Franchise center vs franchise defenseman

[Sidney the Kidney]

Lol no I think you misunderstood. It's a question of a franchise C vs franchise D. As in 1v1. The pens have 2 guys who are above franchise C. So yes they lack a franchise D but they have 2 franchise Cs. So it's not the same comparison.

Why is that something to laugh at?
The question is either or
In this case pitsburgh has arguably the 2 best centres in the past decade

Uh, because Anaheim is being listed as an example of how a team can win with a franchise defenseman but without a franchise center? They didn't have just one franchise defenseman, they had two (Pronger and Niedermayer).

So if Anaheim counts as an example in favor of franchise defensemen being more important, then so does Pittsburgh since both had two of what the OP was asking, not just one.

 

[Mrb1p]

Since lockout...

Crosby > Letang
Keith > Toews
Doughty > Kopitar
Chara > Bergeron
Lidstrom > Datsyuk
Pronger > Getzlaf
Staal > Kaberle

Not sure how you don't vote D. Easier to supplement a average #1C with a 1B center than it is to get the multiple d-men you need to replace a true #1D.

While Lidstrom has quite the legacy, Datsyuk was the best player on his cup winning team, and Zetterberg might have been the 2nd best. It's close, but theres a clear difference. For a while, Datsyuk was the best player in the world.

Kopitar/Doughty is too close to call.

Pronger/Getzlaf doesn't exist.

Staal/Kaberle is clearly Staal.

Chara/Bergeron is close too, but I think I'm ready to give it to Chara on this one.

Toews/Keith is no contest, Keith all the way.

 

[Paul4587]

Depends on the player. If we're looking at the best dman and the best forward over the past 20 years or so, I would take a guy like Lidstrom over a guy like Crosby easily.

 

[armani]

As a Sens fan who knows how much a franchise centre was needed to push the team to SCF over the Pens, I would still choose the best player available (between a D and a C). For instance, I would pick Karlsson over Tavares if they were both available when I am picking. It depends, both positions are hard to fill. Drafting a franchise OFD of the calibre of Karlsson is more rare.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

While Lidstrom has quite the legacy, Datsyuk was the best player on his cup winning team, and Zetterberg might have been the 2nd best. It's close, but theres a clear difference. For a while, Datsyuk was the best player in the world.

Kopitar/Doughty is too close to call.

Pronger/Getzlaf doesn't exist.

Staal/Kaberle is clearly Staal.

Chara/Bergeron is close too, but I think I'm ready to give it to Chara on this one.

Toews/Keith is no contest, Keith all the way.

Zetterberg was better than Datsyuk in both cup runs.

Datsyuk was never the best player in the world.