Anton Volchenkov vs Marc Methot

[Pierre from Orleans]

How on earth did Volchenkov skate at all given the size of his balls?

The same way Nick Paul skated with the size of his dong.

 

[Cosmix]

I like and would want both of them for different reasons.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

his slap pass off the boards

This drove me nuts as well. It was his go to move from the point 95 percent of the time

 

[Tuna99]

Volchenkov also the best open ice hitter in Sens history

As Bob Cole called him “BIG Anton Volchenkov”

I don’t think I ever remember Volchenkov giving an interview and he’s still one of the most popular Sens ever

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

Volchenkov from a completely biased perspective. Absolute machine.

 

[Tundraman]

Tough choice. A bit of a cop-out but it would have to depend on need. Methot to play with a 1st pair D like Chabot and Volchenkov to shut a game down for the win. The Sens need both but if I was cornered and had to choose it would be Volchenkov for all the previously stated reasons. They really need to cut the goals against.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Methot almost singlehandedly carried the Sens' D to the playoffs when Cooke sliced Karlsson's achilles. Volchenkov, while good, was never a #1 here.

He really won me over that year. Hands down our best D man that year. HM to Gryba.

 

[frontsfan2005]

Volchenkov

 

[h2]

Volchenkov was an absolute tank. I miss having that on defense.

 

[Bileur]

Volchenkov.

Close. Anton gets bonus points for actually being effective on the right side.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Despite my fond memories of A-Train - Methot would be the better player in today's NHL.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Methot played a much bigger role and was much more important to the Senators than Volchenkov was. You could argue that Methot had the most important job on the team after Karlsson and Anderson. Being the perfect d partner for Karlsson was not an easy job, but he allowed Karlsson to be the game breaker we needed him to be.

Volchenkov brings a huge gritty physical presence with his hitting and shot blocking, he has a spot in every contending team's top 4, but I chose Methot because he simply had a way more important role for the Sens

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Volchenkov if the league relaxes the suspensions regarding head contact and big hits causing injury that we have now.

Methot for the modern game. He has the ability to complement his partner well and play a steady, predictable game. Something we could use right now.

 

[Tuna99]

Methot played a much bigger role and was much more important to the Senators than Volchenkov was. You could argue that Methot had the most important job on the team after Karlsson and Anderson. Being the perfect d partner for Karlsson was not an easy job, but he allowed Karlsson to be the game breaker we needed him to be.

Volchenkov brings a huge gritty physical presence with his hitting and shot blocking, he has a spot in every contending team's top 4, but I chose Methot because he simply had a way more important role for the Sens

I think of Merhot faught it would be no contest but the entities of Bolchenkovs toughness are what make legacies. By the end of his time on Ottawa Methots skating and fire extinguisher abilities were tops in the league but Volchenkov is Volchenkov and he caught our imaginations from the first pre season game he ever played where he laid a dude with his massive open ice hits out and it was love ever since

 

[Boud]

For today's NHL I'd pick Methot.

 

[SenatorsLegionary]

I loved both players during their time here, but my vote goes to Volchenkov.

A lot of you already mentioned the strengths of both players so no need for me to repeat all of that, but I will add that the thing that sets Volchenkov apart for me is that at his peak, he was used in a match up pairing against top lines and was effectively shutting them down (along with Phillips of course).

While Methot was a great fit for our team and the perfect stabilizing presence on a pairing with EK, he didn't have that same overall impact on the game, and I'm not sure he would have been as effective with a different D partner.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

I loved both players during their time here, but my vote goes to Volchenkov.

A lot of you already mentioned the strengths of both players so no need for me to repeat all of that, but I will add that the thing that sets Volchenkov apart for me is that at his peak, he was used in a match up pairing against top lines and was effectively shutting them down (along with Phillips of course).

While Methot was a great fit for our team and the perfect stabilizing presence on a pairing with EK, he didn't have that same overall impact on the game, and I'm not sure he would have been as effective with a different D partner.

I disagree with this idea that Methot benefitted from Karlsson. Karlsson isn't the type of player than will make any dman look good next to him. He's a very difficult player to partner with, and it requires a very good dman in his own right to allow Karlsson to do the things he's capable of.

The only way he benefitted from playing with Karlsson is because Methot did his job so effectively that it allowed Karlsson to play to his full potential and made them arguably the best d pairing in the league during Karlsson's prime.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

Marton Volchenthot

 

[lancepitlick]

I liked volchenchov more, but I think Methot was the better player in any era. He was pretty much better at everything other than massive hits and blocking shots.

 

[PoutineSp00nZ]

Hard to argue with a top tier pure shutdown defenseman.

Loved Methot, but prime Volchenkov is much more rare.

 

[SenatorsLegionary]

I disagree with this idea that Methot benefitted from Karlsson. Karlsson isn't the type of player than will make any dman look good next to him. He's a very difficult player to partner with, and it requires a very good dman in his own right to allow Karlsson to do the things he's capable of.

The only way he benefitted from playing with Karlsson is because Methot did his job so effectively that it allowed Karlsson to play to his full potential and made them arguably the best d pairing in the league during Karlsson's prime.

I wasn't exactly trying to say that Karlsson elevated Methot. Maybe I worded it poorly in my post, but I think we view it rather similarly. I would say that we both agree that Methot's and Karlsson's strengths, skillsets and play styles complimented each other as perfectly as you could hope for in a d pairing, which was a driving force in them performing at the level of a top-tier pairing in the league.

Similar to how not every defenseman looks good playing next to Karlsson, the point I was trying to make was that I don't think you can pair Methot with just any other good dman and expect him to be a top pairing calibre player. On his own, I certainly did not think of him as a team's #1 or #2 dman when we acquired him from Columbus. I considered him more as a top 4 defenseman who had the ability to play a top pairing role if he had chemistry and a complementary skillset with his partner. For example, I don't think you can pair him with a guy like Chris Phillips (ignoring handedness for the sake of argument) and have him be as effective in a top pairing deployment as he was with Karlsson. For what it's worth, I view Zub similarly now on the current roster.

The fit between the two players was so good that it was one of those situations where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. Karlsson and Methot both flourished playing with each other since they complimented each other so well.

 

[Agent Zub]

I mean Kuba looked great, Dillion looked great, that AHL D Megna looked great, Karlssons pair in the Olympics was great.

If you are a defenceman and playing with prime Karlsson all you had to do was keep it simple and let him dominate and make all the hard decisions while you stick to your fundamentals.

Don't think that is too much to ask for from a top 4 NHL D.

Like it's easier to play with prime Karlsson than Chabot, or even Sanderson or Zub. Because with Karlsson your team will dominate and be running possession.

 

[bert]

Great poll! I had a hard time picking but ultimately Methots mobility won me over.

 

[bicboi64]

If you are a defenceman and playing with prime Karlsson all you had to do was keep it simple and let him dominate and make all the hard decisions while you stick to your fundamentals.

Agreed, Methot knew how to keep it simple and he did all the little things right.

I think the type of defenders we've had in the organization that would excel next to EK are guys like Phillips, Redden, Schubert (assuming he's playing D lol), or prime Meszaros.

 

[PierresGabriels]

No one responded to #4's finger pointing better.
Shut down Ovie (with #4) better than anyone in the league for a while.
Laid down the boom.
Champion of the Pain Index
A hero to all

#24 forever