While both Julian Lutz and Dylan Guenther are seen as top-line candidates, what determines who is better than the other?
A lot of fans from Arizona have been telling me Dylan Guenther is a better top-six option than Julian Lutz.
Lutz just signed his entry-level deal with Utah a couple of weeks ago, while Guenther will be entering his third season in the NHL.
So, who's better than who?
Well, let's do some number-crunching here.
The offensive numbers for these two include 18 goals in 45 games for Guenther, adding 17 more assists for 35 total points.
In 50 total games for Lutz, he racked up 24 goals, but he had 44 assists for a total of 68 points -- that's an average of 1.36 points per game.
Another thing stands out to me, and that's physicality. While Lutz is still a raw 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, he had 71 penalty minutes last season for Green Bay.
That's a good sign, given my colleague Spencer Lazary wrote that physicality, especially creating a netfront presence on offence, is going to be huge in his development.
On the power play, he would make a perfect addition as a screener in front, but he's also shown he's got a wicked shot, as seen here:
Guenther has shown that ability, as well, to be a force on the power play, scoring nine goals on the man advantage, totaling 13 points. He can also take over a game when needed:
But when it comes down to it, Lutz is the more complete product right now, though he's raw.
The German is a power-forward type that has a potential to be like a Chris Kreider, a goal-scorer with a physical, chippy edge.
To me, Lutz fits better on the top line when he gets there. Guenther fits better on the second line as a winger, though he is a definite top-six option.
The good news is, however, we've got a couple months till training camps begin -- and that's when the debates will be settled.
Maybe.