that steal is something else.
I agree he disrupts plays many times more than he gets clean steals.
I don't think his D has gone down, and I think the Selke is a reputation award. When Datsyuk was winning all of them, sometimes he was barely getting more votes than the other Usual Suspects. Kesler, Bergeron, and this time Toews, all had to get theirs. Its Paul Newman in the Color of Money voting.
agree about selke. there seems to be a sentiment now around toews that he has put in enough time and has not won, so he should win. i don't see how he has been better than bergeron or datsyuk. i would vote for bergeron.
mike richards almost won in '09, but i think that was mostly about his SH goals. richards ES D is not especially good, imo.
i think zetterberg should have in '08 and kesler in '10. at the time i wanted datsyuk to win in '08, b/c i had never seen anyone steal or knock away the puck so much, but zetterberg had a bigger defensive role.
sami pahlsson should have won in '07.
In fact, I don't think there has been as impressive of a year by Pav as THIS year. I'm serious. The Wings' forwards spend far more time digging the puck out of their own zone than ever before (Lidstrom), they have less energy, and more ice to cover any time they come out with it. They also don't have #5 starting the break out, and man, have their breakouts looked ugly this year. Not the same team at all. Its Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and Howard, carrying everyone - whereas in previous years they benefited from being on a great puck-possession team.
Through watching how easily he's won his battles this year, how many turnovers and scoring chances he's forced, and the fact that he finished top 10 in scoring (barely) while playing all facets of the game, and having very, very little support scoring from the second and third lines... i seriously think this is his best year, AT LEAST since 2008... and i think its better.
you're certainly right about puck possession and breakouts. it was very common for a d-man to try to skate in the defensive zone with an opposing F right on his side. they also often looked bad under forecheck.
part of it is that the team is just not very talented anymore, but it's also a move by babcock toward a more defensive style of play to compensate for the lack of talent. although he has been coaching a puck possession team, babcock seems to prefer grinding hockey. in '07, he was moving DRW towards dump and chase hockey until a revolt by players and then management ended it. and then '08 DRW were the best puck possession team i have seen in the NHL.
imo, datsyuk was better overall in '08, '09 (his best season, imo), '11 and '12, though not after his injuries in '11 and especially '12. he was fairly mediocre after his knee injury and surgery. skating was a lot worse, and he fell down a lot.
i think he is not as fast and seems to get tired more quickly. he has not had the same energy level this season as in the past, and he also seems to be easier to knock over. i have speculated that it is related to his knee injury and surgery last season. he is also not as physical as he was a couple of years ago, and not as involved on the boards. imo, datsyuk has been the team's best player on the boards for years, but this season he more often let his W's work the boards.
i think this season is weak among F's. malkin was injured. sedins were not as good. stamkos had a sluggish end to the season. giroux started poorly and did not play his best. perry, parise, hossa, kopitar, richards, gaborik, etc, could have been better. crosby was obviously amazing until he got injured, though.