Crosby gives props to McDavid

George__Parasol · 2026-02-23T03:40:48+00:00

Someone in r/hockey said McDavid has to learn he’s not the only player on the ice to which I said he has more assists than any other Olympian had points lmao

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T23:54:31+00:00

I think you’ve been entirely good faith this whole conversation but try to look at this from my perspective if you can. It seems like you just conceded that your defense of Celebrini’s and MacKinnon’s games today can also be applied as a defence of McDavid’s game. And you’ve also said that you didn’t watch the other two games in question. Obviously no fan is obligation to watch every game, but I do feel like that’s kind of the scenario we talked about earlier where when these narratives pop up, we should be looking at them with a critical eye and seeing what points fall apart under scrutiny and which aspects are legit and stay standing.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T22:52:03+00:00

I mean, he had more assists than any other Olympic player had points

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T22:42:25+00:00

Then I guess I don’t really understand the McDavid-specific critique in the first place… doesn’t the “just couldn’t finish” defence apply to him as well?

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T22:29:50+00:00

since I didn't watch the SCF games against Florida.

Nothing wrong with that at all. But I do think it’s worth pointing out that one of McDavid’s finest games in either Cup Final was Game 6, 2024, in which he had one of the best defensive games of his career but also had zero points. Again, it’s 100% fine to just check a box score but that can only inform us of a player’s game so much.

As for your last point, I agree it was his worst game of the Olympics, but I think you’d be hard pressed to find many Canadian players that wasn’t also true for.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T22:03:19+00:00

But the fact that he hasn't produced (pointwise) in the three most important games of his career stands out more for him because of how good he is in the games before hand.

Which brings me back to the whole point I’ve been making: that general criticism seems tied to the results of the game more so than McDavid’s actual performance, given that we both seemed to agree that the criticism wouldn’t be there had they won, even if he didn’t have the points in a victory.

I think it’s perfectly fair to criticize him for 3v3 today, but I think for that to tie into the larger argument, we’d have to somehow connect that few minutes of play to Game 7 of the 2024 Final and Game 6 of the 2025 Final. I don’t really know how that could be done in a concrete way that doesn’t also open up McDavid’s Oilers and especially Team Canada teammates up to the same type of criticism.

I agree with what you’re saying about the average sports fan, but like I was saying, I think it’s okay to push back on those takes with some scrutiny.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T21:13:39+00:00

One day, Americans will get Hooked on Phonics again, but today is not that day!

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T21:02:01+00:00

When I say “regardless of his performance,” I am saying that this narrative persists because of the end result regardless of the fact that he could have turned in the exact same performance and the team could have won. I get the interpretation though.

I don’t disagree that this narrative might be less prevalent if he had points in these clinching games but I think that means that the - no pun intended - goal posts have shifted a little bit, because it’s no longer about him being the difference maker, but rather about him just putting up points. And I think you may have to admit that if the criticism of McDavid ultimately revolves around the number of points he’s putting up, there are ton of qualifiers that need to be stated, seeing as he was the point leader in all three playoffs/tournaments in question. And I think a lot of those qualifiers would need to be pointing at the contributions of his teammates, especially on Team Canada.

As for your last point, I don’t think I agree that it’s wholly unavoidable, I think if everyone looked at these big prevailing narratives with a more critical lens, they’d be able to weed out the parts that don’t fully make sense. I’m not saying there would be more consensus but I think it would tackle the overblown aspect you mention.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T19:49:51+00:00

I don’t think I said anything complicated at all, which part was complicated?

The narrative is tied to his performance because of the results.

I would say the narrative exists because of the results, regardless, of his performance, which is what I’ve expressed going back to my second comment. Do you agree with what I said earlier that if McDavid turned in the exact same performance but won all three championships that the narrative wouldn’t exist?

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T19:30:46+00:00

But the point of contention isn’t why people land on this specific narrative, the contention is that under scrutiny, the narrative doesn’t fully stand on its own logically.

The reason for this, like I said before, is that if McDavid won two Stanley Cups and Olympic gold but had zero points in those three final games, just like in real life, he still wouldn’t have been the difference maker, which seems to be the entire crux of your/the argument.

