NHL analyst makes bold case for Leon Draisaitl's superior clutch playoff greatness over undisputed greatest player of this generation

NHL analyst Bryan Hayes made a bold statement on TSN's Overdrive show on Tuesday, arguing that Leon Draisaitl has shown superior clutch playoff performances compared to Connor McDavid over the past decade.

Speaking about the league's top playoff scorers since 2016, Hayes noted that McDavid leads with 148 points in 93 games. Second is Nikita Kucherov with 148 points in 124 games, while Draisaitl sits third with 137 points in 93 games.

"They both played 93 playoff games in the last 10 years. McDavid has 11 more points than Draisaitl—only 11," Hayes pointed out. "That was a bit surprising. Draisaitl has eight more goals than him. So he scores more goals. He scores bigger goals. He plays hurt..."

Hayes then looked back at the Oilers’ 2017 run to the conference finals, stressing that it was Leon Draisaitl, who led the charge, while McDavid was injured. He made it clear that Draisaitl was the team’s top performer that postseason, not their captain.

"I gotta put Draisaitl ahead of him. For clutch over the last 10 years, I got Draisaitl ahead of McDavid..." Hayes said. "Clutch man, stone courage, he's big, he takes on everything, I love him. I love McDavid. It's not that I don't love McDavid, I mean clearly."

While McDavid leads the league in playoff scoring this season with 31 points, Draisaitl is right behind him with 29 points.

NHL analyst Jamie McLennan agrees with Bryan Hayes' take on Leon Draisaitl

Co-host Jamie McLennan backed Hayes’s take, agreeing that Leon Draisaitl is the ultimate clutch player. He highlighted Draisaitl’s gritty performance in the first round of the 2022 playoffs against the LA Kings as proof.

Despite dealing with a high ankle sprain from Game 6, Draisaitl pushed through the series.

"I had them both as clutch players. But I agree with you on Draisaitl," McLennan told Hayes.

"Even playing hurt with that high ankle sprain, we all watched it happen against LA, every other player in the league maybe, there's a couple who wouldn't have been able to play. He played the rest of the playoffs with that."

Now in the Stanley Cup Finals against Florida, the Oilers trail the Panthers 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is set for Thursday night in Florida.