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- Oct 18, 2017
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So who of these defenceman do you think is playing the best hockey right now. And perhaps when you make your choice you could elaborate why so we can understand your decision.
Dahlin vs heiskanen vs fox and malar right now.
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Fox is the best all around defenseman of the group.
Buck Naked
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It's funny that people just default to picking Makar, even though he's arguably been the worst of the four this season and OPs question is who you think plays better hockey right now.
Fox has been the best in 2 of the last 3 seasons. Fox in 2021, Makar last year, Fox again this year
Taak19
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The only reason Fox finished ahead of Makar in 2021 was due to Makar missing games. He was still better when he was on the ice.
Dubi Doo
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Buck Naked
Can't-Stand-Ya
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Fox is pretty much crushing him in all xG stats. 16 5v5 points for Fox, 11 for Dahlin. Dahlin leads by one point all situations. They're both awesome this year, but I too think Fox got a small step on Dahlin.
MOGlLNY
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- Jan 5, 2008
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Just happy Dahlin is in this convo, he's really finally made the leap. Can only imagine he keeps getting better while the team around him grows too.
When i look at Dahlin . I see a typical swedish late bloomer(regardless of hight) . I believe he will have a long career given that he is staying healthy. He may not be the best of the bunch right now but i think that he definitely is in the conversation but i foresee that he will be the best in not so long. He has a lot of talent that young man.
Other than that i am and have been very impressed by Adam fox. Cale Makar is awesome and yeah he has amazing stats since he started his career in the NHL. However even tho he looks good on the eye i still feel like he joined in a perfect storm kind of situation. He was not 18 but 20 or 21 when he entered the league if i am not mistaken and was put in a team that was about to explode into a powerhouse and i feel that maybe people think he is better than he is. The makar >>>>>> Adam fox for example is just nonsense.
For me Adam fox is probably the best of the bunch right now and has the best track record and performs. Even tho his team is good its not colorado avalance good so that give me less doubt that he may be a product of his enviroment to some extent that Makar may be. And i know he did well during some time last year when his teammates were injured but its not enough sample size for me to be absolutely convinced that he is the second comming of orr and a Generational player that some seem to label him as.
I feel karlsson has put things to perspective a little bit this season. He has body parts that doesnt belong to him , he is at the very end of his prime and still is crushing it. The past couple of years when he has been injured there has been talk that Cale is a better offensive Dman than Karlsson but people seem to forget alot of things. Low scoring era, Goalies pads has gotten smaller , the teams they are in etc.
Other than that i am and have been very impressed by Adam fox. Cale Makar is awesome and yeah he has amazing stats since he started his career in the NHL. However even tho he looks good on the eye i still feel like he joined in a perfect storm kind of situation. He was not 18 but 20 or 21 when he entered the league if i am not mistaken and was put in a team that was about to explode into a powerhouse and i feel that maybe people think he is better than he is. The makar >>>>>> Adam fox for example is just nonsense.
For me Adam fox is probably the best of the bunch right now and has the best track record and performs. Even tho his team is good its not colorado avalance good so that give me less doubt that he may be a product of his enviroment to some extent that Makar may be. And i know he did well during some time last year when his teammates were injured but its not enough sample size for me to be absolutely convinced that he is the second comming of orr and a Generational player that some seem to label him as.
I feel karlsson has put things to perspective a little bit this season. He has body parts that doesnt belong to him , he is at the very end of his prime and still is crushing it. The past couple of years when he has been injured there has been talk that Cale is a better offensive Dman than Karlsson but people seem to forget alot of things. Low scoring era, Goalies pads has gotten smaller , the teams they are in etc.
TheDawnOfANewTage
Dahlin, it’ll all be fine
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Sabres fan. Dahlin is amazing, but I went with Makar- better situation, but he’s a huge part of why it’s a better situation. Fox is great, but I don’t think he has quite the skill level of the others, very intelligent player though. Don’t watch Heiskanen enough for an informed opinion, but from what I’ve seen he falls short of Makar at least.
avsfan9
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How do people “ default” to picking Makar? He’s the best d man of the group. They are all great players have great seasons. By your logic Shesterkin is an average goalie in the nhl. See how dumb that sounds when you read it out loud. When you say right now does it mean today, last game….?
Buck Naked
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I would think this season is a fair estimate of "right now" since it's been the same for about 20 games. And just like Shesterkin is playing no where close to the best goalie in the league right now, Makar is playing no where close to the best D in the league right now. Makar might be the best, but he's sure as hell not playing as the best. Simple as that.
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I went Fox because the OPs post seemed to suggest we base it on how they’ve played so far this year. I would take Makar in a more general “right now” sense, in terms of me considering him the best defenseman in the league
Hockeyholic
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Right now, Shesterkin is an average NHL goalie. And Fox likely leads the Norris race.
In a general sense, I wouldn't take a guy like Vanecek over Shesterkin. Nor would I take Dahlin over Makar.
In a general sense, I wouldn't take a guy like Vanecek over Shesterkin. Nor would I take Dahlin over Makar.
Makar is the generational talent. A slightly slow start, but he has been picking up the pace. His > ppg in the playoffs is absolutely incredible
Dahlin is performing MUCH better than I expected. I was expecting 55-65 points this year. Now, I'm thinking 70-80. Dahlin has been slightly better than Makar this season to date. But not enough to cause me to take him overall.
Dahlin will be a perennial Norris finalist, occasional winner and Hart finalist. I expect Makar to win multiple Hart trophies
Dahlin is performing MUCH better than I expected. I was expecting 55-65 points this year. Now, I'm thinking 70-80. Dahlin has been slightly better than Makar this season to date. But not enough to cause me to take him overall.
Dahlin will be a perennial Norris finalist, occasional winner and Hart finalist. I expect Makar to win multiple Hart trophies
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
This is revisionist history. Fox was just better in 2021.
He has a clear edge defensively and altogether plays a defensive role that Makar doesn't. Makar has to outscore Fox like he outscored him last year.
I wouldn’t say that. Fox had an argument for being better, but the voting was close enough (40-34-17-6-2 for Fox vs 31-30-22- 7-4 for Makar) that it’s not a stretch to suggest Makar might have won if he played the same number of games as Fox considering he played only 80% of the games Fox did. The only reason Makar didn’t outscore him was due to those missed games.
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
WhereAreTheCookies
Registered User
Points and defensive play are great and all, but can any of them flip their lettuce like Dahlin? I think not. That's gotta be worth something.
Not to mention availability is a quality. Its also understandable why Avs fans are confused. Fox ranked in the 95th percentile for EV def and Makaer in the 59th. Both those numbers have a 5 and 9.
dirtydanglez
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dirtydanglez
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Makar even if he isn't lights out is still a really high bar to beat right now.
Technically in the last 2 weeks Morrisey from Winnipeg is the hottest offensively with 10 points and the highest guy from our list to choose from Dahlin has 8 points.
For Makar he is playing 3 MPG more than Fox and Miro and Dahlin are both closer to Fox than Makar.
