Islanders Point Blank: THW rank Leddy 9th best DMan in NHL.

[Darth Milbury]

But I thought we didn't have a #1D?

We don't. Leddy is in noway, shape, or form, a number one. A couple of amateur bloggers changes nothing.

 

[SDIsles34]

We don't. Leddy is in noway, shape, or form, a number one. A couple of amateur bloggers changes nothing.

It drives me bonkers when fans get hung up on having an order of position players ie. #1D or a #2C.

What does it even mean? In order to win the stanley cup you need a true #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6 defensemen? Give me 6 guys who can play and limit scoring opportunities + drive possession- I'm happy.

Nick Leddy was flat-out phenomenal for the Islanders last season. If he continues to perform at that level I'll be thrilled. If fans/ bloggers don't think he is a "#1 D".... who cares.

 

[Darth Milbury]

It drives me bonkers when fans get hung up on having an order of position players ie. #1D or a #2C.

What does it even mean? In order to win the stanley cup you need a true #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6 defensemen? Give me 6 guys who can play and limit scoring opportunities + drive possession- I'm happy.

Nick Leddy was flat-out phenomenal for the Islanders last season. If he continues to perform at that level I'll be thrilled. If fans/ bloggers don't think he is a "#1 D".... who cares.

How about this: Nick Leddy was NOT "phenomenal" and guys like you vastly overrate him.

He was a very solid two-way defender with excellent skating, very good puck carrying and reads, and a limited physical game. He's not a star level defensemen though, anything close to elite (or even semi elite), he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice and using words like "phenomenal" to describe him is hyperbole to say the least.. He's not even close to being the best defensemen in the metro area. Heck, he's not even the unequivocal best defender for the Isles. He might not even be in the top two on the Island.

The thing that folk here seem to lose sight of with all these glowing evaluations of Leddy is that the Isles had one of the worst defenses in the league last season, and also a horrendous PK. Our blueline needs work, and part of the problem might be that we don't have any elite talent there - just three solid guys who would likely not even be top pairing on better teams.


Now, maybe a de Haan will take the next step and fill out our top four. But, we are maybe one injury on the blueline away from playing Hickey 25 minutes a night - and that doesn't leave me feeling all that comfortable.

 

[SDIsles34]

How about this: Nick Leddy was NOT "phenomenal" and guys like you vastly overrate him.

He was a very solid two-way defender with excellent skating, very good puck carrying and reads, and a limited physical game. He's not a star level defensemen though, anything close to elite (or even semi elite), he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice and using words like "phenomenal" to describe him is hyperbole to say the least.. He's not even close to being the best defensemen in the metro area. Heck, he's not even the unequivocal best defender for the Isles. He might not even be in the top two on the Island.

The thing that folk here seem to lose sight of with all these glowing evaluations of Leddy is that the Isles had one of the worst defenses in the league last season, and also a horrendous PK. Our blueline needs work, and part of the problem might be that we don't have any elite talent there - just three solid guys who would likely not even be top pairing on better teams.

"very good puck carrying"- I'll say that he is excellent in this category- just like his skating.

"limited physical game" - great defensemen who play angles and make smart reads don't need to be overly physical. I'll argue that Leddy was as physical as he needed to be in his own zone and actually excelled at pinning attackers along the boards to break up cycles.

"he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice" - see above for comments regarding puck carrying. Watching Leddy carry the puck and make outlet passes was exceptional and yes, phenomenal. He did it with consistently, rarely (if ever) committing turnovers. (Although I'll admit he did commit a few noticeable ones in the playoffs).

Nick Leddy dominates in the transition game. Nick Leddy dominates exiting the defensive zone with the puck on his stick.

"He might not even be in the top two on the Island" - The thought of this claim is absurd.

I appreciate you going against the grain with evaluating Leddy on these boards but your argument is weak and brings nothing definitive to the table regarding Leddy's shortcomings.

(Hopefully my response wasn't too combative, but I can't help but strongly disagree)

 

[Sheva7]

"very good puck carrying"- I'll say that he is excellent in this category- just like his skating.

