PK Subban vs Drew Doughty vs Erik Karlsson - who will have the better season?

[bobholly39]

Not too long ago these were considered the top 3 defensemen in the game or just about. All three are coming off absolutely horrible seasons last year. We all know about it - injuries for EK in particular have been bad, but PK was hit by them too. Doughty seemed....disinterested, on a bad team. Either way - all 3 were just bad very very bad. You could almost say they were the 3 most disappointing players in the league last year.

It's only been 1 week into the NHL season so far. The 3 players in the league with the highest total ice time per game in the whole NHL are:

1. PK Subban 28:21 mins per game
2. Erik Karlsson 28:12 mins per game
3. Drew Doughty 27:49 mins per game

Their coaches seem to believe they can bounce back, and are playing them a lot to start. It's certainly too early to make judgements - but so far I can say both LA and SJ look to be bad teams once again who are in for long seasons. NJ - a bit too soon to tell, but they do play in such a hard division, so uphill battle at the very least.

Karlsson has looked really bad so far. I haven't seen enough of PK or Doughty yet - I think I heard PK played well so far, unsure for Doughty. Either way though, it's only ~2-3 games in. The question is - which of these 3 players will have the best season?

Before the season started - I predicted all 3 would have huge bounce back years. In fact I expected all 3 to be close to Norris contention. They are all 30-31 years old - which is actually young for elite defensemen, who typically all age really well till at least ~34-35.

So what's your prediction, who has the best season among the 3? And which of them have actual "good" seasons?

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[jetsforever]

I'd still go with EK > Doughty > PK
Interesting that those three are the most-playing so far, even after their "declines"
Maybe part of the problem is they're worked too much these days.

 

[BlueBaron]

Doughty doesn't need big offensive numbers to contribute, the other two do. I love PK but I think he's done, EK was done last knee injury.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

I went Brad Doty. I think the other two are done as part of the 1D discussion.

 

[Hisch13r]

Doughty solely because his game didn't fall off due to injuries. He just sucked. It should be much easier for him to bounce back

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Doughty looks healthy, fit, and motivated.

Unfortunately he's also played like dog shit, throwing hand grenades to teammates, and him and Maatta are absolutely toxic for each other (there were two points last night where him AND Maatta were leading the rush and the puck went nowhere )

He looks 'rejuvenated' but he's got a couple more games before he (and the whole team) shows me whether this is just early season (with no preseason) sloppiness or if he's just toast.

Homer voting for now because at least for the most part his defense is there, but Maatta is looking like Joakim Ryan pt. 2

 

[imMagnum]

While Subban drives me the most nuts out of any Devil, he’s actually been solid defensively so far during even strength. Doesn’t seem like a lot of high danger chances occur when he’s playing 5v5 and once he gets the puck, he’s making good decisions on getting it out of his zone. He still takes dumb penalties and can’t run a PP to save his life though. While I don’t think his points will improve, expect his +/- to go up.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Voting for Subban, because he still is one of my favorite player in the league, for his time in Montreal.

But I also think that Karlsson is shotted, and Subban possess more abilities than Doughty to help his team IMO (not as good in defense, but better in offense)

 

[613Leafer]

I would think Doughty... he hasn't had the same injury issues as Karlsson and Subban is just that much older and has had a more inconsistent career.

Who knows though. A few games in, and their stat lines all look pretty similar so far.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Drew was moved away from Maatta in the 2nd tonight and turned right into a monster.

Maatta responded by turning right into a puddle and probably (hopefully, but likely not because he's a vet) right out of the lineup.

Will see if it continues.