The Edmonton Oilers’ stars will always be indirectly and directly linked to the stars of the Toronto Maple Leafs. With two teams loaded with offensively talented forwards, questions surround whether each team has too much money tied up in their top forwards that neither can win a Stanley Cup. So far, neither team has, but with the early exit by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Oilers have a chance to change the narrative surrounding players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The debate shouldn’t really be a debate at all. As Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer pointed out on Sunday, the stats comparing the playoff production of McDavid to Auston Matthews and Draisaitl to Mitch Marner aren’t close. But, because neither team has won a Stanley Cup with these four stars on their rosters, there will always be the excuse that point production doesn’t matter since no one has won an NHL championship.
Looking at the Differences Between the Oilers and Maple Leafs
As Stauffer showed, McDavid and Draisaitl have a huge edge on paper over Matthews and Marner. McDavid has played 54 playoff games and has 87 points (Points/GP: 1.61). Draisaitl (amazingly) has played the same number of games and has the same number of points. Matthews has played in 55 games, has 48 (Points/GP: 0.87) and Marner has played in 57 games and has 50 points (Points/GP: 0.88). The difference in production is quite staggering.
Some will argue that McDavid and Draisaitl are carrying the team and that Edmonton isn’t a contender without them. That narrative is only partially true. Like any team with major stars, they’re better because those stars are a part of the roster. Take them away and those teams don’t win. It’s not about whether a team is better with elite talent — that much is obvious. It’s whether that elite talent can lead a roster to victory.
Edmonton has gone farther than Toronto in several playoff years, meaning if the Leafs’ big guys had stepped up, perhaps the Leafs wouldn’t have been booted so quickly. Toronto needed more from their top stars and those top stars didn’t provide it. Questions about depth become somewhat irrelevant when those paid the most to step up…
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