Rick Lanz... wow, that's a name I wasn't expecting to see today.
For a team that is 55 years old soon, is there a worse list of defenseman?
- Thread starter benfranklin
- Start date
Nobody on this list is flashy, but thats a solid list of D.
Not really sure what the point of this thread is that isn't already been covered in the Hughes thread? Anyone who knows the NHL and not just their team would be able to tell you that canucks have lacked top end d talent.
But to answer OPs question with zero research, I'm going to say No (although outside of Phil Housley I would bet its awfully similar to Buffalos).
But to answer OPs question with zero research, I'm going to say No (although outside of Phil Housley I would bet its awfully similar to Buffalos).
WTFMAN99
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- Jun 17, 2009
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Beyond points, Hamhuis was pretty special there.
As a Leaf fan that is 36....I have had McCabe, Kaberle, 1 brief stint with Leetch and I guess Morgan Rielly now.
Good to very good defenseman but not great.
SirKillalot
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Defense isn't about just scoring points.
The Devilish Buffoon
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- Dec 24, 2018
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I get where OP is coming from. Not a shot against Hughes, not a critique of the many very good DMen to play in Vancouver, but when you compare to some younger teams, it is pretty jarring.
Nashville has had Suter, Weber, Josi, Subban as legit Norris heavy-hitters.. and then a second tier of guys like Timonen, Hamhuis, Ellis, Ekholm, Jones, and a handful more
Ottawa has had Karlsson and Chara as HOF types, post-prime Gonchar, plus Redden who was a Norris contender for half a decade.
Sharks had Burns, Boyle, Karlsson...
Hughes is the first truly elite #1D Vancouver has ever had. And what a one he is.
Nashville has had Suter, Weber, Josi, Subban as legit Norris heavy-hitters.. and then a second tier of guys like Timonen, Hamhuis, Ellis, Ekholm, Jones, and a handful more
Ottawa has had Karlsson and Chara as HOF types, post-prime Gonchar, plus Redden who was a Norris contender for half a decade.
Sharks had Burns, Boyle, Karlsson...
Hughes is the first truly elite #1D Vancouver has ever had. And what a one he is.
JianYang
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Nashville was literally the defensive factory of the nhl. I mean, timonen and hamhuis were legit top pair guys, and they are so deep that these guys would be considered "2nd tier"
JianYang
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Yeah, ekholm is certainly quality as well, and I guess he would be right next in line with the guys I mentioned. I thought Jones was high quality as well but shorter lived.
JianYang
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He had some offensive tools but he would also sometimes make plays that wanted canucks fans to pull their hair out.
Overall, it was a good job by Pat Quinn of identifying a team that was carrying an excess amount of nhl level dmen. He got lumme for peanuts.
The Canucks have had very few elite 1D for them. Hughes is the longest serving of them. If you're looking at points only, then Paul Reinhart played two seasons with the Canucks, Ehrhoff too. They've just never been able to keep their point-producing defensemen for their careers. Also, the Canucks also had McCabe on their team before trading him away in the effort to get the Sedins so he only played 85 games for them.
The Canucks have usually had to go for depth over quality. In 2010-11, the Canucks had no #1 defensemen but lined up with Ballard, Bieksa, Edler, Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, Salo and Tanev. At the time, I would think 3-4 of them were solid #2 and the rest were #3-4.
Leetch was an all time great....just not by the point you got him.
PavelBure10
The Russian Rocket
The second coming of Christ is Makar. Hughes wasn't even recognized until last year. Learn to recognize franchise skillset when you see it, whether the teams history lacks skilled defensemen or not. Makar and Hughes are legendary. Don't discredit a player by merit on a teams shitty past.
Hughes is phenomenal.
MadLuke
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One way to say it, I do not think the Canucks ever had a Top 5 Norris finish in their history before Hugues won it last year.
But they had a lot of very solid #6-15 Norris type of guy during their Canucks day (Jovanosky, edler, Hamhuis, Ohlund, Bieska type), just never that last top elite tier.
But they had a lot of very solid #6-15 Norris type of guy during their Canucks day (Jovanosky, edler, Hamhuis, Ohlund, Bieska type), just never that last top elite tier.
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Canucks haven't had a superstar defenseman til Hughes (though OP seems to think Hughes isn't "really good" either...which is absurd). They've had deep and effective D cores though. Edler would be top 5 in Detroit history by points as others have mentioned. He wasn't an all timer but he was solid and good at everything. Hughes is by far the best they've had but it doesn't mean everyone else is trash.
Buffalo joined the league the same year and Edler would be 2nd on their list. Hughes is on track to have better numbers than Housley too. Looking at the Buffalo list it's Housley and Dahlin at 3 and... not a whole lot of impressive players. Not sure why you posted asking if the Nucks have the worst d among 55 year old franchises but then didn't even post or mention any other franchises list to compare em.
Buffalo joined the league the same year and Edler would be 2nd on their list. Hughes is on track to have better numbers than Housley too. Looking at the Buffalo list it's Housley and Dahlin at 3 and... not a whole lot of impressive players. Not sure why you posted asking if the Nucks have the worst d among 55 year old franchises but then didn't even post or mention any other franchises list to compare em.
Mase
Busy being Cupped, thank you very much.
vadim sharifijanov
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Bender Duster
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Yep now you get it. Hughes, and anyone in the same stratosphere as an elite #1, really, is a huge novelty to this franchise and the fans. We don't have a great history with defensemen at all.
Let us rejoice in him lol!
