Is Matthew Tkachuk the best NHLer behind Connor McDavid?

Matt Larkin and Steven Ellis ended another Daily Faceoff Live episode with Garbage Time, where Matt had quite the hot take of Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk being the second best player in the NHL.

Matt Larkin: Tkachuk has been absolutely dominant. He has 30 points more than his next closest teammate, and that’s why I do believe Matthew Tkachuk should and will get serious Hart Trophy votes, maybe second or third place, he’s very similar to Taylor Hall in the year he won it in 2017-18.

But the dominance of Tkachuk, I don’t think people understand, it’s not just a second straight 105 point season. In terms of the scoring chances, the margin of when Tkachuk is on the ice at 5-on-5, it’s 797-497. That’s how much the ice tilts in Florida’s favour with Tkachuk out there.

So, do you agree with me? Am I being too hyperbolic when I say that Matthew Tkachuk is playing like the second best player in the world right now?

Steven Ellis: So, when you first mentioned that earlier today, I laughed. I just thought there’s no way. And then I was going through the numbers, and going through everything, and I just couldn’t come up with someone better, to be honest. I feel like last week we were talking about how good Mitch Marner was, but he’s not doing what Matthew Tkachuk’s been able to do.

He’s been getting back-to-back 100 point seasons on different teams with different linemates, and in this case he’s doing it on a team that had to really claw their way back to the playoff race. I’ll give you credit, you brought it up a few weeks or even a few months ago saying that you predicted the Panthers were going to make a run to make the playoffs, and they were out of the playoffs at that time, and now it’s looking like a pretty good bet.

I have to give a lot of credit to Alex Lyon and the way he’s playing in net for Florida right now. I think the biggest downfall for this group is goaltending on a night-to-night basis, but they’re getting it out of a guy that really should have been their third goalie this year, so that’s a really good thing to see.

But Tkachuk just does it all. A guy that can be so good out of each zone, but also gets physical. If I had a favourite player, it probably would be him, because I like those guys that can be that agitator that can get in your head, but can also make up for it in offense. He’s not like he’s just there to make you mad. He can make you mad, and then he can also score a hat trick against you. So, I think when it comes to Tkachuk, I can’t disagree there.

You can watch the full episode here…