better Than McDavid I have walked around with a thought on a Toronto Maple Leafs player in my head for a long time, one that I did not dare say out loud. Perhaps it is this new age world where any diversion from the norm is met with the scorn of a thousand angry liberals, but I was afraid. But as of 3:40 into overtime in today’s NHL Centennial Classic with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, I will stay silent no more! Auston Matthews is better than Connor McDavid. Advertisement That feels good to get off my chest. Its something I have suspected for quite a while, and only gotten recent confirmation on. Ill try and unpack this surely alien concept as best as one can after eating half of a large Domino’s pizza. Argument 1: He’s Heavy (In best Ken Hitchcock voice) One of the most impressive things about Matthews and his line mates (usually Hyman + either Nylander or Brown) is their ability to cycle the puck deep, and generate scoring plays. This is the type of play that wins Stanley Cups. Sure, anyone can hit homers in June, but who can get the bunt down in October? You need to have a skillset that translates to the playoff grind. In addition to having an amazingly underrated shot, Matthews has a nose for the net. He is not afraid to go to the dirty areas and score. He reminds me of a Mario Lemieux / Dave Andreychuk / Jaromir Jagr hybrid. Not to put too much (more) pressure on the guy, but he probably is going to score 500 goals from a 6-foot radius in front of the net. Another bonus to Matthews’ size is you wouldn’t see a Kadri muscle him. Ever. I love Nazem Kadri, but if you think a guy of that size would manhandle Matthews like Kadri did to McDavid, keep dreaming. Connor McDavid’s number 1 asset is his speed, but that edge is surely made up for by Matthews’ heaviness. Argument 2: He Plays Defense I have watched a lot of Edmonton Oilers hockey. More than I would wish upon my worst enemy. I’m just not a believer in Connor McDavid’s defensive acumen. I loved it when Kadri stripped him of the puck and scored the game winner in the Oilers vs. Leafs part one. Then he proceeded to go cry to the referee, albeit unsuccessfully. On 12/23/16 I watched the San Jose Sharks defeat the Oilers in overtime. Here is a clip of the goal: I realize most Leafs fans are not degenerates such as myself and stay up watching West Coast games. For those of you who do, high five! But for those who do not, let me tee this up. The San Jose Sharks are an amazing overtime team. When they get the puck, they just do laps around the ice until you miscue and then they strike. It’s a brilliant strategy. On this particular play, McDavid does some sort of half-assed stick check and tries to cheat up the boards, hoping his defenseman will bail him out / spring him on a breakaway. Talk about some lazy play! Pay close attention to the 40 second + mark. The lollygagging skate back into the zone, while Labanc buries the winner. Guy behind me at #Oilers game tonight: “Look at Mcdavid’s lazy backcheck… You know who else backchecked like that? Yakupov..” #OilersFans — Ryan Craig (@RyanCraig04) December 14, 2016 I know its only 2 plays, but they are both OT losers courtesy of the “Next One”. You’d be hard-pressed to show me evidence of Matthews being so lazy /soft/selfish. I think Matthews being given the assignment of matching up against Henrik Zetterberg today shows you what Coach Babcock thinks of his defensive responsibility. Argument 3: He is a Big Game Hunter Matthews scored 4 goals his first game. In addition, he has scored the Leafs opening goal in 9 occasions this year. His overtime winner tonight was a near perfect backhander. This isn’t a player who is padding his score sheet with a dozen PP goals, like some people. Ill give you a hint: rhymes with Hat trick Swine-eh. When the bright lights are shining and game is on the line, this is a guy who thrives. Precisely the type of player you dream of building your team around. Auston Matthews has 14 goals in his last 17 games. Now chasing only Crosby for NHL lead. — James Mirtle (@mirtle) January 1, 2017 Conclusion: At the end of the day, no one is going to doubt McDavid’s blazing speed and knack for scoring. Like Matthews, he is basically the driver on his line at all times. They have different skill sets, but in my opinion Auston Matthews’ happens to be one I’d rather have on a team looking to win. Next: Takeaways From The Centennial Classic If I was a betting man, I’d put the farm on McDavid having more Art Ross trophies, but Matthews finishing with more Hart’s and Stanley Cups. Thanks for reading, and as always, please feel free to give me any feedback on Twitter. Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silky mitts Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Lool but I do think he is indeed better than Laine as of now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Jay 22 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I agree that Matthews will win more cups... Just not with the Leafs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Leafs, Oilers and WPG all landed great players, and I hate them all for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerrDrFunk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 1 minute ago, SILLY GOOSE said: Leafs, Oilers and WPG all landed great players, and I hate them all for that. Yeah, it really burns my ass that we weren't good enough to get Laine but weren't bad enough to land Matthews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apple Juice Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I'd take any one of them on my team any day of the year. No need to discredit McDavid when he already is establishing himself as one of the game's elite. Matthews is well on his way there. And Matthews doesn't have an underrated shot. If anything, scouts knew he had a wicked quick release on his wrister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 If only skating