Who’s on the faster track? McDavid and the Oilers or Matthews and the Leafs?

Which young superstar will lead his team to The Promised Land first?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Who’s on the faster track? McDavid and the Oilers or Matthews and the Leafs?
Keystone Press

In his latest article for The Sporting News, hockey writer Michael Augello takes a deep dive look at two of the NHL’s youngest and most exciting teams, the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, and puts forward his theory on which team will realize their full potential first. 

There’s no denying that every other NHL team would kill to have the young talent that both team’s possess. Both Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are legitimate NHL superstars, but hockey is a team sport and Augello looks beyond the individual talents in an effort to fully evaluate the progress and trajectory of both the Oilers and the Leafs.

So, what’s his take? While McDavid and the Oilers may have the upper hand on Matthews and the Leafs currently, Augello expects that to change moving forward. Specifically, Augello points to the smart asset management of Leafs general manger Lou Lamoriello that has enabled him to add veteran pieces at or below market value as a supplement to the team’s young core. The Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly, Frederik Andersen and Nikita Zaitsev contracts are all incredible value deals for the team and should free up dollars for long-term negotiations with Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.