The Top 31 Defensemen in the National Hockey League - #22

[Tripod]

Add Provorov.

 

[wintersej]

Ekholm is a top shutdown defender that can skate, is big and can move the puck, he can play in every situation needed, so to me, he's way more valuable than an offensive guy that has to be protected and needs his minutes limited.

The protection and limited minutes bit is hog wash. He isn't someone like Hamilton playing bottom pairing 5 on 5 minutes. He played 8 seconds less per game at 5 on 5 than Lindholm. He plays more at 5 on 5 than Giordano, Hamilton, Paraynko, Provorov, Werenski, Vlasic. There is no "oh no, good players are out there, we have to get Krug off this ice!" fear. None. This isn't the rookie Krug playing on the bottom pair and PP behind prime Chara, Boychuk, Seidenberg, etc.

Of course, Krug not playing the PK should hurt him, and I agree with that. If Krug wasn't 5'9" he would be one of the top handful of d-men in the game. His IQ on both sides of the puck is excellent, his possession game is as good as anyone, and he clicks all the intangible boxes. But, he is 5'9" and some guys can abuse him in the corner. It does limit him. But, not nearly as much as many think. His on ice GAA over the past 4 years was top 10 amongst all d-men before hockeyanalysis went down. Up and down his stat sheet wether offensively, allowing shots, allowing goals, possession, you have it, Krug is top 20 or top 10 or top 5. Except in TOI where he hovers around low end top pairing and high end second pairing. Where, ironically, 5 of the 21 people already selected already hover around (or worse in Hamilton's case).

 

[wintersej]

I was thinking about Niskanen the other day for some reason and also came to this conclusion.

I find Rielly incredibly underrated. When not being deployed against the hardest competition in the league pretty much, he shone. He is also a solid offensive dman, and should have better stats last year as he was slowed by the ankle sprain.

And yeah IMO Stralman and Hjalmarsson are the top of that tier but aren't good enough for the next tier. Just my personal tier system though.

Agree that Niskanen gets overlooked. The Caps and the Pens beforehand where just such deep groups, it has been hard for him to standout.

 

[triggrman]

The protection and limited minutes bit is hog wash. He isn't someone like Hamilton playing bottom pairing 5 on 5 minutes. He played 8 seconds less per game at 5 on 5 than Lindholm. He plays more at 5 on 5 than Giordano, Hamilton, Paraynko, Provorov, Werenski, Vlasic. There is no "oh no, good players are out there, we have to get Krug off this ice!" fear. None. This isn't the rookie Krug playing on the bottom pair and PP behind prime Chara, Boychuk, Seidenberg, etc.

Of course, Krug not playing the PK should hurt him, and I agree with that. If Krug wasn't 5'9" he would be one of the top handful of d-men in the game. His IQ on both sides of the puck is excellent, his possession game is as good as anyone, and he clicks all the intangible boxes. But, he is 5'9" and some guys can abuse him in the corner. It does limit him. But, not nearly as much as many think. His on ice GAA over the past 4 years was top 10 amongst all d-men before hockeyanalysis went down. Up and down his stat sheet wether offensively, allowing shots, allowing goals, possession, you have it, Krug is top 20 or top 10 or top 5. Except in TOI where he hovers around low end top pairing and high end second pairing. Where, ironically, 5 of the 21 people already selected already hover around (or worse in Hamilton's case).

He's minutes are lower than any of Nashville's top 4, which includes Ellis, who is also undersized at only 5'10"

 

[wintersej]

He's minutes are lower than any of Nashville's top 4, which includes Ellis, who is also undersized at only 5'10"

Nashville has 4 guys in like the top 20 for TOI because they have a god awful 3rd pairing and a great top 4. No one deploys their D like Nashville.

 

[triggrman]

Fair enough.

I still think he needs more minutes to be considered for a top 30 spot.

 

[NetflixandPhil]

Add Muzzin, Schultz, Skjei

 

[major major]

@wintersej: You make a great case for Krug. Do you really think he can be a #1 for a good defence? That's what I always wonder about. I'll admit my ignorance. I live in Mass and the Bruins fans I know don't think that highly about him, but again that might be misleading.

I find Rielly incredibly underrated. When not being deployed against the hardest competition in the league pretty much, he shone. He is also a solid offensive dman, and should have better stats last year as he was slowed by the ankle sprain.

He had it tough, to be sure. But I know D-men with better results who played harder minutes. -- The QoC stats are all messed up right now so I'm going to stick with zone starts as a general indicator of how a coach likes to use his D. And that says Babcock gave Rielly a tough job but far from the league's toughest. That and I really don't think Rielly is qualified to be a shutdown D. I don't like his positioning and angles.

 

[lakai17]

Klefbom.

 

[wintersej]

@wintersej: You make a great case for Krug. Do you really think he can be a #1 for a good defence? That's what I always wonder about. I'll admit my ignorance. I live in Mass and the Bruins fans I know don't think that highly about him, but again that might be misleading.

No. Thats why I wasn't harping for him to get votes at like #10. I mean, maybe for a team like EDM or PIT, but in an ideal world he is leading an offensive minded second pairing. That doesn't mean he can't be the 20 something best defenseman, it just means that there are not enough true all situations #1 d-men in the NHL.