Yeah, there’s no argument to be made that Tkachuk’s linemates are “substandard.”
Tkachuk and Aho face roughly the same quality of competition with roughly the same quality of linemates (as far as the advanced stats go). Where Tkachuk has a distinct advantage as far as overall player goes, is he faces higher Corsi players than Aho more often and doesn’t start in the offensive zone nearly as much as Aho. Aho’s primary offensive advantage this season came in secondary assists. Otherwise they were similar in primary assists and Tkachuk had more goals.
The one and only true advantage Aho seems to have over Tkachuk is positional, otherwise they are extremely similar as far as output and quality of play. Does Tkachuk make up for it based on his grittier style of play and higher dependency in the defensive zone? I don’t know, probably not.
But any narrative that suggests one is far better than the other has no basis. They are two of the most comparable players you’re likely to find. Each with a few distinctions, but overall roughly the same.
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