Esa Lindell - one of the best kept secrets in the league?

[Ted Hoffman]

Im not sure if you watch him but he faces the hardest match ups and puts up great numbers. He is a great two way force and was has way more Norris votes in his career than either of those players

I guarantee that in a poll that he would place in the top 10-15 over those players

I've watched him for 13 years and counting, and I know he'd place in the top 10-15. And it still wouldn't change the fact that his great play on offense covers up his largely unimpressive play on defense. [It would also underscore that voters put far too much emphasis on offensive stats when voting for the Norris Trophy and far too little watching games to see who actually can play defense at high levels.] That level of defensive play isn't just caused by "oh, he gets the hardest matchups." He gets abused at times by pretty average guys doing nothing special, he's prone to gaffes under just moderate pressure, and he struggles with defensive zone coverage or controlling his area of the ice such that the opposition tries to stay away from him.

No one fears his defensive level of play by any stretch; no one is looking at him saying man, he really controls the zone and shuts things down back there. Teams don't mind challenging him, because he's unlikely to do much to thwart chances and there's a better chance he's going to screw up and give them a better opportunity. He's the classic example of "the best defense is a good offense," has been for years, and is going to be for the rest of his career; he even knows it, and he's unrepentant about it.

 

[Derp Kassian]

What happened to Honka?

 

[BrettHullsToe]

What happened to Honka?

He can't think at NHL speed. It seems like every time he gets in a complex, fast-moving situation, he holds the puck too long and coughs it up for a chance going the other way.

 

[Ajacied]

Lindell is not a top 10 defenseman, but it's nice to see him getting more recognition league wide. He's a solid #1, who goes quietly about his business and that's because he doesn't really stand out in anything other than consistency. Just a very intelligent, disciplined defenseman who uses a smart positional game and can log massive minutes. I think he's tougher than most admit, too. He can dish it out if he has to.

I think the Stars have an excellent trio of #1's, which not a lot of teams can say.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

He good but I don't think he's top 10.

 

[jonlin]

Lindell is a very good D, but not a Top10. Devensively he may ne, but if you take overall play he is probably borderline Top20 as is.

 

[Tyrolean]

It's not a secret if you tell everybody.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I know +/- isn't everything, but there's something to be said about a guy who is +33 over 2 seasons where the team is a ~90 point team both years, playing the minutes he does.

 

[varano]

Great player that no one knows about because its Dallas.

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

I've watched him for 13 years and counting, and I know he'd place in the top 10-15. And it still wouldn't change the fact that his great play on offense covers up his largely unimpressive play on defense. [It would also underscore that voters put far too much emphasis on offensive stats when voting for the Norris Trophy and far too little watching games to see who actually can play defense at high levels.] That level of defensive play isn't just caused by "oh, he gets the hardest matchups." He gets abused at times by pretty average guys doing nothing special, he's prone to gaffes under just moderate pressure, and he struggles with defensive zone coverage or controlling his area of the ice such that the opposition tries to stay away from him.

No one fears his defensive level of play by any stretch; no one is looking at him saying man, he really controls the zone and shuts things down back there. Teams don't mind challenging him, because he's unlikely to do much to thwart chances and there's a better chance he's going to screw up and give them a better opportunity. He's the classic example of "the best defense is a good offense," has been for years, and is going to be for the rest of his career; he even knows it, and he's unrepentant about it.

I think it's nonsense to claim that majority of the board as well as those who cast Norris votes are somehow know less than you when it comes to casting those votes. You think those who cast the Norris votes are purely stat watchers? Then why did Morgan Riley not even receive a nomination this year with his numbers. He can absolutely play defense at high levels and to suggest otherwise is fallacy, and again you'd be laughed out of a poll on this subject. You can find multiple gaffe videos of Lids and Bourque and others so its silly to suggest that Letang is alone there. He does have the toughest match ups and is in the top 3-5 of Dman in minutes averaged per game. He's definitely a better all around player than slavin or whoever the other guy was. You know you're in the minority of posters who would'nt put him in the top 10-15 so obviously its not you, it's their inefficiency to properly analyze Kris

 

[oconnor9sean]

Already dreading the terrible offers on the trade board we're gonna see all summer for him.

I’ll take Lindell over Weber, OEL, Slavin and Byfuglien ... He isn’t that far away from Josi, Carlson, Suter or Pietrangelo either.