"limited physical game" - great defensemen who play angles and make smart reads don't need to be overly physical. I'll argue that Leddy was as physical as he needed to be in his own zone and actually excelled at pinning attackers along the boards to break up cycles.

"he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice" - see above for comments regarding puck carrying. Watching Leddy carry the puck and make outlet passes was exceptional and yes, phenomenal. He did it with consistently, rarely (if ever) committing turnovers. (Although I'll admit he did commit a few noticeable ones in the playoffs).

Nick Leddy dominates in the transition game. Nick Leddy dominates exiting the defensive zone with the puck on his stick.

"He might not even be in the top two on the Island" - The thought of this claim is absurd.

I appreciate you going against the grain with evaluating Leddy on these boards but your argument is weak and brings nothing definitive to the table regarding Leddy's shortcomings.

(Hopefully my response wasn't too combative, but I can't help but strongly disagree)

Solid solid solid post.

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

We don't. Leddy is in noway, shape, or form, a number one. A couple of amateur bloggers changes nothing.

What about his 2nd place and two 5th place Norris votes? Are those from amateur bloggers too?

 

[PK Cronin]

How about this: Nick Leddy was NOT "phenomenal" and guys like you vastly overrate him.

He was a very solid two-way defender with excellent skating, very good puck carrying and reads, and a limited physical game. He's not a star level defensemen though, anything close to elite (or even semi elite), he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice and using words like "phenomenal" to describe him is hyperbole to say the least.. He's not even close to being the best defensemen in the metro area. Heck, he's not even the unequivocal best defender for the Isles. He might not even be in the top two on the Island.

The thing that folk here seem to lose sight of with all these glowing evaluations of Leddy is that the Isles had one of the worst defenses in the league last season, and also a horrendous PK. Our blueline needs work, and part of the problem might be that we don't have any elite talent there - just three solid guys who would likely not even be top pairing on better teams.


Now, maybe a de Haan will take the next step and fill out our top four. But, we are maybe one injury on the blueline away from playing Hickey 25 minutes a night - and that doesn't leave me feeling all that comfortable.

Our defense being bad likely has a lot more to do with the coaching than it does the players. Our strategy isn't to limit opponents goals, but to outscore them most nights.

Team defense is something we lacked most of last season. Personnel usage was also an issue throughout the season. Leddy barely saw PK time for some reason, yet Strait was a staple there any time he was in the lineup. We were tied for 12th worst in ES goals against, which obviously isn't great, but it's not too far off from being in the middle of the pack. If our coach emphasized a more defensive system and our PK isn't historically bad for more than half the season again, I have no doubt we'd be in the top third in terms of goals against.

Leddy is a great hockey player and we're lucky we have him. I really don't care if he's a #1 or elite. I don't care if Tavares is a top 5 player in the game for that matter. I care about winning and Leddy is a significant reason why this team won a lot of games last year. He's a significant reason to be excited about this upcoming season. He possesses the tools to be an impact player night in and out, so hopefully he continues to grow.

 

[Mustang2750*]

He's more of a #1 than almost half of the teams in the league have as their #1.

To say he's not even close to the top defensemen in the tri-state area is absurd. Then again this is hfboards and most people's opinions here are absurd


PS. While it's nice to read an article about Leddy and I do agree with him being one of the best in the league, the Hockey Writers in general put out some of the worst articles I have EVER seen. Any article they put out is usually the complete opposite of what is actually true...to a point where alot of people consider them satire.

 

[Darth Milbury]

"very good puck carrying"- I'll say that he is excellent in this category- just like his skating.

"limited physical game" - great defensemen who play angles and make smart reads don't need to be overly physical. I'll argue that Leddy was as physical as he needed to be in his own zone and actually excelled at pinning attackers along the boards to break up cycles.

"he doesn't dominate in any zone of the ice" - see above for comments regarding puck carrying. Watching Leddy carry the puck and make outlet passes was exceptional and yes, phenomenal. He did it with consistently, rarely (if ever) committing turnovers. (Although I'll admit he did commit a few noticeable ones in the playoffs).

