Could Mark Stone be considered as the best player in the NHL? -- @creepindeath
This is a fascinating question, and one that has become more interesting with the Vegas Golden Knights forward continuing to tear it up. Though I'm not quite ready to anoint Stone as the best player in the NHL -- there's that Connor McDavid guy, after all, among others -- he's made a case.
Stone scored his sixth game-winning goal in a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday and has scored 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 25 games. His average of 1.32 points per game is tied for sixth in the NHL with Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele and behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1.33); McDavid is first at 1.71 points per game. In an 82-game season, Stone's points per game would put him on pace for 108, exceeding his previous NHL career high of 73 (33 goals, 40 assists) for the Ottawa Senators and Golden Knights in 2018-19. Add how Stone is one of the best defensive wings in the game and you have a recipe for a truly dynamic, 200-foot, all-around player who can make a case as the best in hockey.
I wrote about Stone last February and remember being struck by the fervor in people's voices when they talk about him, about how hard he worked to fashion himself into any kind of NHL player, let alone one about whom this question could be asked. Even more, I was struck by the way Stone thinks about himself as a player, how well he recognized his weaknesses (including his skating) and not only worked to build them up and correct them, but also understood how to exploit his strengths. He told me then, "I don't think there's any guys in this league who play the way I play. I wish I could be Sidney Crosby. I wish I could be Connor McDavid. But ultimately, I can't skate like Connor McDavid. I'm not as skilled as Sidney Crosby. But there are things that they see that I do that they wish they could do."
I think there's no question about that.