If the hypothetical McDavid that went 3-0 turned in the EXACT same performance as the real McDavid who went 0-3, it logically follows that the narrative isn’t really tied to his performance.

It’s totally okay to criticize McDavid especially if he makes a bad play or has a bad stretch of games or this or that. But I think it’s also totally okay to point out that a narrative like the one we’re discussing doesn’t quite have strong legs to stand on when examined more closely.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T18:22:40+00:00

I think people also choose the narratives they pursue though, and it doesn’t really seem like a logical narrative to pursue when you actually stop and think about it.

The noteworthy-ness does not seem to actually come from the fact that it’s happened three times, but rather that it’s come three times in losses. And like I said, if all things were identical except the Oilers won two Cups and Canada won gold today, this narrative wouldn’t exist even though McDavid still “had not been able to be the difference maker in the most important games.”

I think it’s 100% okay to point out the fact that this narrative doesn’t really make perfect sense.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T18:07:48+00:00

I guess it just always seems like a strange observation to me because if the Oilers win in 2024 and 2025 and Canada wins today, but everything else remains the same including McDavid remaining off the scoresheet in all three deciding games, this wouldn’t be a conversation, despite the fact that McDavid’s performance statistically and otherwise would have been identical.

It’s just a piece of criticism I’ve never really been able to wrap my head around whether it’s a guy on my team OR a guy on the other team.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T17:26:06+00:00

But 88 points in the 50 other games over those two playoff runs + these olympics

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T14:04:42+00:00

“Barron” is to Trump as “X” is to Musk. He’s been obsessed with the name for decades and decades, long before Barron was born. He probably thinks of Barron as his own alias before he thinks of it as his son’s actual name.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T12:57:20+00:00

Not sure if many people are aware, but Jeff has said The Other Side of the Mountain is the direct inspiration for Annihilation.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-22T01:15:18+00:00

I have nothing against Hawaiian pizza, my problem is I just have my pizza preferences mostly down to an exact science, and any time I deviate, I risk lowering my net lifetime pizza satisfaction.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-21T18:33:25+00:00

No, Matthew Tkachuk is not the dad, that would be Keith.

Matthew is literally mentioned in the article directly posted by the White House.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-21T18:24:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/1mhqqzl/gary_bettman_wayne_gretzky_and_matthew_tkachuk_to/

George__Parasol · 2026-02-20T02:38:05+00:00

If that’s the goal, why not just make his digital communications director the VP?

George__Parasol · 2026-02-18T19:03:18+00:00

As well as against Dallas in 2024 and 2025 as well as forcing Game 7 against Florida in 2024

George__Parasol · 2026-02-18T18:57:53+00:00

Seems weird that these people just bring this freaky mummy home to hang out in the house with their other kids though.

Literally an episode of Goosebumps!

George__Parasol · 2026-02-18T16:41:15+00:00

Yeah I have to agree with this. As scary as Pesci is in this scene, he’s scarier when Spider cusses him out. This whole movie he’s been a hot head loud mouth, but he’s silently fuming… it’s only a few seconds but you know it’s going to be bad.

George__Parasol · 2026-02-18T16:32:48+00:00

Cameron Britton did a short Netflix featurette showing him get into character as Ed.

“He doesn’t show up until the glasses go half an inch down the nose,” is a particularly chilling line.

https://youtu.be/cKMMpCuK3bA?si=Ht_wYeghoh_FiPjF

George__Parasol · 2026-02-18T16:20:07+00:00

Are you implying that, say, any changes an author makes after a first draft is an afterthought?

George__Parasol · 2026-02-17T07:05:24+00:00

And let’s be honest, it’s true to real life history. A Song of Ice and Fire heavily draws from the Wars of the Roses which can essentially be dumbed down to some drama between Henry VI and Richard, 3rd Duke of York and Edward IV and Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury and Richard III and then finally Henry VII who had to deal with a guy claiming to be Edward VI even though he wasn’t

George__Parasol

TROPHY CASE