Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
I keep reading the bolded all over this board, or similar sentiments and wonder where this is coming from.
Just purely from an offensive standpoint its just not true.
Once again...since Matthew Tkachuk was drafted into the NHL
he is 44th in the entire league in points.
He is 6th at his position in the entire league in points (Marchand, Panarin, Ovechkin, Gaudreau and Huberdeau the only guys ahead of him)
His 82 game pt average is 65 pts and that was with 2nd line minutes and one very down season.
Then you add in his intangibles and you have yourself a hell of a hockey player.
So maybe he is not worth 9M a year but he also is not getting paid long term that and is unlikely to get that much from anyone in FA.
But to say he isn't elite, at least at his position, is simply wrong unless elite is reserved for only those at the top of every single category.
These are the kind of guys you try to find in every draft or in any trade. They cost an absolute fortune in free agency.
He is a guy you build around and add to, not a guy you look to move unless you are getting an absolute haul back or starting a complete scorched earth rebuild (which this club is not in any way trying to do at this point)
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I'm not saying he's not a good player. And I also didn't say he's not elite at his position. I'm saying paying him to be the top or 2nd guy on the team is a bit of a concern to me. The guys making that kind of money should really be able to drive the team and be consistent top of the league players. I have concerns that Gaudreau and Tkachuk can be those guys.
The top pairs in the league have Kucerov and Point, Mackinnon and Rantanen, Pastranak, Bergergon, Marchand, Barkov and Huberdeau, Crosby and Malkin, Ovechkin and Backstrom, McDavid and Draisaitl, Matthews and Tavares, Etc.
I'm not saying they can't be the guys to lead your team, especially if you can surround them with good depth (another challenge in itself), but from what I've seen the last 2.5 years it's definitely concerning to me and I don't to have a ton of faith they can be those guys.