Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel has been on a heck of a run. If he’d been scoring at this pace all season on a team in a playoff position, there might be MVP consideration. It took him a while to get up to speed following the recovery of his high ankle sprain, and he now says he’s 100 percent. He’s probably been for a while.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma pinpointed the date of Feb. 1 as a good marker for when his game hit the stride its currently on. Since the start of February, Eichel has 29 points in 25 games. Only Patrick Kane and Nicklas Backstrom have more in that stretch.
“Now he’s just at a point-per-game for the year. Translate that over the course of an 82-game season. ... It’s a remarkable season and it’s a sign of his growth as a player,” Bylsma said. “He’s leaps and bounds ahead of where he was last year.”
For as much attention the top two picks in the 2016 draft have received -- Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine -- Eichel’s surge is a reminder that the very top of the 2015 class is better, with Eichel going second behind Connor McDavid.
It also brings up an interesting debate. Which top-two tandems are the best since 2000?
“If you’re drafting a guy No. 1 overall or No. 2 overall, it’s not to fill a niche role as a bit piece. When you’re drafting No. 1 overall or No. 2 overall, you’re getting the face of your franchise,” said one GM on Tuesday. “He’s going to eventually be a leader.”
And those drafts since 2000 have certainly delivered in this regard. It’s not a very practical exercise, as one source pointed out, but it’s a fun one. Let’s dive in to rank the best top two overall tandems since 2000:
1. The 2004 draft
1. Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin
2. Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin
For as good as we expect the next generation of superstars like McDavid and Matthews to be, these two have already done it. They’re Hall of Famers. Regardless of what the NHL announced at the All-Star break, they’re two of the top 100 players of all time.
“Ovechkin might be the best goal scorer ever,” said one NHL executive on Tuesday. “Malkin has done it all, too. I don’t know how you could put two unproven guys ahead of them.”
You can’t.
Plus it raises one of my favorite what-ifs: What if the Penguins were picking first and landed Ovechkin? They actually had the league’s worst record that season and the Capitals won the lottery to jump ahead and grab Ovechkin. Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin together on the same team changes the narrative of an entire generation.
2. The 2015 draft
1. Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid
2. Buffalo Sabres: Jack Eichel
We’re definitely projecting here, but McDavid sure looks like he’s going to be the best player in the game for the next decade or so, just as soon as Crosby lets go of that spot. There’s definitely a debate to be had here, but is there a duo below this list that would land these two in a straight up trade. Maybe?
McDavid puts this duo over the top.
“McDavid is arguably the best player in the world, or will be in the next couple years for sure,” said the GM. “Eichel, since he came back, he’s had a hell of a year. It’s two centers.”
That’s the distinction. Franchise centers are so hard to land. There have been great defensemen and wingers drafted at the top of the draft, but the pure, undisputed No. 1 franchise center is rare, and is typically only acquired in these draft slots.
3. The 2008 draft
1. Tampa Bay Lightning: Steven Stamkos
2. Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty
You know what else is a fun debate? Debating which of these two superstars should have gone No. 1 in 2008. Stamkos is a star. No doubt. Doughty is the best defenseman in the league and has multiple Stanley Cups.
“Doughty is the face of that franchise and is the leader,” said the GM. “He embodies a lot of the culture in L.A.”
Injuries have derailed Stamkos throughout his career, and there’s some concern that might continue as he gets older. He’s played nearly 100 fewer regular-season games than Doughty.
Doughty gives this duo a slight edge over the next one.
4. The 2009 draft
1. New York Islanders: John Tavares
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman
This pair features a bona fide No. 1 center and a No. 1 defenseman. Tavares is a guy you build around, and that the Islanders haven’t successfully done that in the eight years since this draft might end up being one of the biggest missed opportunities of this era if he leaves New York.
“I put Tavares right there with Matthews, McDavid and Eichel,” said an Eastern Conference executive. “He’s your center. He’s zero maintenance. Great guy.”
Having Hedman on defense in Tampa Bay allows the Lightning to slot a group that’s otherwise average down the lineup, a huge advantage that other teams in the East don’t have.
“When you have the No. 1, everyone else’s job is easier,” said one source. “He’s a stud.”
5. The 2005 draft
1. Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby
OK, so I’m not exactly sure what to do with this draft. In Crosby, you have the best player in the world. He’ll go down as one of the 10 best to ever play the game. Probably higher. And then there’s Bobby Ryan.
There's nothing wrong with Bobby Ryan. We all love Bobby Ryan. Good guy. Scores some goals. But... not a franchise player.
“If you can get Sidney Crosby, isn’t it game over?” asked one executive debating the list, and making the case that this duo should be higher. “You have to take Sid. Would you trade Sid and Bobby Ryan for McDavid and Eichel if you knew what you were getting? No. No, I would not.”
“I don’t know, it’s tough,” said another executive. “You throw them in the middle somewhere because it’s Sid and he’s the best player in the world.”
6. The 2016 draft
1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews
2. Winnipeg Jets: Patrik Laine
Look. I get it. This feels low. Matthews is going to get the Leafs into the playoffs. They’re going to play for a Stanley Cup in the next three years. He’s an American Jonathan Toews. Laine scores goals at will during a time when it’s harder than ever to score goals. But they just don’t have the track record yet to displace guys like Stamkos, Doughty, Tavares and Hedman.
Plus, there’s still some debate on whether Laine deserves to be in the same conversations with these other franchise players.
“Matthews is a franchise guy. Does Laine need a guy to help him?” asked the Eastern Conference executive. “Someone has to get it to him. If he plays with no center and doesn’t get the time and space to do his thing, does he create enough with his skating? He might. Maybe not.”
Ideally, if you’re drafting in the top two, you’re getting a franchise center or No. 1 defenseman.
One GM compared Laine to Ilya Kovalchuk. That's not a slight. Kovalchuk in his prime scored 50 goals twice and 40 goals three times. He also didn’t necessarily make those around him better players.
“If he gets those great rushes, he can spot up and shoot it as much as anybody,” said the GM. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
Honorable mention
The 2013 draft
1. Colorado Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon
2. Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov
One executive compared Barkov to Toews in the complete game he plays and the way he competes. MacKinnon has been a part of the mess in Colorado, but it’s hard to blame him for what’s gone on with the Avalanche.
The 2010 draft
1. Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall
2. Boston Bruins: Tyler Seguin
That neither of these two stars is with the team that drafted them says a lot about how they were viewed as franchise leaders and players on those drafting teams.
The 2003 draft
1. Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury
2. Carolina Hurricanes: Eric Staal
Both of these players helped lead their teams to Stanley Cups as major parts, which is just about all you can ask of a guy taken in this spot.
The wild card: The 2006 draft
One assistant GM started to make the argument for the draft that included Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom -- until he was reminded that they didn’t go No. 1 and No. 2.
If you lop Erik Johnson and Jordan Staal off the top of the 2006 draft (sorry, guys!), up next is Toews and Backstrom for the Blackhawks and Capitals. They are two players that changed the next decade for their teams, putting them in perennial Stanley Cup contention. If the Capitals win the Stanley Cup this spring, Backstrom will finally get the attention and recognition he deserves. All he needs is that championship.