Edited May 28, 2023 at 9:57 p.m.
Quoting: Caniac2000
Aho's better than Matthews in the playoffs. You need to look beyond production for this. Carolina don't score a ton because it is a roster built on defensive stability. Aho does that better. Aho's goal scoring ability gets so underrated. The pandemic cut short what could have been a 45 goal season. Aho sits at a point per game in the playoffs and seems to find an extra gear whenever the team need it. He also comes through at more opportune times and seems to become a diamond under the pressure.
Somebody is going to take this as me saying Aho is better than Matthews and prove they have 2 brain cells and both are fighting for 3rd place, but if you're asking me if I want Matthews or Aho to be my 1C in game 7 of a Stanley Cup playoff game, I don't think there's much thinking before I say Aho. Regular season? Matthews not close. But the post season is almost a different sport
For arguments sake, let's say Aho has been better in the playoffs than Maththews. The bottom line is Aho hasn't gotten it done it Carolina, and while Matthews hasn't done anything in Toronto, that doesn't mean he can't get it done in Carolina. So, the fact that Matthews is the better overall player makes this easy if they can retain him. In terms of fitting in the defensive system that shouldn't be an issue for Matthews who is a 200ft center. Not losing anything in the faceoff circle either. Pretty much swapping playmaking for more scoring.
Back to Aho being better than Mathews in the playoffs, in which aspect has he been better?
You can't just ignore playoff production and say Aho has been better. You mentioned that Aho is nearly a PPG in playoffs, so is Matthews, Aho is just 1 pt closer which is a marginal difference. In terms of GWG Matthews edges Aho out by one. Matthews takes FO %, Blocks and hits by a margin. +/- goes to Aho by a margin. Maybe you can produce some advanced stats where Aho is better by a landslide, but so far it doesn’t seem like you are right.
Aho probably does have better game 7 results but considering he doesn't have a clear edge over Matthews in the playoffs as a whole while his team has had much more success than Matthews' team (CAR has 7 series win vs the Leafs 1 since Matthews & Aho started playing in the NHL). Perhaps he's better in game 7s, I don't know or care to look, but I don't see how Aho is the better playoff performer. In the end, no one is trading Aho or Matthews for Palat because Palat is the better playoff performer.