You still miss the point do you? Maybe you didn't read the earlier parts of the discussion. The job of a 5/6 defenseman is to keep the puck out of the net. Period. Any offense that the defenseman might generate, just a bonus. The rubric for a 5/6 isn't how well they transition the puck, it's not zone entries, it's not offensive skills, or shooting abilities. It's not bad to have those things. But the entire rubric of a 5/6 defenseman is how they keep the puck out of the net.
I found it hilarious because I saw a Leafs fan had posted a comment in another thread that was discussing Tampa's success and it said something to the effect of "well we should easily be able to sign guys like Schenn, Rutta, and Bogosian, because they're super cheap." Reminds me of the old parable. The mechanic comes to your house to fix the machine, pressed one button and the machine was fixed. He charged you 100 dollars (different versions have different amounts, the number is not relevant). You ask the mechanic "how can you charge $100 dollars for pressing one button?" He says "1 dollar for pressing the button, 99 for know which button to press."
Guys like Schenn, Rutta, Bogosian, they are legitimately very cheap. Very easy to sign. The difficulty is never having the money to sign one of these guys. The difficulty is know which guys to sign. Schenn was "almost out of the league." Bogosian was claimed off of waivers. Jan Rutta bounced back and forth between the AHL and the NHL. None of these guys are expensive. The trick is knowing who sign.
The guy above was arguing that Travis Dermott is better than these defensemen. To be fair to him, Kyle Dubas thought so too. And maybe at some point in time, before learning through experience, learning through trial and error, Julien Brisebois thought so as well . But this time, Brisebois knew what he needed. He didn't get a player like Travis Dermott. He stockpiled 8 defensemen. Defensemen like Schenn and Rutta and Bogosian. And when it came time, they stood their ground. They did not let goals in the back of the net. And that won games for Tampa. And games turned into series. And series turned into a cup. Brisebois just resigned Luke Schenn again. He knows his value, even though Schenn only played 11 minutes a game, for 11 games. Cooper played 7D 11F, hoping to rest his top forwards. And he could do that because he had a strong contingent of defensively reliable defensemen. Even when Rutta got injured. Schenn provided some unexpected timely offense, and more importantly, when he was on the ice, the defense did not break. That was his job. He did his job. Dermott failed to do his job. Doesn't matter what Schenn or Dermott is paid. Neither will get paid much. But one does the job, the other doesn't do the job. Which do you take?
Yeah, that was too optimistic. But he has definitely found his niche as a 6th defenseman.
