Yahoo: Top-25 NHL Defenseman in 2015-2016

[Dennis4022]

Forgive me if I'm mistaken but this isn't a fantasy hockey ranking.

Oh ok, my bad. I need a new point: It's Yahoo, so who cares what they think ?

[VintageVibe]

Oh ok, my bad. I need a new point: It's Yahoo, so who cares what they think ?

LOL great point !

[Big Ev]

Forgive me if I'm mistaken but this isn't a fantasy hockey ranking. That being said, I agree that EK is the best dman with the puck on his stick... Unfortunately, while I agree that he isn't as bad as people make him out to be when it isn't on his stick, he just isn't as good as some of the games other great dmen away from the puck, specifically one-on-one's, odd-man rushes against and in front of his own net (where he often gets man handled).

Alright, but again that's not what I was talking about or what the moron Yahoo writer was talking about. In terms of skating, hockey sense and flow of the game it would be hard to argue that any other d-man is better than Karlsson.

Just to play devil's advocate, in regards to your comments, yes he does get beat from time to time, but when Karlsson is playing at his truly elite level he doesn't get beat much more than other d-men and doesn't get man-handled a lot because a) the other team rarely has the puck when he is on the ice, and b) he often just steals it away. He's consistently at the top of D leaders in steal every year. He gets beat off the rush a bit, which was worse a year or so ago because he had a large adjustment period after his Achilles injury which affected his pivoting.

[Rylant]

For me personally, if I was given a NHL franchise and told that I could pick anybody in the world as my top D man, Doughty would hands down be my first choice. Karlsson would be high on the list, but I wouldn't have to think about it for long before I chose Doughty.

Rylant

[chuckcouples]

Here are some numbers that should tell everyone who the best dman in the NHL is without question. Here are Erik Karlsson's stats from last year split into two segments.

37GP, 7G, 18A, -8

45GP, 14G, 27A, +15

Can anyone guess what the difference between those two segments is?

[Big Ev]

Here are some numbers that should tell everyone who the best dman in the NHL is without question. Here are Erik Karlsson's stats from last year split into two segments.

37GP, 7G, 18A, -8

45GP, 14G, 27A, +15

Can anyone guess what the difference between those two segments is?

Well you bolded the +/- but i'm not sure where you're going with this.

[chuckcouples]

The question should have been why were the segments broken up into 37 games played and 45 games played. There is one large difference between those games.

[Big Ev]

The question should have been why were the segments broken up into 37 games played and 45 games played. There is one large difference between those games.

45 games playing with a steady partner in Methot and not a revolving door of Cowen/Phillips/Borowiecki, etc?

or stats after the coach was fired?

[Kofax]

Here are some numbers that should tell everyone who the best dman in the NHL is without question. Here are Erik Karlsson's stats from last year split into two segments.

37GP, 7G, 18A, -8

45GP, 14G, 27A, +15

Can anyone guess what the difference between those two segments is?

Are you trying to highlight inconsistency? I'm not sure where you're going with this either.

For me personally, if I was given a NHL franchise and told that I could pick anybody in the world as my top D man, Doughty would hands down be my first choice. Karlsson would be high on the list, but I wouldn't have to think about it for long before I chose Doughty.

Rylant

I agree with this. Fantasy it's hands down Karlsson, no debate. Real world hockey, Doughty and potentially a few others that give you the end to end dominance you require for a playoff run.

[Rodgort]

I remember when Jeff Schultz was +50 one season.

[chuckcouples]

Karlsson without one of the NHL's best defensive dmen is no where near as dominant. If you don't think Methot is that good, the brass of the latest Hockey Canada Olympic team disagrees.

Doughty, on the other hand, has made defensemen like Robyn Regehr, Willie Mitchell and Jake Muzzin look like great dmen.

[Big Ev]

Karlsson without one of the NHL's best defensive dmen is no where near as dominant. If you don't think Methot is that good, the brass of the latest Hockey Canada Olympic team disagrees.

Doughty, on the other hand, has made defensemen like Robyn Regehr, Willie Mitchell and Jake Muzzin look like great dmen.

Methot is good but he hasn't been the only guy who Karlsson has had success with. Karlsson won a Norris without him as well. His partner then was Filip kuba who was bad after leaving karlsson's side. I would say Karlsson and doughty have the worst partners out of all the elite d. Even drew doughty wouldn't make Chris Phillips look good right now. Muzzin is pretty good on his own.

Its also interesting that Karlsson's bad split is even more than what Diughty can produce in a good year.

Theres no question he was better with Methot, but that was also when the coach was fired and when Hammond and stone and Turris went on runs. Everything kinda went perfectly in the second half so it's a mystery which one factor rose above the rest. It's also not easy playing his style with a rotating cast of defensemen who he had to cover for.

[Big Ev]

Also just have to say agin that I wasn't complaining about DD's ranking lol. Just the comment about controlling the flow of a game.

[Rylant]

Also just have to say agin that I wasn't complaining about DD's ranking lol. Just the comment about controlling the flow of a game.

I think that most of the experts would agree with a statement that Doughty's skating and hockey sense allow him to control the game in amongst the best in the world. Is he the ABSOLUTE best in the world? Maybe, maybe not; he is close though, for sure. The comment isn't as ridiculous as you are making it out to be...

Rylant