Quote:
Originally Posted by LotteryForLife
Not quite sure what you could be thinking to make a comment like that. The Islanders have a far deeper cast than the Oilers, a real NHL goaltender, a true superstar that is better than any 2 of your #1 picks combined, and do you really think that Nail Yakupov is gonna make any difference. You're team is destined for another top 3 pick. Enjoy it
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I agree that there is no reason to believe Edmonton will be better than the Isles next year, in fact i think it will be close with NY maybe having a slight edge but your comments are way off base. Lets do a comparison.
You are right that Tavares is the best player on either team, but he's also the oldest of the #1's and Edmonton's 2 experienced 1st's are tracking better or as good. Tavares is not much better than Hall atm, and the Nuge IMO is every bit as likely to be as good as Tavares (i'd even argue better, but hey i'm biased even if he had the better rookie year).
Tavares rookie year, 0.66ppg
Hopkins rookie year, 0.84ppg
And just in case you are wondering Tavares had 2 more points in 20 more games, so yeah waaay better.
Hopkins at this point is easily projecting as the better player.
Now lets compare him to Hall,
Tavares rookie year, 0.66ppg
Hall's rookie year, 0.65ppg
Tavares sophmore year, 0.85ppg
Hall's sophmore year, 0.87ppg
Seems like so far they are in a virtual deadlock in terms of projection. And that's not even considering Hall has the better +/-, and has been on the worse team. Even Tavares' ppg season this year isn't that big of a difference compared to what Hall brought this year. I won't bring up advanced stats, as nobody seems to understand them or give them any value on here.
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The goaltender comment is amusing, Dubnyk is the more enviable starter IMO.
Dubnyk -- 47gms, .914sv%, will be 26 next year
Nabokov - 42gms, .914sv%, will be 37 next year
I think i'd rather go with the guy a decade younger.Or did Edmonton's defense give Dubnyk an edge despite being "the worst in the league"
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Now lets compare the rest of the team,
1st line
Moulson-Tavares-Okposo
Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
Now Moulson is very underrated and he's a legitimate 1st liner but Hall is better AINEC. Hopkins and Tavares are close, with Hopkins projecting better and Tavares coming off the superior season, Tavares for next season has the edge. Eberle slaughters Okposo, that's all there is to this comp. So comparing 1st lines are a huge win for Edmonton.
2nd line
Grabner-Nielsen-Boyes(i think, he's certainly the most appropriate option)
Hemsky-Gagner-Yakupov
Hemsky is easily the better player in comparison to Grabner, and is even coming off a better season despite it being his worst year of his career. Both are in their 20's so age isn't a factor. Clear win for Hemsky. Nielsen at this point is a comparable offensive talent to Gagner, and isn't likely to be equal for too much longer, however he is a vastly superior defensive talent. Clear win for Nielsen. Yakupov may be a rookie and Boyes may of had some great years in the past, but he's one season removed from a decent year and 3 years removed from a very good one. I'll be generous and call this a tie, despite Boyes' immense struggles last season. So 2nd line is a tie, NY does have the better center but Edmonton has the much better high end potential. If Hemsky returns to form, and i think he will, then Edmonton wins this in a landslide.
3rd Line
Ullstrom-Bailey-Niederreiter(Bailey is listed in the middle for lack of a better option)
Smyth-Horcoff-Paajarvi
Edmonton has clearly the two best players in Smyth and Horcoff. Despite the negativity surronding Horcoff and his deal, he does remain a solid NHLer. Bailey and Ullstrom do not come close in this comparison. Paajarvi and Niederreiter, both far from locks for the 3rd line but possibilites and good comps, are a tie IMO. So Edmonton has the huge edge in 3rd lines, but Strome is a possibilty for the top 6 meaning the pushing of Nielsen/Boyes down could see this comp. be closer. In saying that atm Gagner/Yakupov would have a clear edge over Strome making this a moot point.
4th Line + Spares
Cizikas, Joensuu, Reasoner, Martin, Boulton, McDonald
Jones, Hartikainen, Belanger, Eager, Hordichuk, Petrell
First things first, Nelson, Strome, and Kabonov do not qualify for this comp. as they have yet to play a game in the NHL and are not a lock to either. Pitlick and Rieder do not qualify for this reason as well and i'll put Lander in here to try and even out the prospects being DQed. Also i tried to order them from best to worst, while also trying to compare the most similar talents as well.
