seventieslord
Student Of The Game
I don't wade into here very often but I have become interested in the question of just how important it is for a defenseman to play on their proper side. As a Leafs fan, there's a constant discussion about how the team needs two RHD so badly, but part of me thinks that this is just a holdover mindset from the Babcock era, because he was notorious for insisting on RHD playing the right side.
For the most part, defensemen make the NHL on merit, and about 2/3 of them are LHD. If everyone truly agreed that you needed a RHD to play the right side, then there would be approximately a 50/50 split in the NHL, and some "better" LHD would be on the outside looking in, in favour of lesser RHDs. But for the most part, that does not appear to be the case. The current split that exists suggests that there are plenty of LHD playing the right side and succeeding in the NHL.
So, is there any actual data that suggests over the long run that a defenseman is better off playing his own side? Perhaps things like keeping the puck in the offensive zone, their ability to generate shots for, prevent shots against, completed passes, shots that hit the net compared to miss the net, etc.
....or is this completely about coaching preferences and the eye test and it can't be verified with any data?
For the most part, defensemen make the NHL on merit, and about 2/3 of them are LHD. If everyone truly agreed that you needed a RHD to play the right side, then there would be approximately a 50/50 split in the NHL, and some "better" LHD would be on the outside looking in, in favour of lesser RHDs. But for the most part, that does not appear to be the case. The current split that exists suggests that there are plenty of LHD playing the right side and succeeding in the NHL.
So, is there any actual data that suggests over the long run that a defenseman is better off playing his own side? Perhaps things like keeping the puck in the offensive zone, their ability to generate shots for, prevent shots against, completed passes, shots that hit the net compared to miss the net, etc.
....or is this completely about coaching preferences and the eye test and it can't be verified with any data?