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Thread: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

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    Default Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Just maybe 1.5 or the 1b guy? So sick of the talk these past few years that Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews are ahead of him. Even for a while you could hear that about Nikita Kucherov, but you're only good as the games you can play, and outside of an outlier 128 point season (which he won't repeat, thus outlier), you can't get the points if you don't get the games. Even if we do the prorate over 82 games, starting from this year going back, he has seasons of 109 (in a very small 3 game sample size), 103, 128, and 103 over his past 4 seasons. At the same time Draisaitl has gone 182, 123, 127, and 105 in his past 4 as this post has been made. Now I get two 30 point playoff campaigns on a very deep and talent clad team, with rest to boot will help bolster Nikita's rating, but keep in mind that the game of hockey is centered around team play. And not just individual. And individually Leon Draisaitl has been strong in the playoffs, even being his team's best player in his first and last playoffs. You can't win if the rest of the team can't get it done.

    So as this is a fantasy hockey site and most of our seasons begin and end in the regular season, and final regular season production reign as king, let's focus on that.

    Leon this season has 15 goals and 31 points in his first 14 games. The first since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr accomplished that feat in 1995/96. So now we're talking 66/68 territory and 25 years ago... Just to put things into perspective. He also has put up eight 3 point games and two of those being 4 point contests. Since being taken off of Connor McDavid's line, and reforming the DRY line, he has seen the separation between him and 97 go further... so you can say he's not entirely a product of McDavid's ridiculous season. He has been the best player in the league because he has been on cheat code level.

    This is a guy who has 48 points in his last 22 games since late last season when he heated up with 7 goals and 17 points in his last 8 games. 8-7-10-17 + 14-15-16-31 = 22-22-26-48. Friggin unreal. He also led the league in scoring with McDavid healthy for 90+ percent of the 19/20 season, even going 2 points-per-game in a stretch of games when Connor went down. His defensive game has been strong as his forechecking game has stepped up. Good offence leads to good defence. He's been +41 in his last 70 games. He's also strong on the dot going over 55 percent. He's simply on another level. His shot is one of the best in the game. Not only is his backhand ridiculous, but so is his wrister and slapshot. His passing is on point, he can saucer a pass through the highest traffic areas and find his man... He's so good at slowing down the game in how he maps out plays like the all-time greats before him. He's deceptively big and fast, since the reports of his skating issues upon draft day.

    Over his last 82 games he has scored 55 goals and 78 assists for 133 points. Over his last 82 games, McDavid has 150 points.

    I am not even an Oilers fan, but merely painting a vivid picture of how Draisaitl needs to be firmly placed behind Connor.

    Also, curious what you guys think the two will finish if they play 82 games this season? Can either one or both hit 150? Last time Lemieux and Jagr did 30 points in 15 games or less, they scored 161 points in 70 games and 149 points over 82 games respectively. This just might be the best offensive duo since the days of 66 and 68. And this is coming from a Pittsburgh Penguins fan who also recognizes the dominance of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. We're so lucky to see such great talent out of so many players this season.

    And before someone comes in and says, he's just on a small sample size... This isn't like when Eric Staal went on a ridiculous early tear with 25 points in his first 12 games as a 21-year-old sophomore, during an outlier 100 point campaign.... Leon's been dominating for a few years. Even outscoring McDavid at times. I think it's time we rate him accordingly.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    And again, I am not an Edmonton Oilers fan. Not a fan of the team or its fans, but I can acknowledge great talent when I see it.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Definitely strongly agree with you. He’s just unreal!
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Re: 2nd pick in dynasty start up

    Very close with drais and Mack, I’d draft them in this order

    Draisaitl
    Mackinnon
    Mathews
    Pastrnak

    This was my answer on Sept 7 on a post for a new dynasty start up, the only thing that has changed is Draisaitl has made it easier to select him at #2. So yes i agree, he is the clear cut #2 choice
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    There's even an argument to have that Draisailt in Fantasy can be more valuable than McDavid in certain leagues, but you'd be a mad-man to draft Drai over McDavid. However, we are in small sample size territory still, and Draisaitl plays with McDavid, and that's why he's considered lower in some peoples books in real life.

