I'm not referring to this conversation in particular
You highlighted a part of my post, in this conversation, and labelled it incorrectly, while relating it to things that nobody here has talked about. Maybe we should stick to this conversation and not things you perceive to be happening in other conversations.
There is no misuse of the GA stat.
Yes, there was. If somebody is using GA to evaluate "defense", then they are misusing it. GA is not a measure of defense. It is a measure of defense and goaltending mixed together, and it's most impacted by goaltending.
The Leafs were strong on paper, we expected them to be major contenders but have the Leaf have the 5th worst GA totals in the league as of the stoppage, were barely in a playoff spot as of the shut down.
Leafs were 6th last in goals against, not 5th, and that was primarily due to goaltending. We were 3rd in GF; why no mention of that? Why only the negatives? Why no context about the obstacles we faced this season?
Most of the league was "barely in a playoff spot" as of the shutdown. Only like 7 teams in the league really created separation, and really only the top 4 did it without relying on the shootout. When you're switching coaches mid-season, facing ridiculous amounts of injuries, never winning a shootout, and getting horrible goaltending, it's pretty hard to create separation over 70 games. Did this season go as many of us had planned? No, but that doesn't mean it was a failure. The fact that this team was even in a playoff spot with everything that went wrong is, in reality, evidence of how good this team is. It basically means the floor of this core is 95 points, and the sky is the limit. We still haven't even concluded the season, so maybe hold the judgements.
And no, GA is not a reflection of two positions.
Yes, it is. It is a combination of defense and goaltending.
It's the result of a whole team effort which can be further broken down into backchecking, prioritizing the attacking game vs commitment to defense, puck recovery, defensive zone coverage, effectiveness in managing a transition game, limiting shot attempts, physical play, shot blocking, managing momentum shifts
In other words, "defense".
goaltending, rebound control
In other words, "goaltending".
a lot of the other problems on this team.
Once again, what are these "other problems" you refer to?
Are you really going to play the fake news card and represent yourself like the authority on this post mortem?
Fake news? Post-mortem? What are you even talking about? The data is the authority. Not you. Not me. Facts.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you're condescendingly explaining this concept to Alex Pietrangelo on why he was able to lift the Stanley Cup last year.
"Alex, before you skate around the rink with that cup, I just want to let you know that Binnington and David Perron are why you're celebrating right now."
Should I go post a picture of Crosby or Ovechkin lifting the cup and claim that you'd condescendingly tell them:
"Before you skate around the rink with that cup, I just want to let you know that Orlov/Schultz are why you're celebrating right now."
No, because doing something like that would be ridiculous. Just because offense and goaltending are on average more important, it doesn't mean that the team's best players aren't important to the win if they're defensemen. In reality, cup winners don't follow one single formula. It mostly takes being elite in 2 positions, or good-great in 3. But the idea that defense is more important than offense or goaltending is just flat out wrong. It's the opposite.
Stanley Cup Champion, GF/60 rank, regular season
2007-2008: 3rd
2008-2009: 6th
2009-2010: 3rd
2010-2011: 5th
2011-2012: 29th
2012-2013: 2nd
2013-2014: 25th
2014-2015: 17th
2015-2016: 3rd
2016-2017: 1st
2017-2018: 9th
2018-2019: 15th
Average: 9.8
Stanley Cup Champion, xGA/60 rank, regular season
2007-2008: 1st
2008-2009: 17th
2009-2010: 3rd
2010-2011: 20th
2011-2012: 6th
2012-2013: 4th
2013-2014: 8th
2014-2015: 11th
2015-2016: 6th
2016-2017: 27th
2017-2018: 29th
2018-2019: 1st
Average: 11.1
Stanley Cup Champion, Team SV% rank, regular season
2007-2008: 13th
2008-2009: 14th
2009-2010: 24th
2010-2011: 1st
2011-2012: 3rd
2012-2013: 2nd
2013-2014: 2nd
2014-2015: 2nd
2015-2016: 2nd
2016-2017: 10th
2017-2018: 16th
2018-2019: 13th
Average: 8.5
Stanley Cup Champion, GF/60 rank, playoffs
2007-2008: 1st
2008-2009: 1st
2009-2010: 3rd
2010-2011: 5th
2011-2012: 3rd
2012-2013: 6th
2013-2014: 1st
2014-2015: 3rd
2015-2016: 2nd
2016-2017: 1st
2017-2018: 2nd
2018-2019: 5th
Average: 2.8
Stanley Cup Champion, xGA/60 rank, playoffs
2007-2008: 1st
2008-2009: 6th
2009-2010: 10th
2010-2011: 3rd
2011-2012: 4th
2012-2013: 2nd
2013-2014: 12th
2014-2015: 11th
2015-2016: 3rd
2016-2017: 9th
2017-2018: 5th
2018-2019: 4th
Average: 5.8
Stanley Cup Champion, Team SV% rank, playoffs
2007-2008: 3rd
2008-2009: 11th
2009-2010: 9th
2010-2011: 1st
2011-2012: 1st
2012-2013: 4th
2013-2014: 7th
2014-2015: 6th
2015-2016: 7th
2016-2017: 3rd
2017-2018: 5th
2018-2019: 11th
Average: 5.7
So Stanley Cup winners average out to:
-a rank of 9.8 in the regular season and 2.8 in the playoffs for offense
-a rank of 11.1 in the regular season and 5.8 in the playoffs for defense.
-a rank of 8.5 in the regular season and 5.7 in the playoffs for goaltending.
This indicates that level of importance in terms of winning a championship goes:
Offense > Goaltending > Defense