In terms of shutting down offensive players I know a lot of the new-school thinking is that the best way to defend a team is to outchance and outscore them, rather than play conservatively with the lead and try to limit opposition chances to the outside. In the day and age where goals so often come from deflections anyways, there certainly is an argument to be made that 'good defense' in your own zone should only be a secondary consideration for defensemen, someting they have to rely on only when plan A, holding the puck and attacking, has already failed.
But it really depends on the stats and predicted probabilities with where the score and game clock are at. A lot like pulling the goalie- which should happen a lot later in games. At a certain point in the 3rd period with a lead, even if it means lowering your own chance to score, reducing the chances of odd man rushes againt should become a top priority. Teams should stop overclocking their first PP shift and stop playing 4 forwards on the PP, past the 10 minute mark of the 3rd in a one goal game.
That's really where guys like Mikkola, Staal, Slaven thrive. There's a point that this is only a smaller part of the game compared to how a defenseman moves the puck, skates, and covers the transition game, but there's still a place for 'blanket' players. EJ Emery is supposed to be one.
But it does get overrated and overpaid, although perhaps less now than before.
