MacKinnon not even a debate, Eichel has been over rated until this year

You also have to remember for two straight years the Aves were the worst of the worst and MacKinnon played beside no one.

This isnt a debate, MacKinnon is the second best player in the NHL bar none

Definitely not the site to open a debate on

Both are probably top 5 centers in the league (certainly top 10) but MacKinnon has the edge



Bet you said the same thing about Mac 2 years ago in his breakout season. Other young players are allowed to have those as well, and if youve even watched a Sabres game at all Eichel has been the best player on the ice 95% of games this year

MacKinnon is so good, especially this year. But that is not to demean Eichel. Eichel has been good to very good player for years on a poor team. IMO Eichel has been under appreciated by NHL fans. Maybe it's just the Buffalo thing.

You realize Buffalo has been bottom feeders this entire time as well.im not saying Eichel is better, it will be pretty unanimous on here for MacKinnon, just that their situation are very similar

ur leafs bias is clearly showing. MacK is def better, but Eichel is overrated until this year? My guy played on a ****ty buffalo team at the start of his career (Ppl using the same excuse for MacK's mediocre start) and went second overall to Conner fricken McDavid, a generational talent.

I’m gonna have to go with Brandon Dubinsky cuz he’s the GOAT

both are really great players but you gotta give the edge to MacK. If you are taking into effect the $$ of their contracts as well, MacK wins by a landslide.

How is there leafs bias in there, Eichel was being called a bust the first two years of his career and last year and the year before he was just starting to show what he can be and has gone off this year, McKinnon has been consistent for the past three seasons and before that was still a good player defensively just not getting the points he gets now

I don't think I have ever seen anyone call eichel a bust. If they did then they have obviously never watched a hockey game in their life.

Literally no one in their sane mind has called him a bust. Unless ur McDavid/Crosby you basically cant do anything as a center with no talented wingers. you really have not been paying attention to Eichel if you think he was a bust. He finally has talented wingers and is showing what he can do and why he deserved to go second overall. Hes not better than MacK/Crosby/McDavid but at this very moment including injuries he is a top 5 center in the league hands down.

To be honest, Dubinsky is way better than Crosby. Sidney Crosby is an embarrassment to hockey. He’s a cheap shot artist who hits out at other opponents, then he runs away like a baby. He is always crying to referees and diving for power play. He does not deserve to be inducted to the Hockey Hall Of Fame, he is simply not a big game player as he disappears every playoffs. There’s nothing about his talent that makes him stand out, he’s not particularly skilled at anything. He only knows how to score lucky goals and make overrated plays. Brandon Dubinsky is a much more respectable and established hockey player than Sid, therefore I’d easily take him any day of the week on my team over the crybaby loser who hasn’t achieved anything in his career.

Matthews played last year with Kapanen and Johnson and still put up 73 points, and both guys were rookies, not real talented players just to relate to my team

don't think he was a bust, he was just injury prone.. I was surprised he signed long term in Buffalo-- they aren't exactly known for being good- but then again buffalo did overpay at the time

forgot everything is always about the leafs

Okay and Matthews is one of the best centers in the league and those two are pretty good top 6 wingers on like any team. My point is that Eichel is not overrated, he is as talented as he was projected to be. Not that he is better than any specific player.

Not you again...

Eichel>Matthews and it's not even close.

I think Eichel is the choice for MVP right now...Mackinnon is definitely the Avs mvp, but he has a touch more help. He's still ridiculous, and I would say better than Eichel, and id rather have him on my team than eichel, but strictly talking about this seasons mvp race, I think Eichel is in the lead if they make playoffs

I speak for all fans including Leaf fans. Whoever thinks Eichel was ever at one point a bust, or anything close to that, is an idiot

Imo MacKinnon has a clear edge, but there's no point denying the fact that both of them are extreme beasts on ice.

fantastic thread

I’m a huge Eichel fan and if he was playing with an elite winger like Rantanen I think it would be close but edge to Mack solely because I got to watch him close in the playoffs against my Sharks last year and I damn near pooped my pants every time Mack touched the puck, he is straight up scary good.

Does cap hit factor into the evaluation at all or is this purely who's the better overall talent?