The class of Erik Karlsson

[Janvonpobben]

Not sure why he is so hated here.

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[ozzie]

Paul Coffey was hated too for winning Norris trophies and other reasons. People can either accept there is more than one way to play the position and be recognized, or they can't. Outside of EK65 play on the ice, never heard much negative or concerning issues about the guy.

Everyone who puts up great numbers is compared to Orr, Potvin and Bourque, who were able to play great in both ends of the ice. Even Brian Leetch was suspect in his own end as well.

It's not the player, it's the game. The hate is a much bigger issue than just EK65.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The hate isn't for the player.

He's an electrifying generational offensive defenseman that's worth the price of admission almost every single night and teams are lucky to have him and fans are blessed to watch him.

The hate is for the boisterous opinions that feel the need to suggest every other dman sucks in comparison and shout down any dissenting opinions with insults.

 

[Dingo]

The hate isn't for the player.

He's an electrifying generational offensive defenseman that's worth the price of admission almost every single night and teams are lucky to have him and fans are blessed to watch him.

The hate is for the boisterous opinions that feel the need to suggest every other dman sucks in comparison and shout down any dissenting opinions with insults.

No one has done that as far as I have seen.

at all, in fact.

most people think EK has had a massive bounce back season and deserves the Norris, and the future belongs to Makar, Heiskanen, Fox, etc.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

His level of not giving a shit about defending sickens me TBH.

 

[Race Dawg]

Paul Coffey was hated too for winning Norris trophies and other reasons. People can either accept there is more than one way to play the position and be recognized, or they can't. Outside of EK65 play on the ice, never heard much negative or concerning issues about the guy.

Everyone who puts up great numbers is compared to Orr, Potvin and Bourque, who were able to play great in both ends of the ice. Even Brian Leetch was suspect in his own end as well.

It's not the player, it's the game. The hate is a much bigger issue than just EK65.

Nope still my favorite D although I will admit it's hard to watch him with San Jose.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's mostly not even hate, from what I can tell, people just disagree on evaluations about effectiveness.

 

[JimmyApples]

Pretty much just jealousy.

Like it or not, EK65 has changed the way the position is played and what to expect of elite offensive defensemen.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

Continual surge of hate for him started with him being a superstar in Ontario that overshadowed anything the beloved Leafs had going on. They couldn't knock his stats, so they went after something subjective.

Leafs have the largest fan base in hockey and it was fueled from that.

 

[FastEddie]

Is he hated? I was a Sens fan and I don't hate him. Definitely want to see 100pts. I can understand the disappointment of the past 4 years though. Among San Jose fans. Even now I imagine they feel "but where were you when it mattered". And Sens rivals were gonna root for his downfall regardless. I don't think there was ever anything about his happy go lucky personality that invited hate.

-14 on a team like the Sharks actually isn't terrible. Will say about Karlsson the system either has to run through him or there's no point. Is "through him" good enough to win a cup with the right pieces around? Probably not but we don't know. It wasn't on Ottawa. And San Jose made a mistake trading for him but not making him their quarterback, a 1-2 platoon with Burns. There's no halfway with Karlsson if you want to get the best out of him.

 

[johan f]

His level of not giving a shit about defending sickens me TBH.

Why do you care? Coaches keeps playing him. I think they know what they are doing.

 

[Mirka the Turka]

If he was Canadien he’d be considered the GOAT

He won this Norris trophy easily, sorry y’all’s favorite Canadien couldn’t score within 30 pts lmao

 

[The Red Line]

I love Karlsson, but isn't this clip several years old from when he's still on the Sens?

And the fact that it's framed by one of the pundits proclaiming "I would be one of the biggest D-Bags ever" (great professionalism there) when little does that pundit realize, he already IS one of the biggest D-Bags ever, I come to the conclusion that this isn't even a Karlsson story at all.

It's a historical thread on the context of a self-admitted douchebag. Belongs in the History of Hockey section, imo.

 

[umma gumma]

If he was Canadien he’d be considered the GOAT

He won this Norris trophy easily, sorry y’all’s favorite Canadien couldn’t score within 30 pts lmao

Stop. No he wouldn't.

 

[FastEddie]

Stop. No he wouldn't.

The silliness of that statement. It's a pitched debate among Canadians as to whether McDavid is #5, and he's no McDavid.

 

[thaman8765678]

I don't think he's hated. People just point out the fact that he doesn't play any defense when he is on the ice. Which is the truth.

 

[DearDiary]

2 points away from 100, while also leading the league in ES and 5on5 points. When was the last time that happened, expecially outscoring a player like McDavid?

 

[FastEddie]

I don't think he's hated. People just point out the fact that he doesn't play any defense when he is on the ice. Which is the truth.

It's not true. He's as great a poke checker as Lidstrom. In the halcyon Sens days he was a plus whatever. Even on the Sharks at -14 that isn't bad. What is true is he takes risks. As do all the offensive defensemen. Look at Ottawa's run to game 7 OT of the eastern conference finals, and tell me he's bad defensively. He willed Ottawa to that when the Sens had no business being there.

 

[Honest M]

Exceptional talent and seems to be back to his old form, a bit sad that we won't see him in the playoffs.

 

[NVious]

Honestly every other d sucks compared to him and we should shout down people who disagree

 

[Buck Naked]

Because so many people are hockey hipsters and think they deserve some sort of cred for thinking it's cooler to play defence than offence today. It's a fad, it will blow over, and the hipsters will move on to the next thing they think is in. Just like it did with fighting, analytics, power forwards, and many other things in recent years.

 

[Chips]

The hate isn't for the player.

He's an electrifying generational offensive defenseman that's worth the price of admission almost every single night and teams are lucky to have him and fans are blessed to watch him.

The hate is for the boisterous opinions that feel the need to suggest every other dman sucks in comparison and shout down any dissenting opinions with insults.

Seriously lol. Great explanation here for the difference between “fan” and “Stan”


There are some people arguing he shouldn’t get the Norris, but that’s a pretty small (if loud) group


The defense v offense for Norris argument is old, and certainly doesn’t just happen in seasons when Karlsson is in the running.

Much of its preference, although this year Karlsson’s case is rock solid in light of what the field looks like

 

[Chips]

Exceptional talent and seems to be back to his old form, a bit sad that we won't see him in the playoffs.

Won’t happen but I really hope the Oilers can get him somehow.

 

[Chips]

No one has done that as far as I have seen.

at all, in fact.

most people think EK has had a massive bounce back season and deserves the Norris, and the future belongs to Makar, Heiskanen, Fox, etc.

its died down some, but definitely earlier in the season I was seeing plenty of

“Ha people thought ____ was special, Karlsson making all the exciting young defenseman his kids!”

Or saying he’s "clearly" the only generational player in the position.


Offensively fine, I don’t really care to argue that like Ovi is generational goal scorer while Crosby is generational forward. But there’s multiple defenseman (a few at most) I’d take on my team over him even ignoring age and contract.

Not to say I wouldn’t be absolutely stoked to have Karlsson on the Caps, as would any sane person for their team. As legit a norris front runner as you'll ever see.



I think much of the conversation shifted from the early hype to arguing over his "true value" or old school all defense mentality

 

[Sky04]

I like how he wanted out of Ottawa and sold their fans a sap story about cheap management until they called his bluff and he just left anyways or the part where he lied about the Hoffmans and didn't apologize after being completely wrong. Classy indeed.