Prior to coming to the Rangers, Klein was a 20 minute a night guy
on a top 10 defensive club in Nashville
Actually, he was top three in terms of minute munching for the Preds since the 2010-11 season.
They have been one of the better defensive teams in the league.
He's not getting enough respect here.
Great 2nd pairing defenceman playing 3rd pairing minutes
I agree with everything except for the "great" part.
Very solid 2nd pairing guy though.
Do weak possession numbers really matter when he's a +8 with John Moore as his partner?
No, because he's the not the kind of guy that's going to rack up great "possession numbers" and sabermetrics are garbage subjective situational analysis of statistics that don't work in baseball, let alone hockey.
They only matter to guys who would rather look at stats than watch games.
CORSI is garbage. 2 years ago, Tobias Enstrom had better numbers than Shea Weber, who should have won the Norris that year.
Good points, but I think Klein doesn't fit the mould of a player in an AV system. He is playing the same role that Aaron Rome was for the Canucks, but at a higher cost and a higher perceived reputation. Klein would be effective in Torts' system though, I assume.
Couldn't disagree more than this. He's not a spectacular or flash defender, but he fills the niche to a T and has been effective in his role. I really don't know what you're watching if you're saying he plays the same role that Aaron Rome did for the Canucks, who was a 7th guy.
I am a firm believer that strong puck possession players obviously correlate with winning probability. The goal should be to have the best skating team out there and AV seems to agree. Klein receives the least ice time out of all defenders, yet is the most praised it seems!
Defensive defenders aren't going to possess the puck nearly as much.
TL;dr Klein is an interchangeable part with a lot of other NHL defenders for AV's strict system.
And who is going to replace him at this very moment?
Just a wild guess, but my fellow Rangers fans defensive stance on Klein reminds me of Canucks fans stance on Keith Ballard when he first joined the Canucks.
And that is?
Don't really dislike him since I don't know the guy personally. I don't think he's that good of a hockey player though. Besides I don't see how suggesting he's doing fine in his 13 min role is suggesting I dislike him. That's exactly how AV is using him in the playoffs.
He's being used as a 3rd pairing guy, he's logged a lot of minutes in the past for Nashville. He could easily step into a top-4 role if need be.