NHL Network's Top 20 Defensemen

[malkshake]

I did say when healthy

And I think any talk of him "attempting to play the hero", at least to the degree where he becomes a detriment, would be completely overblown.

He could definitely simplify a bit more on occasion (truth be told, same could be said about Karlsson), but this comes somewhat with the territory of highly skilled offensive players, and hasn't really struck me as much of a problem in recent years; certainly not like it used to be.

Kris Letang isn't out there to make simple plays, he's a game breaker and absolutely elite. Injuries are his only enemy.

 

[The Nuge]

here goes


hedman
karlsson
doughty
burns
subban
letang
keith
oel
weber
pietro

josi
suter
vlasic
mcdonagh
jones
slavin
lindholm
gio
hammer
stralman

klefbom
rielly
trouba
Larsson
Hamilton
parayko
fowler
faulk
niskanen
ristolainen

werenski
e. Johnson
spurgeon
klingberg
gardiner
ellis
Brodie
severson
leddy
muzzin

there's 40 already but i'lll keep going

Carlson
krug
Schultz
dumoulin
maatta
provorov
ekholm
pesce
shattenkirk
tanev

harmonic
manson
brodin

ok, that's only 53.here's a bunch of maybes (at least 7 of them possibly above buff)

so maybe there aren't 60 but close IMO

orlov
ekblad
savard
murray
zadorov
chara
vatanen

zaitsev
Martinez
skjei
de haan
braun

I'd remove a few, and add a couple of your maybes (Ekblad and Chara), but it goes to show just how far down Buff actually belongs. He's big and he scores a lot, but that doesn't automatically make him a top pairing dman. Was Cody Franson a top 15 dman in 14/15 when he was scoring at the same rate as Buff? Heck no.

It's like the list was made in 2 parts. One guy picked 1-11 (not necessarily the order I'd pick, but justifiable), and then for 12-20, they just started drawing names out of a hat

 

[Bye Felicia]

The list is basically the NHL's top 20 offensive defensemen. Reading the article, it looks like the discussion is almost all about points.

 

[The Macho King]

When healthy, there are very few defensemen in the NHL I'd definitively take over Letang.

Karlsson, Hedman and Doughty are the obvious top 3 guys. But, I gotta say I think Letang is right close to the latter two.

Letang's biggest knocks are his health and his IQ. I think those alone knock him out of the T-5 range and into that muddle of players from say 6-13.

 

[CCM19]

The list is basically the NHL's top 20 offensive defensemen. Reading the article, it looks like the discussion is almost all about points.

New NHL. Those players at the top actually make a difference game in and game out both offensively and defensively. It's not all about laying down on the ice and blocking shots and big slow dmen making big hits.

It's a fluid and quick game now, and NHL teams are starting to realize that fluid and quick defensemen make a bigger impact.

 

[MardyBum]

I'd probably take Buff over Rielly and Risto.

And way ahead of Murray and Maatta.

And ahead of Schultz, Dumo, Shattenkirk, and maybe a few others.

But yeah, he's about 30-40th taken all together. At his best Buff is top 10 but we don't see that often enough. Maybe under better coaching he would do better.

This^^ .

But lol @ not top 60.

 

[major major]

I'd remove a few, and add a couple of your maybes (Ekblad and Chara), but it goes to show just how far down Buff actually belongs. He's big and he scores a lot, but that doesn't automatically make him a top pairing dman. Was Cody Franson a top 15 dman in 14/15 when he was scoring at the same rate as Buff? Heck no.

A good number of those D you placed above him are closer to Franson level defence than Buff is. I think he's getting more scrutiny than they are.

 

[major major]

It's a fluid and quick game now, and NHL teams are starting to realize that fluid and quick defensemen make a bigger impact.

That makes sense as a justification for Werenski.

But is Shattenkirk fluid and quick? It really does look like points is what made the list.

 

[KingBran]

HOLY COW! All they talk about are these guys' offensive numbers.

When on earth did being a good defenseman become all about how many points you score? Millenials? Can I blame you?

 

[scrubadam]

HOLY COW! All they talk about are these guys' offensive numbers.

When on earth did being a good defenseman become all about how many points you score? Millenials? Can I blame you?

Pretty much. Why not just put a D in front of McDavid's name on the line up card so he can win a Norris along with his Hart and Art Ross.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

HOLY COW! All they talk about are these guys' offensive numbers.

When on earth did being a good defenseman become all about how many points you score? Millenials? Can I blame you?

Yeah it makes no sense.

Is 2002 milennial? If so don't blame me

 

[Kcoyote3]

Not having Vlasic ranked is pretty awful.

 

[aufheben]

Eh, I'll give it a thumbs up just for giving Letang credit. And Toews isn't on it.

 

[Barrie22]

Not having Vlasic ranked is pretty awful.

After last season it makes sense. Vlasic was barely a top 50 defensemen last year.

 

[Sensinitis]

1- Karlsson
2- Hedman
3- Doughty
4- Burns
5- Keith
6- Subban
7- OEL
8- Letang
9- Josi
10- Pietrangelo
11- Weber
12- Suter
13- McDonagh
14- Giordano
15- Lindholm
16- Hamilton
17- Fowler (what do Ducks fans think about Lindholm vs Fowler?)
18- Jones
19- Carlson
20- Slavin/Werenski (haven't seen enough of both to decide who's better)
HM: Vlasic, Ristolainen, Klefbom, Ellis (not in order)

 

[pigpen65]

I'm sure Tanev was 21