mattered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khay Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Understandable. I think Linden > Yzerman, Naslund > Forsberg, Bertuzzi > Neely, Sedins > everyone. I don't say it out loud because everyone will laugh at me but I guess this guy doesn't care if people laugh at him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Lastname is better than Matthews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberWolf Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 He's a great player. Doubt he'll be as good as McDavid in the end but at least the Leafs (barf) have a player they can talk about like that. Kinda like Ovi up against Crosby. All the teams I hate have rosters I would trade. It's kinda annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberWolf Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Apple Juice said: I'd take any one of them on my team any day of the year. No need to discredit McDavid when he already is establishing himself as one of the game's elite. Matthews is well on his way there. And Matthews doesn't have an underrated shot. If anything, scouts knew he had a wicked quick release on his wrister. When asked, Crow said his shot reminded him of Sakic's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystick Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Matthews will be their guy and there are similarities, but McDavid will easily be the better player. No question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 It's like Sid vs Kopitar/ Toews. Who's your man? Really depends on the kind of team you're trying to build (2-way team vs all offense and run-and-gun), since while Anze/ Auston is the all-rounder who likely won't score as much but can limit damage, but you can't deny that some guys are good enough offensively to be game-breakers (Pat Kane, Sid, Malkin...) purely on the basis of their scoring ability. You can win with either, and any team would be elated to have either young gun fall in their lap. Personally I might agree with taking Matthews due to his all-round style as he can contribute in all situations, but in no way would I not take Connor if he was the #1 center on my team for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toews Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Most of these "bloggers" are not worth taking seriously, they have no reason to maintain any objectivity because they are writing with only one audience in mind. Most of them are terrible writers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilbur Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Quote I have watched a lot of Edmonton Oilers hockey Proceeds to base opinion on two games. I guess my definition of a lot and his definition of a lot vary by..uh..a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Meh. Remember when Canucks fans said Hodgson was the greatest ... All teams have their delusional fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down by the River Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Taking a post from a blog and critiquing it on a forum is like taking a post from a forum and critiquing it on a blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Phil_314 said: It's like Sid vs Kopitar/ Toews. Who's your man? Really depends on the kind of team you're trying to build (2-way team vs all offense and run-and-gun), since while Anze/ Auston is the all-rounder who likely won't score as much but can limit damage, but you can't deny that some guys are good enough offensively to be game-breakers (Pat Kane, Sid, Malkin...) purely on the basis of their scoring ability. You can win with either, and any team would be elated to have either young gun fall in their lap. Personally I might agree with taking Matthews due to his all-round style as he can contribute in all situations, but in no way would I not take Connor if he was the #1 center on my team for years to come. Crosby is an excellent backchecker and a great puck hound. I'd take Sid over Toews or Kopi no matter what type of team I was trying to build. Sid is excellent in his own zone, better than the majority of guys labelled as "two way", like Eriksson for example. I don't think Sid gets enough credit for his defensive play. But back on topic - the leafs homer is just a homer. Entitled to his opinion, even though I laughed when I read his blog. If you got every head scout in the league in the same room, I'm assuming McDavid would be a unanimous #1 over Matthews. Except for the guy who wants to get fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 5 minutes ago, luckylager said: Crosby is an excellent backchecker and a great puck hound. I'd take Sid over Toews or Kopi no matter what type of team I was trying to build. Sid is excellent in his own zone, better than the majority of guys labelled as "two way", like Eriksson for example. I don't think Sid gets enough credit for his defensive play. But back on topic - the leafs homer is just a homer. Entitled to his opinion, even though I laughed when I read his blog. If you got every head scout in the league in the same room, I'm assuming McDavid would be a unanimous #1 over Matthews. Except for the guy who wants to get fired. These so called reporters, like the guy just hired from Canuck's Army by Florida, are all just spin doctors. They are salesmen pitching their clubs. It's not reporting in any way. It's commercialism. We all know the Leafs SUCK socks and will SUCK socks forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Down by the River said: Taking a post from a blog and critiquing it on a forum is like taking a post from a forum and critiquing it on a blog. nvmd. fwiw: https://www.google.ca/search?q=mcdavid+matthews&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=4IpsWLquOKjHgAbOtbSgAw#q=mcdavid+matthews&tbm=nws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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