Patrick Kane had some interesting comments today that whipped the hockey world up into a frenzy.

Kane was asked if there’s anyone that reminded him of the great Pavel Datsyuk. Kane answered and said Auston Matthews, who is now the Toronto Maple Leafs Captain in a The Hockey News article.

“I don’t know, I guess I could see Auston’s game a little bit in his. Maybe Auston’s more of a shooter, but as far as playing both ends of the ice and being able to strip guys with the puck and turn it into offense. I think that’s where they’re pretty similar.”

Well, Kane unfortunately got a ton of heat for that, as fans disagreed with his statement.

Pavel Datsyuk, of course, is the best stick handler of all time and is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year. Datsyuk won three Selke’s in a row from 2008 to 2010. Pavel in his career had 314 goals and 604 assists, tallying up to 918 points in 953 games during his career, in which he played all with the Detroit Red Wings.

Although fans took what Kane said about Matthews, Matthews is a phenomenal player in his own right, as he put 69 pucks in the back of the net last season.

However, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube put his own spin on things when he was asked who reminded him the most of Pavel. Berube answered Mitch Marner.

«Mitch does a lot of the same things. Mitch is a real good 200-foot player too. Kills penalties, anticipates extremely well, has a great stick. All those same qualities that Datsyuk had.»

Everybody can say what they want, but no one will compare to Datsyuk.