sensfan4lifee
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- May 21, 2024
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No and I loved Nieds but noWould Scott Neidermayer belong on this list?
No and I loved Nieds but noWould Scott Neidermayer belong on this list?
And that's what I have trouble reconciling. I watched a lot of 80s and 90s hockey. Bourque was terrific and no doubt one of the best defensemen of all time but I never thought, "Wow, Bourque really shut down that guy!"
I remember a lot of Bourque leading a rush up ice after retrieving the puck on a dump in. Or someone finding him in the slot for a shot, or Bourque ragging the puck in the opposition zone, or when a forechecker was coming after him in his own zone. I remember Sweeney and Wesley as the shutdown guys on those 90s Bruins teams.
It's not easy separating those things though. The point of defending is getting the puck back so you can stop defending. There's plenty of guys who can block a shot or knock the puck off someone's stick, but if you still end up chasing the puck around your own zone what's the point?That was never the arguement. What I am asking is the best defensemen at breaking up attacks, getting puck posession. Not what comes after that (transition/passing etc). Leetch for example was mesmerizing in transition, but certainly not an all time great in breaking up plays/getting posession.
Especially Ekblad.There have been a lot of great defensive minded D. Many mentioned in this thread were fantastic.
What about Robyn Regehr ?Chris Tanev is the best defenseman at defending I’ve seen on the Flames in my lifetime
It's not easy separating those things though. The point of defending is getting the puck back so you can stop defending. There's plenty of guys who can block a shot or knock the puck off someone's stick, but if you still end up chasing the puck around your own zone what's the point?
The best defenders are the guys who can cut off the attack and get the play going the other way, rather than just prolonging the other team's offensive zone time. Regaining possession and then doing something with that possession is the most important part of defending.
It is not easy. I tried to make the "cut-off" at the moment when pure offensive abilities kick in and the puck is moved up the ice (defender breaks up a play or takes posession of the rubber). Not at all saying that moving the puck up ice is unimportant, but I just wanted to exclude guys like Karlsson, Makar or Hughes who excel here, but imo opinion and to varying degrees suck in some key defensive areas. And I would choose a lot of players mentioned in this thread over them.It's not easy separating those things though. The point of defending is getting the puck back so you can stop defending. There's plenty of guys who can block a shot or knock the puck off someone's stick, but if you still end up chasing the puck around your own zone what's the point?
The best defenders are the guys who can cut off the attack and get the play going the other way, rather than just prolonging the other team's offensive zone time. Regaining possession and then doing something with that possession is the most important part of defending.
Must be someone who has a vote for the norris.^^There’s one poster on here that will legit tell you that it was Erik Karlsson in his prime.
It's not easy separating those things though. The point of defending is getting the puck back so you can stop defending. There's plenty of guys who can block a shot or knock the puck off someone's stick, but if you still end up chasing the puck around your own zone what's the point?
The best defenders are the guys who can cut off the attack and get the play going the other way, rather than just prolonging the other team's offensive zone time. Regaining possession and then doing something with that possession is the most important part of defending.
Yes! Love the list! And I met Doug Harvey many times!A quick (and completely subjective) top ten list:
Each of those defensemen was excellent defensively, and also good to great offensively.
- Doug Harvey
- Tim Horton
- Larry Robinson
- Denis Potvin
- Ray Bourque
- Scott Stevens
- Chris Chelios
- Nicklas Lidstrom
- Chris Pronger
- Zdeno Chara
If the question is the best "pure" defensive defensemen (ie their focus was almost entirely on defensive play) - Rod Langway would be a good choice. Other candidates - Valeri Vasiliev, Serge Savard, Rod Langway, Craig Ludwig, Vladimir Konstantinov, Derian Hatcher, Adam Foote.