Leo Boivin vs. Red Horner
It seems as though people have an issue with Leo Boivin on my top pairing. I'll admit that he's not ideal here, but as much as Boivin isn't ideal, Red Horner is not an ideal partner for Eddie Shore. They'll make a terrifying combination to deal with in the corners, but in terms of being effective defensively, I'm not so sure.
Nowhere in the bio of Red Horner do I get the impression he was a good defensive player. The read that I have on him is that he liked to run around and take people's heads off, taking a lot of penalties in the process. He was also a solid but unspectacular offensive player. Sort of like Rob Blake, but even moreso. How is this style going to fit with Eddie Shore, who liked to do the very same? I could see this pairing going out of the way for the big hit, and taking themselves out of position and leaving their goalie exposed. This pairing is also going to have a significant issue with taking penalties. Between them, they led the league in penalty minutes 8 times, and have 19 top 10s in penalty minutes. Compared to my top pairing(which is still very physical, but not to the level of Winnipeg's), our 3 top 10s seems like nothing. If they want to take penalties, my power play will be happy to have the increased time. Their intimidation tactics also will not be as effective as they would against a normal team. Adam Graves will be the policeman for Harry Hyland if these two try anything, and Howe will throw down when only absolutely necessary. Fleming is also willing to go with guys that are bigger than him.
Boivin's all star record is the following: (7, 11, 12, 15) and his Norris record is (5, 8, 10). He also made 3 all star games by merit.
For a top pairing defenseman, I'll admit it's not that good. But, Leo is here to make the lives of other forwards a living hell, and he should be very good at doing that while also being good defensively.
I think Red Horner gets drafted too high in the ATD. Previously, he was drafted so high based on speculation. We didn't have any voting records for when he was in his prime years outside of the top 4. But now that those records are uncovered, I think he definitely deserves to have his draft stock downgraded significantly. I don't know how to get finishes out of the way the voting record worked back then, but this is what he got:
39-40: one point alternate LD
38-39: one point first team LD, two points alternate team LD
37-38: one point first team RD, two points alternate RD
36-37: one point alternate RD, one point alternate LD
34-35: 4th first team RD(3 points)
33-34: 6th alternate RD, 4th alternate LD(2 points each)
32-33: one point alternate RD
I'm not sure if I see a really significant year of recognition in there. I could be wrong because I don't know how exactly the system works, but it looks like mostly token mentions almost every year. If somebody could explain how the system works, then I'll calculate his finishes. Or if you'd like to do the work, I'd be even more appreciative.
My point is that Red Horner is not a good fit for Eddie Shore. I think Horner should definitely be selected lower than where he has been in the past.