    In Fantasy, Drai has always been #2, and people saying anyone else is just doing it to overthink, or clickbait.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    I can briefly answer your question by saying yes. And this isn't just because what he's done so far this season. I'd probably put him #1 in cap leagues.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Quote Originally Posted by Axeman33 View Post
    I can briefly answer your question by saying yes. And this isn't just because what he's done so far this season. I'd probably put him #1 in cap leagues.
    I knew there was a reason I loved yeah bud. hehe And yes, talk about a beauty cap deal for Edmonton. Remember when most of us said that was a horrific signing... one thing Chiarelli did right. That and not trading him to New Jersey. lol

    Make no mistake, I am also not posting this because of this season. I did it because of ESPECIALLY what he's doing this season. I have been frustrated and disappointed by the claims guys like MacKinnon were better for the past few years, and to the other poster, it really isn't that close. Especially from a fantasy perspective, which again, is what sites like this goes off on. Pure production.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    I disagree, I think Draisaitl is the #1 in the league.

    McDavid may have speed, but Draisaitl is the complete package.

    Call me crazy all you want, I don't care.

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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    He's the clear #2 right now. At points he might be #1, but that won't be long term. McDavid is and will continue to be the best player in the league *most of the time* for years to come.

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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Quote Originally Posted by pmorrow View Post
    He's the clear #2 right now. At points he might be #1, but that won't be long term. McDavid is and will continue to be the best player in the league *most of the time* for years to come.
    I didn't say 1... and I get you know that. Just sayin'... but 1.5 or 1b can definitely make for a good argument. He was better than McDavid in their first playoffs and the most recent, and was better than McD in the 19/20 season and so far this season. And no hot start changes the fact that I would always put McDavid firmly as No. 1 until Leon can prove he can fully supplant him as the bonafide better player of the two and that only comes with consecutive seasons where one is identifiably considered the clear cut better player. Or it could end up being the case of who's better, Crosby or Ovechkin?

    Until that happens, I'll never go there. But he's the clear No. 2. You hear that Dobber! WE THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!

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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Quote Originally Posted by pmorrow View Post
    He's the clear #2 right now. At points he might be #1, but that won't be long term. McDavid is and will continue to be the best player in the league *most of the time* for years to come.
    He should have been a clear No. 2 years ago, especially after he won the Art Ross and Hart, but some how was still regulated lower than a certain Canadian born player not named McDavid and sometimes even behind a Russian who's failed to outscore him in any season since then. I guess that's why I am reinforcing this more than ever. It's not even about this season, it's been since his Art Ross winning year when he went 127 points and then last year where he was at a 123 point pace. I mean let's face it, Draisaitl won't keep up this pace and neither will Ovechkin. McDavid has the best chance of doing it.... which is why he's the top dog until someone like Leon can prove otherwise.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    Honestly, I'm not sure he's not the #1 skater in the league. Note I exclude goalies, as comparing apples to cantaloupes is tricky. I think forward to D is a easier comparison, but am confident we don't have a D that has been consistently elite enough to contest this.

    He's better in some facets of the game than McDavid, notably faceoffs. There is no question that they both can drive play, however, I think that Draisiatl being able to drive play from the pivot or wing makes him a bit more valuable for flexibility.

    There are definitely fantasy formats where I would take Draisiatl first, and yes, I'm crazy enough to do it.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    20 goals and 40 points in 19 games for Draisaitl! McDavid tried giving him the EN for the hatty, but Leon made the smart defensive and unselfish play of doing the splits (skate on the line), even though it didn't touch, but upon second review to Toronto they decided it was a goal, which I predicted. The NHL's golden boy was rewarded a goal, even though it was clearly offside.
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    McDavid and Draisaitl are very close.
    For me McDavid is still #1 (in both fantasy and real life) but the gap between McDavid -Draisaitl is closer than the gap between 2 and 3 (whomever you have at 3).
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    Default Re: Can we finally say that Leon Draisaitl is the No. 2 guy in the league... and maybe...

    What's amazing is McDavid has higher IPPs both at ES and on the PP than Draisaitl, yet Draisaitl still has more points. It suggests Draisaitl is creating more offense, which, if he finds a way to raise his IPPs, could result in him theoretically tallying even more points. If someone was to offer me one of them for the rest of this season I'd probably take Draisaitl; however, at any pre-season draft for a one year league I still feel like I'd have to go with McDavid every time.
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