Is Leon Draisaitl better than Auston Matthews? Craig Button sure seems to think so.
Craig Button has been around the NHL for quite a long time and has seen a lot of very talented players come through the league. He spent time as Director of Scouting and Director of Player Personnel with the Dallas Stars before making the switch to the Calgary Flames, where he became Vice President and General Manager. Following his stint in Calgary, Button became a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He now serves as the Director of Scouting and as an Analyst for TSN.
Button appeared on TSN1050's "Overdrive" on Monday to discuss a few topics, including Edmonton and Buffalo's chances at making the playoffs, where Draisaitl ranks among the game's top players, and who he would choose between Draisaitl and Auston Matthews.
Button stated that Draisaitl is a top five player in the NHL right now, and that Auston Matthews is not.
" I think the talk about Auston Matthews being one of the best players in the league needs to stop. He's not even close to Draisaitl right now, I know he's a scorer, but in terms of a complete player; he's not even in that category, he should never be in that conversation until he shows he can impact the game in the same way."
Brian Hayes responded to Button's comments by saying "Matthews has got to be more consistent, that's his biggest problem [is inconsistency]. I think at the top of their game, Matthews has more abilities, a 10/10 game out of both of them, I would take Matthews, but if we're talking a full 82 games, I expect Draisaitl to have more impact right now."
Listen to the full segment here
Given Draisaitl's impressive 50 goal- 105 point campaign last season, and his dominant start to this season, it's certainly not crazy to say that Draisaitl is a top-five NHL player right now.
We won't have a definitive answer for the 5-10 years, but in the meantime, we should just sit back and consider ourselves lucky that we get to enjoy these two extremely talented players for the next decade.
