A category is a category. Never forget that.
You should think about this as some amount being 100%, 1.0 o f that cat... and do that for every player.
Out of 6.00 max score... what does each guy get?
BLK is a very real category, as much as any other.
Of the three Ekblad is really hurting in that category, and he's already sort of ceding the PP1 to Yandle.
So I actually don't think he's even in the same tier as the other guys.
John Carlson doesn't really HIT and he may even cede some of his PP time to Orlov or Niskanen who are perfectly capable there.
For me:
This year: Trouba/Provorov... Carlson... Ekblad.
3 years: Provorov/Trouba... Carlson... Ekblad
And further to John Carlson, let's not forget that good buddy & long-time partner, Karl Alzner, has moved on.
If the Orlov - Niskanen pairing stays together...
What does Carlson get?
Consider that.
Per LWL, projections:
Washington Capitals Defensive Pairings
Left Defenseman Right Defenseman
DMITRY ORLOV MATT NISKANEN
CHRISTIAN DJOOS JOHN CARLSON
AARON NESS BROOKS ORPIK
Washington camp info... D pairings and Line2 Combos will be among the more interesting things these next two weeks:
https://novacapsfans.com/2017/09/15/...g-camp-roster/
https://thehockeywriters.com/washing...ensemen-watch/
The first link mentions (too soon) first day of camp line pairings, which includes young Lucas Johansen on the left side of John Carlson.
If it does shake out to be a rookie paired with Carlson - he simply won't be able to be as offensive (compared to playing with the stay-at-home D, Alzner).
I'm personally
not touching John Carlson in one-year leagues this year.