Top 14 NHL defensemen (NHL.com)

[Darkstone42]

Watch a videography of the Leafs' 2013-14 season and you will have your answer.

I had to watch enough Rob Scuderi (an admittedly extreme case) to get an idea. He still blocked shots and passes, was generally in decent enough position, but once it came time to clear the zone, he was useless and had to do it all over again.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

The classic stay-at-home guys in the NHL have their place, but even their defensive value, to me, is overstated. I want a guy who can get the puck out of the defensive zone and moving the other way. There is a lot of defensive value to a good skater and puck mover for just that reason, and while Subban, for example, may not necessarily pass the defensive eyeball test, it is quite clear, especially in the numbers, that he is really good at making sure play doesn't stay in his own end for very long.

You can break up passes and block shots all day long, but if you can't exit the zone, or if you have to settle for just dumping the puck back to the other team in the neutral zone, how much good have you really done your team?

I remember hearing some random story about an argument where someone employed by an organization pointed out that you could count the number of "hits" Lidstrom had been credited with at the halfway point of that season on one hand and someone else in the org didn't believe him. Can't remember the exact details obviously, I'll have to search for it.

Pretty good article about Karlsson regarding this matter. It's admittedly a little one-sided but it makes some good points and backs them up with numbers.

theScore

 

[Darkstone42]

Pretty good article about Karlsson regarding this matter. It's admittedly a little one-sided but it makes some good points and backs them up with numbers.

theScore

It wasn't very far into his career that I began to wonder why people said Karlsson was a bad defender. He's no worse than below average across most of the traditional defensive skills, not overly physical, but decent positionally and with his stick, but once the puck was on his stick, it was as good as going to the other way.

And I wonder why there's still so much resistance to the idea that a good puck mover can be just as valuable defensively from that skill alone as a physical or positionally strong defenseman, even with average at best other defensive skills.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

It wasn't very far into his career that I began to wonder why people said Karlsson was a bad defender. He's no worse than below average across most of the traditional defensive skills, not overly physical, but decent positionally and with his stick, but once the puck was on his stick, it was as good as going to the other way.

And I wonder why there's still so much resistance to the idea that a good puck mover can be just as valuable defensively from that skill alone as a physical or positionally strong defenseman, even with average at best other defensive skills.

Karlsson needs to work on some things from last year. For example when he doesn't touch the puck in his own zone he needs to be more committed to staying with a man. I'm pretty confident that he will. The last 3/4 of his Norris year was sound all around and the 14 games he played in 2012-13 before the Achilles were unreal. Some of the most dominant play I'd seen all over the ice by a defenseman in recent memory.

But yeah. Guys like him and Subban get roasted for turnovers etc.. Well you will turn it over more when you have the puck more than any other player.

Little known stat on Karlsson from his Norris year: he led all defensemen in takeaways by a LARGE margin.

 

[DragonfromTO]

It wasn't very far into his career that I began to wonder why people said Karlsson was a bad defender. He's no worse than below average across most of the traditional defensive skills, not overly physical, but decent positionally and with his stick, but once the puck was on his stick, it was as good as going to the other way.

And I wonder why there's still so much resistance to the idea that a good puck mover can be just as valuable defensively from that skill alone as a physical or positionally strong defenseman, even with average at best other defensive skills.

Niedermayer was another guy who managed to be pretty good defensively without spending a lot of time crosschecking guys in front of the net.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Niedermayer was another guy who managed to be pretty good defensively without spending a lot of time crosschecking guys in front of the net.

Yeah but he was a good BC boy!! Not some floater from Landsbro. Where the fuck is that anyway??? They don't even have a team in the dub.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

Yeah but he was a good BC boy!! Not some floater from Landsbro. Where the fuck is that anyway??? They don't even have a team in the dub.

I'm sure most Swedes would ask the same question. It's not a very large town.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The classic stay-at-home guys in the NHL have their place, but even their defensive value, to me, is overstated. I want a guy who can get the puck out of the defensive zone and moving the other way. There is a lot of defensive value to a good skater and puck mover for just that reason, and while Subban, for example, may not necessarily pass the defensive eyeball test, it is quite clear, especially in the numbers, that he is really good at making sure play doesn't stay in his own end for very long.

You can break up passes and block shots all day long, but if you can't exit the zone, or if you have to settle for just dumping the puck back to the other team in the neutral zone, how much good have you really done your team?

During prospect camp Reinhart's slapper was clocked at 89MPH. He has never had a problem with outlet passes. Is he going to put up 60 points in a season? NO. Who cares? There aren't many defenseman who do.

 

[Darkstone42]

During prospect camp Reinhart's slapper was clocked at 89MPH. He has never had a problem with outlet passes. Is he going to put up 60 points in a season? NO. Who cares? There aren't many defenseman who do.

I was more concerned with curbing the misconception that aggressively offensive-minded defensemen like Subban and Karlsson are not also assets defensively because of their offensive skill sets. I don't know anything about Reinhart.

The numbers bear it out, even a below-average positional/physical defenseman can have an above-average impact in his own end if he's got really good passing and skating abilities.