Nick Leddy dominates in the transition game. Nick Leddy dominates exiting the defensive zone with the puck on his stick.

"He might not even be in the top two on the Island" - The thought of this claim is absurd.

I appreciate you going against the grain with evaluating Leddy on these boards but your argument is weak and brings nothing definitive to the table regarding Leddy's shortcomings.

(Hopefully my response wasn't too combative, but I can't help but strongly disagree)

I don't have any problem whatsoever with you disagreeing with me, whether it is a strong disagreement or not.

And, I'm sorry but Leddy does NOT dominate in the transition game nor is he unequivocally superior to Hamonic and Boychuk overall.


It blows my mind that so many of you argue that he was our clear number one, when he wasn't even the defender with the most icetime.

 

[Darth Milbury]

What about his 2nd place and two 5th place Norris votes? Are those from amateur bloggers too?

Are you seriously going to argue that three votes from the media means a player is elite.

C'mon.

 

[Darth Milbury]

He's more of a #1 than almost half of the teams in the league have as their #1.

To say he's not even close to the top defensemen in the tri-state area is absurd. Then again this is hfboards and most people's opinions here are absurd


PS. While it's nice to read an article about Leddy and I do agree with him being one of the best in the league, the Hockey Writers in general put out some of the worst articles I have EVER seen. Any article they put out is usually the complete opposite of what is actually true...to a point where alot of people consider them satire.

He isn't to be a number one in the tri-state area. You might want to check out the number one on the Ranger$, who is vastly superior to any dman on this team.

I don't even think Leddy is clearly superior to Boychuk or Hamonic overall.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

It blows my mind that so many of you argue that he was our clear number one, when he wasn't even the defender with the most icetime.

At even strength he was, at least in rate (he missed four games).

 

[Islanderfan17]

Get used to hearing this type of stuff boys - Leddy is a gem. The guy is better than Boychuk and is on a whole other level compared to the rest of the dmen on this team.

Hopefully Cappy grows a set of eyeballs this summer and sees just how good Leddy is. Maybe then he'll start getting the type of minutes he deserves (like a #1 dman).

I agree. Also, Cappy definitely won't, he's a moron.

 

[Darth Milbury]

At even strength he was, at least in rate (he missed four games).

That's not true. Hamonic played almost a minute and half more at ES.

In fact, Leddy, didn't play much more at ES than any of the other top four (who were all grouped together with about 15 seconds separating each).

Despite supposedly being our number 1 defender, he was used on the PK less than any of the other top four defenders.

So, some here may see him as our unequivocal number one, but it is apparent our coaching does not see him the same way.

I continue to believe that we have a collection of 2/3 defenders, all of whom are very similar in overall impact, and none of whom are close to being elite or even semi-elite.

 

[PK Cronin]

That's not true. Hamonic played almost a minute and half more at ES.

In fact, Leddy, didn't play much more at ES than any of the other top four (who were all grouped together with about 15 seconds separating each).

Despite supposedly being our number 1 defender, he was used on the PK less than any of the other top four defenders.

So, some here may see him as our unequivocal number one, but it is apparent our coaching does not see him the same way.

I continue to believe that we have a collection of 2/3 defenders, all of whom are very similar in overall impact, and none of whom are close to being elite or even semi-elite.

Pointing to the coaching staff to validate your opinion isn't the way to go. Cronin's PK was an abomination for 80% of the season, historically bad. We already know we have some good PKers on the roster, so that's simply systems and choice of personnel (like Strait over Leddy).

 

[BroadwayJay*]

That's not true. Hamonic played almost a minute and half more at ES.

I stand corrected:

Let this be a lesson to everyone else: Don't mix 404(b) motion practice and looking at hockey stats.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

Despite supposedly being our number 1 defender, he was used on the PK less than any of the other top four defenders.

I'm right about this one, I double-checked it.

Erik Karlsson doesn't play the PK. He's undoubtedly a "No. 1."

