You're confusing #1 defensemen with Hall of Fame defensemen. No wonder Pietrangelo isn't a #1 in your eyes, there's only been like 40 defenseman inducted into the Hall of Fame since the Blues' inception. We've been extremely lucky to have even those 3, and Stevens was only here for like a year.
I don't like Petro. Never have, but he is a #1 defenseman. I would love to have a different #1, as I don't think you can win with a megasoft defender. He is off to a terrible start this year. He is doing his best Bill Houlder impersonation, and he needs to stop. Our D will stop and start with how well he plays. need him to show up.you dont have to have a niche skill to be a top 10 dman. He puts in the minutes, puts up the points, and he draws heavy competition.
He's not having a good year, but you'll get lonely on that Island of one if you think he's not a number 1.
Well if this is the case, then who would you like to get that matches your description? Because your description just eliminated guys like Hedman, Karlsson, Subban, Josi, Ekman-Larsson, Lindholm, and Letang. Hell, your description just threw out Dahlin, Heiskanen, Jones, McAvoy, and plenty of other young up-and-coming defensemen that look to become top-10 defensemen in the future.
Guys, I'm glad I put what I did out there, because it led to a series of questions I hadn't really given much thought about, I was challenged. And as I've said before, I'm revising position because of it.
I'd still like to get rid of him, but I realise it's very unrealistic, maybe even illogical. It will be interesting to see what happens when he's due a new contract (which isn't far off right?).
If nothing else, I feel educated on the matter, and that's not a bad result.
I still don't like him though.
So you want Drew Doughty? Or maybe Zdeno Chara if we hop in the time machine a few years back. That's pretty much the only players in the league who fits your criteria. Guys can't and don't play like Pronger anymore. If they do they get suspended every time they touch the ice. The game has switched to moving the puck up the ice, which is what Petro excels at. He's had a rough start to the year, but he's among the very best at his position and is only being paid 6.5M which is a huge steal.
Eh that list isn't necessarily true. A lot of those guys play with a lot more of an edge than Petro. Like Subban, Letang, McAvoy, Hedman, etc.
Right, there is a middle ground. Guys here are in that category. They aren't Pronger, but they also aren't ever going to win a Lady Byng. Petro is like Josi or Vlasic. They are very much finesse type defenders. That's not really an issue that as that's what Lidstrom was.
There's no way Parayko is softer than Pietrangelo. He throws the body wayyy more, it's not close.
Well if it that's the case, then I misunderstood the question. From what I understood, he wanted a guy with a more defined edge compared to the league. Sure, you can pick players and give a relative degree for how much more "edge" they have over Pietrangelo. However, if the question is for a top-10 defenseman with an edge that is higher than that of at least half the league, then I would say all of the guys I listed don't fit into that group. I would not say Letang has a physical edge that is higher than half the league, or in other words, above average. Like I said, Doughty is the only player that comes to mind. It should be stated that those players are the players the coaches wish not to be super physical because that leads to a higher chance of penalties, meaning they go off the ice more often.
I watched Lidstrom from rookie year until his last game. Petro is by far softer than Lidstrom. He didn’t hesitate to body out players along the boards. He wasn’t just a stick checker. In my opinion, best d man to lace them up period. Not a bruiser, but not an ice dancer either. See Phil Housely. Petro is the softest d man in the nhl. Has been for years, but one of the best stick checkers ever. Hopefully, he isn’t slowing down. That could mean a lesser role.
Nothing because it's not realistic. Blues have to move out Allen, pay to move Allen, then move out Gunnarsson or Boumeester, and most likely have to pay to get rid of them. Armstrong has been burned once on a goalie trade, he's not going to pay a premium again. Bob's next contract is going to be too expensive on top of that. He'd be a pure rental.