And if we are going by this year only, lindell is in the top 5 honestly.

Stoppppp. He's great and underrated, but you're being ridiculous.

 

[Zub]

He's surely not a top 10 maybe.. but top 15? I think so.

 

[Huffer]

Really solid D. He and Morrissey are very similar IMO.

 

[tony d]

Lindell's a good one and getting better all the time but no way is he a top 10 or even top 15 defenseman in the league. I'd struggle to put him in my top 20.

 

[PatrikBerglund]

Name 15 better ?

Karlsson
Doughty
Hedman
Josi
Jones
Giordano
Carlson
OEL
Lindholm
Reilly
Burns
Pietrangelo
Dahlin
Ekholm
Chabot
McAvoy
Parayko
Letang


On the top of my head, that's like 18 better. And Klingberg had a down season but will/is better again next season. So will Heiskanen be.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Karlsson
Doughty
Hedman
Josi
Jones
Giordano
Carlson
OEL
Lindholm
Reilly
Burns
Pietrangelo
Dahlin
Ekholm
Chabot
McAvoy
Parayko
Letang


On the top of my head, that's like 18 better. And Klingberg had a down season but will/is better again next season. So will Heiskanen be.

Right now that's debatable.

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

OP real bad at keeping secrets.

 

[LT]

You could argue Lindell is the third best defender on Dallas. He's not top 10, top 15, or top 20. I think once you get to that 25-30 range is where he starts to be a solid placeholder in that group.

Doesn't mean he isn't amazing for us. He fills a void and plays his roles incredibly well. He's also probably going to get PAID this offseason (I wouldn't be surprised to see a 50+M contract for him).

 

[hellvetet]

OP real bad at keeping secrets.

Guilty as charged...

 

[hairylikebear]

I don't know how you can classify Lindell as a top anything defender. He's a role player and not a true #1 or even really #2. His defensive abilities are best utilized to limit the damage done by a higher risk offensive defensive partner, such as Klingberg. His game is purely complementary though. He's still good at what he does, kind of like Hjalmarsson when he was at his best. But similar to Hjalmarsson, as soon as you take him out of the role in which he excels the weaknesses will shine through and it'll be more apparent what kind of player he is.

Right now, he looks great because everything he's asked to do is suited to his strengths. To me, he's much more Matvichuk than Hatcher.

 

[BlueDream]

I’ll take Lindell over Weber, OEL, Slavin and Byfuglien ... He isn’t that far away from Josi, Carlson, Suter or Pietrangelo either.


And if we are going by this year only, lindell is in the top 5 honestly.

Ah right, the Stars have 3 top 15 d-men in the league.

 

[mattihp]

Lumme v2. Lumme's first six seasons were in stealth mode!

 

[FinnishSniper]

Karlsson
Doughty
Hedman
Josi
Jones
Giordano
Carlson
OEL
Lindholm
Reilly
Burns
Pietrangelo
Dahlin
Ekholm
Chabot
McAvoy
Parayko
Letang


On the top of my head, that's like 18 better. And Klingberg had a down season but will/is better again next season. So will Heiskanen be.

What the actual f*** are these

 

[Los merengues]

I think it's nonsense to claim that majority of the board as well as those who cast Norris votes are somehow know less than you when it comes to casting those votes. You think those who cast the Norris votes are purely stat watchers? Then why did Morgan Riley not even receive a nomination this year with his numbers. He can absolutely play defense at high levels and to suggest otherwise is fallacy, and again you'd be laughed out of a poll on this subject. You can find multiple gaffe videos of Lids and Bourque and others so its silly to suggest that Letang is alone there. He does have the toughest match ups and is in the top 3-5 of Dman in minutes averaged per game. He's definitely a better all around player than slavin or whoever the other guy was. You know you're in the minority of posters who would'nt put him in the top 10-15 so obviously its not you, it's their inefficiency to properly analyze Kris

He might be on The minority but he would also still be correct. The fact that you brought Lidas and Borque to The same convo as Kris Letang Tells you are out for lunch big Time. or The fact you would use a hockey discussion boards rating/voting as a base for anything.

 

[glovesave_35]

Nice to see a blues fan see this. Lots of people in the Stars Vs Blues section has called Lindell trash when in reality he is a top 15, arguably top 10 Dman in the NHL.

No he's not. He's all the things OP said he is, but he's not a top 15 D-man.