I can't tell you who'll win the Norris (probably Lidstrom) but I will say that I think Shea Weber is the best in the world at his position.
imo, suter is probably better than weber. better defensively, imo, seems smarter, and a better playmaker.
when suter was injured early this season, nashville's GA increased a lot (more than 1 GA higher than during the rest of the season), GF declined, and weber was not as effective offensively or defensively.
but i do not think BoG is right that consensus among nashville fans is that suter is better. has seemed to me for a long time that there is no consensus.
Maybe so - I just put a lot of stock in fanbase opinions. I feel confident that Enstrom is far superior to Bufyglien, for example, because almost every Atlanta fan swears by it - or that Suter is just as valuable as Weber, based on Nashville fans overwhelming opinions.
I have seen many posters use Lidstrom's +/- as evidence he is having a bad defensive year, which flies flat into the face of the fans who watch him every game. Lidstrom has been great defensively this year, just not an all-time great like he was only a few years ago. +/- easily fluctuates by 20 points for any player from season to season... And Lidstrom is simply having the [bad] luck of a downswing this season.
lidstrom has not been great defensively, and +/- does not randomly fluctuate. he gets pinned in his own end often, is slow to break up attacks, is fairly slow and makes more errors, which create more time in the defensive zone.
lidstrom's +'s are lower b/c his ESTOI is lower (by about 2 minutes per game), and b/c he spends too much time in the defensive zone.
'10: 79 +'s in 82 games (DRW were 22nd in ES goals)
'11: on pace for 70 +'s in 82 games (DRW are 1st in ES goals)
lidstrom's minuses:
'10: 57 in 82 games (25:25)
'09: 52 in 78 games (24:49)
'08: 44 in 76 games (26:43)
'07: 48 in 80 games (27:29)
'06: 59 in 80 games (28:06)
'04: 55 in 81 games (27:39)
'03: 59 in 82 games (29:20)
'11: on pace for 71 in 82 games (23:42)
much higher GA, even though his TOI is much lower.
those numbers are fairly consistent, if adjusted for TOI. better puck possession, especially of datsyuk and zetterberg, are important in '07, '08 and '09. osgood's terrible goaltending increased GA in '09.
imo, main reason lidstrom's GA are higher is that he spends too much time in the defensive zone.
when i 1st posted about lidstrom's higher GA, in december, lidstrom was on pace for 72 ES+SH GA in 82 games. i am surprised it changed so little since then.
shots show the same.
lidstrom's ESSA/60 minutes
'08: 22.2
'09: 25.6
'10: 25.3
'11: 29.6 (worst on team)