Players Who Are "Boring" But Very Good/Effective?

[DitchMarner]

You have your superstars who are flashy and can take over games and then there are players who flash a high skill level on occasion but are frustrating because they seem like they should be more productive/better. But who are some players that consistently make smart, effective plays and have a strong positive impact on games despite not being particularly entertaining or possibly even that highly skilled?

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[Pierce Hawthorne]

This thread was made for Artturi Lehkonen

 

[HockeyVirus]

Tavares

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

It’s definitely not the spirit of the thread, but I’d say Zdeno Chara fit the bill.

He stood out for his size but his game was basically just 30 minutes/night of high percentage simple plays in both the defensive and offensive zone. Aside from the occasional ~110 mph slap shot.

 

[Peltz]

Ryan McDonagh is this for me. In his prime, he was a fantastic 1D with almost zero flash. Just great defensive plays all over the ice.

 

[pi314]

Nik Lidstrom was the Tim Duncan of NHL superstars.

Rock solid fundamentals.

Perfect positioning.

Clean on and off the ice

Interviews full of all the cliches.

“Boring”.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Hjalmarsson

 

[Just Linda]

This thread was made for Artturi Lehkonen

Lehkonen is too clutch to be boring.

 

[SEALBound]

Bryan Rust and Marcus Pettersson.

 

[Chris5225]

Chris Tanev

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Some Carolina fans have clamored for Jordan Staal to be demoted to the 4th line because of point production. Yet, he goes head to head with the best players in the world and usually wins his matchup despite it. This past postseason, 2 points in 11 games, but +4 overall.

It’s not the flashy defense of a Bergeron or Datsyuk either. His game is about positioning and board dominance in all zones.

 

[HockeyScotty]

Joel Eriksson-Ek
Brock Nelson
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nazem Kadri
Ryan O'Reilly
Alex Tuch

Jaccob Slavin
Jonas Brodin
Mikey Anderson
Brandon Carlo
Seth Jones
Jake Sanderson (but I think he is about to breakout)

 

[McDrailers]

Sasha Barkov

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Kopitar, Couturier, Eric Staal

 

[Eegs]

This thread was made for Artturi Lehkonen

Oddly, he doesn't fit the bill for me as I was always entertained by his relentless forcheck/back check. In the offensive zone....that was a different story

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Horvat and Monahan come to mind

 

[Albatros]

David Kämpf.

 

[Bank Shot]

Horvat and Monahan come to mind

Boring Sean Monahan

@boringmonahan

When I woke up this morning I noticed my phone was only at 12%. I thought I had charged it overnight but I guess I didn’t.

 

[Boud]

Mark Stone
Connor Brown used to be one of these guys
Nick Paul
Artem Zub

 

[McGarnagle]

Danton Heinen for sure. Eye test shows a boring player who doesn't stand out in any particular way, then you go and check the advanced metrics and he's absolutely off the charts.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Mikael Backlund would fit if he wasn't such an off the charts sex magnet

 

[Ciao]

Bob Gainey.

 

[Felidae]

Sasha Barkov

Barkov has some of the best hands in the league and an entertaining highlight reel. Even though on a game to game basis he's not the most exciting, I think he flashes that skill a bit too much to be a candidate here.

Even his defense revolves around skill.

 

[BlueDream]

Brandon Saad.

Won’t notice him a lot of games but he’ll consistently finish the season with 25 goals and play sound defensively.

He always goes on one super hot streak per season too where everything he touches goes into the net. Then other times he will be a ghost, which is frustrating because with his combo of size and speed I feel like he could dominate a lot more than he does. But overall he is still a solid player that will help the team rather than hurt it.

And for that matter, you can throw in the other current Blue that is an ex-Blackhawk too: Nick Leddy. He’s a flawless skater and it’s fun to watch him turn on the jets. That’s really the only part of his game that stands out though. The rest of it isn’t flashy, but it’s still very solid. He can move the puck, bring solid defensive ability, and the guy can log a lot of minutes and play a ton of games without looking tired. If you have him on your 2nd pair, you won’t have many complaints with him at all because he brings the exact same consistent game every night.

 

[biturbo19]

This thread is made for Chanandler Stephenson.

He's like...the epitome of a "never drives plays" but also a "guy is just always exactly where he needs to be".