Who was the better player overall and at their peak? Pietrangelo or Shea Weber?
- Thread starter Bjornar Moxnes
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I think you're gonna see Weber win this one handily for peak and career but he really shouldn't. I'm not saying AP should win this poll either but it's actually very very close. Different types of players and if you take team accomplishments out of the mix (AP winning 2 cups and Weber losing 1) neither have a hardware advantage over the other.
I'll vote Weber peak and AP career but I expect a Weber for both landslide.
I'll vote Weber peak and AP career but I expect a Weber for both landslide.
Petro is a very good, solid 1d on most teams but Weber was a very dynamic, elite Norris calibre 1d for most of his career. Shea Weber was a franchise player, Petro has never been and will never be that even though he is proven to be a top tier defenseman but he's just not the same level of player that Webs was.
During his career Shea was consistently in the upper echelon of defensemen both offensively and defensively but in a particular way his offensive impact puts him ahead of most of his contemporaries. In his prime he was competing with Lidstrom, Chara, Erik Karlsson, Duncan Keith, and other first ballot Hall of famers for the Norris and I think he should have taken one off of Lidstrom.
During his career Shea was consistently in the upper echelon of defensemen both offensively and defensively but in a particular way his offensive impact puts him ahead of most of his contemporaries. In his prime he was competing with Lidstrom, Chara, Erik Karlsson, Duncan Keith, and other first ballot Hall of famers for the Norris and I think he should have taken one off of Lidstrom.
Bjornar Moxnes
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Bjornar Moxnes
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Players, but imho the Blues weren't particularly better on paper than the Preds. Preds had better depth and goaltending than the Blues, yet the Blues were more successful.
I don't even know what specific teams/years you're talking about and AGAIN it's not what we're talking about and even if it was why not bring up Vegas?
Petro wasn't in the Top 4 D for Canada in the 2014 or 2010 Olympics, Weber was for both teams and was arguably their best defenseman both Olympics when they won Gold.
BlueMed
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I don't know where you have been, but Alex Pietrangelo WAS the Blues' franchise player from 2010 to 2020. He was an elite, top 5 defensemen in the league. For him to lead two franchises to their first stanley cups as the 1D speaks for itself and putting Weber in another category above him is absurd.
I think Weber was better at his best, but it’s not a huge difference. I think Pie was solidly a top 10 defenseman for a long time, but maybe not quite top 5 regularly. Pie’s prime is looking a little longer at this point but not by enough to put him ahead.
hamzarocks
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Well he was drafted in 2008 so 6 years later would been tough to make olympic team. Impossible really to make in 2010 (only 2 years post draft) and 2014 he could have made but team Canada was very deep and he just missed the cut
Weber drafted in 2003 made 2010 and 2014 olympics 7 and 11 years post draft so he had longer time to develop and was able to fit into the team.
If there was 2018 and 2022 olympics with NHL players Pietrangelo would be there and he will likely be there in 2026
Tarasenko was their franchise player during that time frame, at best if you want to define things that way it's a wash. Seriously I have lived in the St. Louis area for most of my life and I would agree that Petro was their number 1D but even the local media was never that high on him in terms of him being some elite, generational talent. He has never been nominated for the Norris trophy, perhaps close at times but there are probably a dozen other defensemen that could have just as easily have been nominated when he may have been able to be nominated.
Again, allow me to reiterate, Weber competed against and was nominated for the Norris alongside several first ballot Hall of famers and there is a case that could easily be made that he should at least won the Norris once. He was also selected, twice, to play in the top four on Canada's two gold medal winning Olympic teams both times being arguably the best defenseman on the team.
If you want to make a team argument for Petro I would agree that he has been on better teams and has benefited perhaps more from that but that doesn't make him a better player.
norrisnick
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Weber wasn't even the definitive #1 D in Nashville. All but one season together, Suter had more icetime than Weber, then by Josi's 3rd season he was playing more than Weber as well. Only 3 of Weber's 10 and a partial seasons in Nashville he carried the biggest load with regards to icetime. Weber got a lot of "big shot and big hits" voter juice a la Rob Blake back in the day, but he desperately needed that stabilizing presence of Suter who was the guy that was really leaned on by Trotz.
