A salute to the defensive defenseman from February of 2008. I still believe they need an award. After all, they have an award for defensive forwards (The Selke).
Yes I know I will take a ton of heat for this one but thanks to KK for this one and well better yet NewsObserver for this one. It is time for a defensive d-man award. The NHL has the Selke and tons of offensive awards…but yet the defenseman that does his job in his own end never quite gets the recognition which is kind of similar to the offensive lineman in football to a point. Time to take a bit of a different spin with this one.
So what do we name this grand trophy? I have already heard the names of Langway and Stevens and anyone has to admit these two are as fitting as any. There are other names that could go on this list and I would even have to add on Nick Lidstrom as face it, he plays positionally right now better than anyone in the game. Here is a look at Lidstrom’s career stats.
Not too shabby if you ask me and though +/- is an overrated statistic…if you watch a player like Lidstrom night in and night out…he is a big cut above the rest. I do happen to think his offensive numbers are a bit inflated because of the team he plays on and some will say that the defense and the system that surrounds him helps on the back end as well. Honestly however, his defense is underrated as he very much anchors the team on defense and makes not only other defensemen better but all of his teammates as well…a quality exuded by guys like Langway and Stevens.
So out of the three…if there was ever an award for a defensive d-man…..who would get the name? I will throw my admitted bias over Stevens out the window on this one. I came up with a list of five players…and a choice for other. I will let the reader decide this one. There are some amazing defensemen that have played throughout the years…what better way to honor them.
Finally, the Cooler is coming tomorrow along with another Fantasy Hockey 101….and just to throw in a quick update…both early games are tied at 1 after one period. It is going to be another interesting night of hockey as at this point…every game counts and then some!!
