With it looking like hockey creeping its way back to a return, the playoffs become the focus. Along with that comes playoff performances, which define legacies and secure places in the Hall of Fame.
All of that in mind, let’s get to today’s topic: Which player is more important if Colorado is going to make a legitimate Stanley Cup run: Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar? In other words, if one player were to flop during the postseason, which one could Colorado survive struggling and still be successful?
AJ: I think it’s MacKinnon but I’m gritting my teeth. We’ve seen teams make successful runs with mediocre play from the back end but it requires an elite center to make it happen. We’ve also seen lower end centers win with great defense (see: St. Louis), so it could go either way. For now, though, Makar’s defensive game is still a work in progress and MacKinnon is right in his prime and firing on all the superstar cylinders. He’s never been below a PPG in his career in the playoffs and with the best supporting cast of his career, I’m looking forward to seeing what the next level for him looks like. If he hits it, the Avs are the favorite to come out of the West.
This answer might be Makar in a year or two but we’re not there yet. If Colorado is to make a Cup run this summer (weird to say), I think it has to be on the back of Nathan MacKinnon.
Evan: At the moment, I’m going to lean towards MacKinnon. Elite centers are always huge for teams in the postseason, and a lot of winners over the years have two of them, actually. The Avs don’t have that, which makes MacKinnon even more important. He consistently drives the play offensively for this team, and that will be huge in the playoffs when things tighten up a good bit. Makar is great now and is going to be fantastic very quickly, but having seen teams win with a “defense by committee” before, I think an elite center gets the nod here. Luckily for the Avs, they don’t have to choose.
Rudo: As we’ve been hashing out the Avs impressive offensive depth the last few days, MacKinnon struggling might actually be something the Avs could survive in the short term. It’s also the matter of MacKinnon struggling is realistically still putting up a few points over a seven-game series (he never went three straight games without a point this season). With the idea that MacKinnon will get his in mind I’m taking Makar as the more important player. While the forward core has a point per game player in Rantanen and multiple strong point producers in the rest of the top six the defense simply does not have anything nearly as reliable as Makar when it comes to scoring. Cale’s defense isn’t Strava Craft Coffee level game-changing but I do think quite a few people underrate it and it’s importance to the Avs at 5 on 5. As weird as it feels to say, as the Avs are currently built, MacKinnon is more replaceable than Makar.
Realistically this is a pick’em, MacKinnon is the guy you expect to win the Conn Smythe, Makar is the x-factor on the back end that is always a threat to be a difference-maker. With the realities of rust and some uncertainty in net the Avs may well need both on point to make a real run.
0 Comments (2 conversations)
briggs1628
Depends on how you define “struggle”. Either one of them is perfectly capable of being a dominant force even if they’re struggling with some puck luck where pucks just bounce at the last second on them or their shots are just an inch off going out instead of in when they hit the post. No team can afford to take either one of them lightly in a playoff series as each of them is perfectly capable of breaking a slump at any time. As long as their “process” is good and they keep playing to their strengths pushing play and forcing the other team to react to their play that will still tie up the top match ups in the series and open up some more favorable match ups for our other 3 lines to play against. We always see things tighten up in the playoffs and some teams might have a player or two whose particular skill set might be more effective at shutting down one or the other when playing against him every game in a 7 game series. The advantage that MacK has in that situation is that he is perfectly capable of playing top speed for 25 minutes per game and this season has gotten him some chemistry with darn near every possible line combination you can think of. So if that’s the case, then Bednar just has to find ways to sneak him on the ice on the fly with random linemates and hopefully that will shake something loose for him. For Makar, as long as his D-zone is adequate and he’s still jumping up in the play and causing havoc I’m not too worried about him going through a little slump point wise.
Goblynkyng
I’ve got to agree with briggs, here. The term “Struggling” needs a better definition. If MacK falls off a complete cliff and does nothing, then this team is going nowhere. If Mak falls off a cliff and does nothing, the team can overcome that. If you mean MacK “Struggling” is getting a point every 2 or 3 games but still creating chances, then yes, the team’s depth can deal with it. Also…I hear the promo’s in all your podcasts, Rudo (Even though when I paid to subscribe I was assured I wouldn’t hear the commercials). I love your analysis, but please….I don’t need or want to read the commercials in your commentary, not even as a joke.