Pietrangelo has led either St. Louis or Vegas in icetime every year from '11-'12 through '23-'24. Less fanfare, but IMO the better player.
As a Wing fan I have no love of either player or team.
Pietrangelo has led either St. Louis or Vegas in icetime every year from '11-'12 through '23-'24. Less fanfare, but IMO the better player.
As a Wing fan I have no love of either player or team.
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This!
Weber gets overrated due to having a big shot and mean scowl, which a lot of fans love. When it comes to actually playing hockey, Pietrangelo is definitely the better player.
dirtydanglez
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biturbo19
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I'd lean Pietrangelo for the overall career, and Weber for the "peak". But a lot of the heavy lifting on that is still ongoing. Comes down to how long Petro can sustain his high level play, compared to Weber obviously burning out and functionally ceasing to be an NHL player relatively early. Petro took a while to get up to speed as a top defenceman though as a well, which also acts as a counterpoint.
I really wouldn't argue too hard against Weber for both career and peak. The peak though, is clearly Weber.
I really wouldn't argue too hard against Weber for both career and peak. The peak though, is clearly Weber.
They were both 21 when they played their first full season and Petro had a better season than Weber. Petro also had his first top 5 Norris finish at a younger age than Weber.
It's that $1 vs 99 cents
Everyone will vote for the $1, but it's not like there is a massive gap. Weber was just a physical force and his shot was insane.
ClydeLee
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Based on what was he not great at actual hockey? He's actually way underrated now because you have people thinking like this, and because of what? The amount of complainers in the HOF induction were baffling as a Hawks seeing him for years.
His metrics defensively were amazing too. He was in debate of top Dman for years vs Keith or Chara.
These aren't the best or only metrics, but if Weber passed the eyeball test, the traditional test, and advanced stats tests, on what grounds was he not actually great at hockey.
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Raccoon Jesus
We were right there
I would say the opposite, frankly
I think he gets underrated because some people suggest this is all he was.
I think Pietro is a bit more dynamic maybe but I find Weber gets heavily undersold in a way that a guy with a comparable skillset (but better abilities, imo, but not trying to digress) in Chara doesn't.
Yeah I was about to say Weber at his best has become a seriously underrated player. Even when Montreal had their downfall after going to the finals everyone chalked it up to Price being gone but they don’t get there without Weber either.
biturbo19
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Maybe describing Petros career as a lot more "stop and start" is better? He was a top pick who took...an unusually long amount of time to get to the NHL, for a top pick. When he got there, he was good...but still had plenty of holes in his game and took a moment to develop into the stud he became.
Weber...was a later pick guy who beat the odds.
Doesn't really matter to "who was better"...but i do think it matters in the end. If we're comparing them head to head like this.
Reverend Mayhem
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Hey, so I'm a big Petro guy. So I could be biased, but I really like(d) Weber as well. Good poll OP. Personally, I do recall Petro got mono and various injury luck in the early stages which didn't get him NHL exposure as early as Doughty or Bogosian did, but Doughty is kind of a freaky player...and Bogosian could have benefitted from not being pushed so early by an abysmal franchise trying to sell tickets. Really murky, at this time I was huge into baseball as well so my attention was divided but just the way he has always looked on the ice he strikes me as a guy that grew 6-7 inches out of nowhere.
That said, the moment Petro came in...at least in the 2010-11 season which I can say I watched 81 games that season which is as much a brag as it is an indictment on my social habits or lack thereof, Piet was consistently the best Blue in every game. He was incredibly skilled, but kept his game simple when it was required. His rookie season and he was already a "veteran" type player.
Who wins this poll comes down I think to what style you prefer. Cerebral vs brute force. It's a shame Shea Weber had to exist alongside guys like Byfuglien and Chara otherwise he might be more appreciated. I thought he had a bit of a McCabe-quality where at the worst time, he could make a far too aggressive read for the situation and get burned bad.
It's funny, I think how they kind of made for good foils...both are very unlucky to never win the Norris. Both could've have easily snagged 1. To think of two game 7s from both in 2016, one was Pietrangelo's vs Chicago which was one of the most impressive defensive performances I've seen in the NHL playoffs. The other is Weber's vs San Jose which was...ooof. Not really fair to pick one game for each like that, but speaks to their contrast.
