This is the only reason I had any doubts he would win. For whatever reason the media seems to search for any reason not to give it to defensemen. Niedermayer is the one strange outlier.
No more so than Nicklas Lidstrom, who saw Chelios draw the short straw in facing the two toughest lines they faced that playoff run. But the Ducks and Red Wings didn’t have a high-end run by a scorer or a high-end run by a goalie (Giguere split time with Bryzgalov).
I don’t think the media has had to go to far out of their way to find a reason not to give it to a defenseman, because usually Stanley Cup Champions have exactly that: high-end scorers or goaltenders or both. If Toews scorers ~30 points, that’s not
any reason; it’s a very, very good reason.
I mean, they could have given it to Keith in 2013, and that run would be buried at the bottom of everyone’s list with Niedermayer and Crosby, because just like in 2002, 2007, and 2016, the Stanley Cup Champions won in a short series while probably not having the best player in the playoffs.
...though maybe in 2007, they did. If anything, the narrative of the unrewarded post-lockout playoff defenseman comes down to the same name - and it ain’t Keith.
