Quoting: MitchMarnerElite
I think for the sake of how things played out, Im gonna put Shaw there instead of Ladd, swap Oduya and Hammer to the 2nd d line, and replace Buff with Leddy. Im going to go about this by comparing lines.
1st line :
Crosby is clearly the best player in the world, but peak Toews was up for the Selke almost every year, and prime Hossa with early cup runs saad flanks him with two amazing 2 way forwards, so im going to give the slight edge to the HAWKS for that one.
2nd line :
Malkin is the best 2c in the league, and guentzel could definitely be a 1st line player, but peak Kane is Hart and Art Ross Trophy winning forward and his playmaking next to Sharp was uncomparable, so I will call that a DRAW
3rd line (with Shaw instead of Ladd) :
Shaw and Vermette were two gritty guys who could also put the puck in the net, and Teravainen is really coming into his own as a good skill player, but prime Kessel was one of the best pure goal scorers in the game and Hagelin was one of the fastest guys as well, so Ill give the edge to the PENS
4th line :
Bickell was a great power forward before he got vertigo and Versteeg was a good speed and skill guy, but I think Staal and Talbot wouldve been able to shut them down so i think i will give the edge to the PENS
Now the defense here to me is where the difference really is. Letang and Gonchar were two of the better defensemen in the game, but Keith was up for the Norris every year and won it twice, Seabrook wasnt a slouch and came up clutch for the hawks so many times, and Oduya and Hammer were the best shutdown pairing in the league. I think the prime Hawks defense and the ability to consistently roll with whoever was out there just made it so much easier for them, and Keith still played 30 minutes a night. So for the defense, the HAWKS have the advantage
Goaltending was the only real point of contention for the hawks, but if we are talking prime, Crawford only had bottomed out at a .917 and peaked at a .929 percentage between the years of 2012 and 2018, while I dont think I have to argue anything for MAF, so while I will give the overall edge to Fleury, prime Crawford was very good
Overall, I think the defense for the hawks just makes too big of a difference for me to get over, so while it is close and goes to OT in game 7, I think I give it to the Hawks