Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Toews isn't as good offensively or defensively as Kopitar. It's a small separation but big enough to separate them on that kind of ranking. Despite their similar numbers on paper what people forget is Kopitar has never not led his team in points whereas Toews has always been 2nd or 3rd in scoring on his team. It's kind of the same reasoning why Panarin who put up the same points as Gaudreau is not considered on the same tier as Gaudreau by certain people.
Doesn't hurt that Toews has always been attached to the hip to a HoFer, either Hossa or Kane. Last year he was not and he didn't even hit 60 points.
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For the record, if you look at the past 3-4 years, Kopitar averages roughly 1 point per 82 games greater than Toews. You can look at last year, but I think there are some reasons to discount:
1. The Kane/Panarin line got the best offensive situations, including PP, while Toews played a slightly more defensive role than normal.
2. The Hawks lost Sharp and Saad in the offseason leaving Toews with an aging Hossa and a windmill of garbage rotating throughout the season on his LW.
3. Fair to Kopitar too, but the hockey, betweem consistently deep playoff runs, and Team Canada events caught up with Toews a bit last year. I think from those that watch him regularly, Toews has a bit of an extra jump in his step during the World Cup compared to last season... I think an offseason of rest did him well.
Note that even during the past season, his possession stats when neutralized for QoC and linemates, he was still extremely effective. The offensive plays just weren't available like they have been in the past.
So, I think when you look at the entire picture of Toews' career, last season was a bit of a misnomer and put him in a position to fail offensively. Not a true dip in talent level as the sub 60 point season would lead you to believe. Offensively its a very neutral skillset with Kopitar.
Getting to defense, its really hard to point fingers either way. These guys are both considered Selke contenders every season. Toews plays the shutdown role for the best international team in the world, and does it consistently well. He's scored points in the role. And he's shutdown elite players consistently. If you are to argue in Kopitar's favour it would be a very, very small win.
Both great players. I just don't see the margin of difference that you are stuck on.