Cizikas is a good young option for the 4th but at this moment is not as good as Jones is. I compared these two because they play a high energy game and have the ability to chip in. Jones wins easy, but Cizikas could suprise.
Joensuu does not seem to project as well as Hartikainen, and has enjoyed very limited success. However i am willing to call this a tie, as neither player is all that proven. In reality i think Hartikainen is clearly better, but i'll try to consider my bias and give the benifit of the doubt to Joensuu. Tie.
Reasoner is coming off a year even worse than Belanger, and despite a similar reputation has never been considered as good. Easy win for Belanger.
Martin and Eager are both useless. Eager is the better more proven player, but Martin seems to know his role better. Again i'll give the beinfit of the doubt to NY and call this a tie.
Again we are comparing two marginal players but Hordichuk is better at hockey and just as willing to do the enforcers job. Easy win for Hordichuk, although this has little effect on the comparison. Win for Edmonton, but it's pretty irrelevant.
McDonald and Petrell both bring a lot of similarites, i'd say Petrell is more skilled having watched both but who cares. Tie.
So in summary the forward comparison sees Edmonton win the 1st line by a landslide. The 2nd line a tie with maybe a slight edge to NY. The 3rd is another landslide for Edmonton. The 4th/spares too looks like a win for Edmonton, with Jones being the best player by a fair bit. So overall a win for Edmonton.
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Lets go on to defense,
1st pair
MacDonald-Hamonic
Smid-Petry
MacDonald is very underrated but is clearly below Smid in defensive ability. Easy win for Smid, although MacDonald is very unheralded and a solid top 4 option. Hamonic and Petry is a very interesting comp., Petry arguably had the better year but is also older. Both have great size and the threat of a two way game. Next season i think Petry has maybe a slight edge, but an argument to the contrary is certainly reasonable. Hamonic does proably have a better future, although Petry is going to shock alot of people by just how good he is. Considering it all Hamonic probably gets the edge here. 1st pairing a tie, although if i had to choose i'd say Edmonton has the edge.
2nd pair
Visnovsky-Streit
Whitney-J.Schultz
I don't know if these two will play together on either club, but the NY pair are clearly the next best two on the club, and the Edmonton pair provides the best comp. Considering Whitney and Vish were just dealt for one another and are both coming off poor years after tremendous ones, i'd call this a tie (If Vish returns to form you have a tremendous player btw, loved him in Edmonton was very disapointed when he was traded). Streit didn't have a great year, but he's still a very good player and much more proven. I'd say J.Schultz is the much more valuable player, and could easily be the better of the two as early as next year based off reports but Streit atm has a clear edge. Streit wins easy. NYI has the edge on the second pairing.
3rd pair and spares
Donovan-DeHaan-Carkner-Ness
N.Schultz-Sutton-Peckham-Potter
N.Schultz is by far and away the best player here, and i'd even say Sutton is the second best. Donovan and DeHaan are nice prospects, and could be better than Sutton by next year but thats certainly not a likely scenario. Clear and easy win for Edmonton. Carkner has a clear edge over Peckham atm, but going forward Peckham should have the much better career. Carkner wins the battle of the enforced dmen, but not by much. For next season, Potter is clearly the better option over Ness (who may not be the most appropriate guess for #8 on the depth chart, but i fail to see a better one). Edmonton wins this comp. rather handily IMO.
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So in conclusion Edmonton has the better forward group, and the goaltending lets call a tie (i won't even bother to compare Khabi to DiPetro or Poulin to Danis, despite me thinking Edmonton has the advantage here). On defense i'd call it a tie, NY does have the better 2nd pair which is typically more valuable than the edge Edmonton has on the 3rd pair, however N.Schultz is a top 4 guy and the edge Edmonton has on the 3rd pairing/spares is monumental. I'd call the defense a tie, but IMO that's being very generous to NY considering how weak their depth is. If you think this is wrong, what evaluations do you disagree with, and why?