 

[kasper11]

Leddy is a very good defenseman. I don't really see any way to call him "elite" or anything less than very good.

The biggest problem with Leddy, as far as I can see, is that he isn't particularly good at special teams. Power play or penalty kill. Yeah, most of the game is 5x5, but something like 25% of goals are scored on special teams. If you want to be an elite defenseman, you need to contribute either on the pp or pk. Or be Karlsson.

 

[Darth Milbury]

I'm right about this one, I double-checked it.

Erik Karlsson doesn't play the PK. He's undoubtedly a "No. 1."

Part of what makes Karlsson Ottawa's number one is that he is there go to guy on special teams. he played something like 5 minutes a night on special teams, it is true that most of it was on the PP though. There wasn't a single defender on Ottawa who was relied on to the same extent on the special teams.


Leddy did not come close to distribution. He wasn't used anymore on the PP than Boychuk, for example, but was used way less on the PK. That's because our coaching recognizes that Leddy is not a dominant defensive defender and isn't clearly superior to Boychuk and Hamonic on the point.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

Leddy is a very good defenseman. I don't really see any way to call him "elite" or anything less than very good.

The biggest problem with Leddy, as far as I can see, is that he isn't particularly good at special teams. Power play or penalty kill. Yeah, most of the game is 5x5, but something like 25% of goals are scored on special teams. If you want to be an elite defenseman, you need to contribute either on the pp or pk. Or be Karlsson.

Being Erik Karlsson helps tremendously in the evaluation of top d-men. I recommend that all of our defenseman work on being Erik Karlsson. In particular, Brian Strait could really benefit from being Erik Karlsson; but it applies to all of them.

 

[Darth Milbury]

Leddy is a very good defenseman. I don't really see any way to call him "elite" or anything less than very good.

The biggest problem with Leddy, as far as I can see, is that he isn't particularly good at special teams. Power play or penalty kill. Yeah, most of the game is 5x5, but something like 25% of goals are scored on special teams. If you want to be an elite defenseman, you need to contribute either on the pp or pk. Or be Karlsson.

Bingo.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

Part of what makes Karlsson Ottawa's number one is that he is there go to guy on special teams. he played something like 5 minutes a night on special teams, it is true that most of it was on the PP though. There wasn't a single defender on Ottawa who was relied on to the same extent on the special teams.


Leddy did not come close to distribution. He wasn't used anymore on the PP than Boychuk, for example, but was used way less on the PK. That's because our coaching recognizes that Leddy is not a dominant defensive defender and isn't clearly superior to Boychuk and Hamonic on the point.

I was only responding there to the assertion that not playing the PK eliminates someone as a candidate for a number one. That assertion is incorrect because Erik Karlsson is a number one but doesn't play the PK almost at all. I think he had 45 minutes. He had 1650 minutes at evens Only Drew Doughty had more.

 

[Darth Milbury]

I was only responding there to the assertion that not playing the PK eliminates someone as a candidate for a number one. That assertion is incorrect because Erik Karlsson is a number one but doesn't play the PK almost at all. I think he had 45 minutes. He had 1650 minutes at evens Only Drew Doughty had more.

Maybe the correct way to put it (conceding your point) is that it is not just time on the PK, but time on the special teams in general.


In Karlsson's case, the sens basically can't play him on the PK because he spends close to 5 minutes a game on the PP.

 

[Tavares2TheRescue]

He isn't to be a number one in the tri-state area. You might want to check out the number one on the Ranger$, who is vastly superior to any dman on this team.

I don't even think Leddy is clearly superior to Boychuk or Hamonic overall.

Ryan McDonagh is not better than Nick Leddy (or Johnny Boychuk, for that matter). Hamonic is also nowhere near the quality of player Leddy is. If you consider that Letang has trouble staying healthy now, then Leddy is easily the best defenseman in the division, let alone the tri-state. I don't get ow someone who got to watch Leddy all year can't see how great he is.

 

[Aucoin3]

I like the attention but they also have Anton Stralman as the #10 dman in the league and Jake Muzzin as #6