(Matthews was playing on 1 wrist the whole season and was only 3 points shy and had more goals with a higher +/- by 34 +'s, but let's ignore this)

But TBH, if Stuzles numbers are this great in the RS, surely they would be in the playoffs, right? By this time in Stuzle's career, Matthews has already been on pace for 40, 45 and 50 goals in 3 individual seasons, has already won hardware, finished 11th in Hart voting AND has already lead the league in EV goals, and is about to do that for the next 3 years straight... So, how's Stuzle been?

LOL... You can't compare a top 30 player in the league to a top 3 player and the league and say the top 30 player is better bc of 3-5 mill in contract gap... It doesn't work like that

I haven't talked about +/- in like 10+ years... I think it would be hard for us to have a hockey discussion...

Just a Little reminder, that Matthews played 4 less games and had 5 less points while being hurt. and he still scored 40 which Stutzle has never done and Matthews did it as a rookie. Matthews is better defensively. blocks a lot more shots, takes the puck away more and gives it away less. gets selke votes every year pretty much, Stutzle hasnt gotten a even a 5th place vote once. so much better in the dot as well. those are facts partner

like i said, its the sens argument to win...... meaning this is bad for the sens. really didnt think it was that hard to understand

Sure, but the Leafs were also a far more complete defensive team. It's also pretty easy when you have elite defensive forwards like David Kamph. Also for elite offensive players like Stutzle, McDavid, Draisaitl, and Matthews, defense grows over time. You didn't see Matthews having a big defensive impact in his D+3 season. Stutzle will learn that defense and will be just as good at age 25.

Stutzle was never touted as a top end goal scorer. More of an elite playmaker which Matthews isn't or doesn't show. I also in my original point stated that Matthews had played 4 less games repeating that point doesn't do anything. It's also worth noting Stutzle is 5 years younger, Stutzle is on his offensive level now, learning the defensive side of the game. Stutzle could very well be the better player than Matthews in the long-term. Also saying Stutzle has never scored 40 is tough, cause he scored 39 this year and proved to be an elite playermaker. 1 goal doesn't mean much.

Maybe I got your intention wrong but I saw this comment "they dont have much to cheer about" as the reason why you'd concede the point. Sorry, these little childish comments can be confusing sometimes

Matthews finished 38th in Selke voting in his rookie year... and was about to finish 16th this year... He's also only been a minus player 1 time in his 1rst 3 seasons

Kampf's there to make sure Matthews gets a break... Whereas Stuzle hasn't done anything to prove he's a good player on the defensive side of the puck... Also McDavid and Draisaitl are awful defensively, so not the best example being put next to Matthews

38th means that he wasn't even the best defensive forward on his own team. Also, it likely means that he got 1 last-place vote which is not hard to get if the writer bases it more on his other achievements and thinks he has underated defense.

Also Selke voting is strange, because looking at this years vote Danault got less points that Matthew Tkachuk. Somehow. An elite offensive winger got more points that one of the best defensive centers in the game.

Stutzle is also proving himself to be a more prolific scorer, because his D+3 season scoring would have outscored Matthews in all but one of his seasons. Which was when he put up 60 goals. They were also comparable points wise in their D+2 season. As Matthews had 63 points in 62 games. And Stutzle had 58 points in 79 games. A lot more points per game, but it's worth remembering the Sens got screwed by the league twice and had to play with long stretches with an AHL team because their entire NHL team had Covid. So the quality of linemates was way down. Also worth noting it was still a Covid season.

yeah, Selke voting's a little strange sometimes (Marner getting a Selke nom but Matthews not)... But I'm saying that Matthews has a whole other 100 feet to his game that Stuzle doesn't...

Matthews was on pace for better goal scoring in all but his RS compared to Stuzle this year and was on pace to have more goals but have the same amount of points as Stuzle this season, just played less games, on 1 wrist, was better than Stuzle's D+3 year last year and the year before that as well, on pace with him in terms of points the year before that, has the hardware and is a complete player


Stuzle's great... but Matthews is on a whole other planet

I think Matthews is a great player as well, maybe a little worrying with the wrist.

But I think if you don't watch Stutzle you'll be incredibly surprised when he's top 10 or top 5 in league scoring a couple of years from now with a complete game. He's got that kind of skill.

I've watched him play... he's cheating offensively to score goals... he needs to find another way to play a complete game and score goals to keep his pace and play better to finish top 5/10 in scoring and be a complete player

If I'm trading Matthews... I'm trading for more than 1 guy's potential to be near him TBH

Sure, but if your trading Matthews, it's for a guy like Lindblom, who has similar term and ability, not for a center that is signed for 8 more years at a lower AAV who just outscored Matthews and has all the potential in the world.

Just because of the term the Maple Leafs would be adding considerably. You also have to consider that Stutzle is the franchise player for Ottawa, and that he probably never gets traded from Ottawa because so many young kids emulate him now in Ottawa and around the world. Especially with his tape job.