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The Rushing Defenseman No Longer Exists
by Paul on 12/09/08 at 08:00 AM ET
Comments (5)
from Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch,
Blue Jackets assistant coach Gord Murphy recalls the sinking feeling of watching former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Paul Coffey gather the puck behind his net and with swift, powerful strides begin skating up ice.
Like a thunderstorm rolling across the Plains, Coffey would gain momentum as he blew past the first forechecker, head up, puck on his stick. Murphy, a 14-year NHL defenseman, had no neutral-zone trap in front of him or butterfly goaltender behind him.
It was 1990, a different era, a golden age for offensive defensemen.
“Guys like Coffey could scare you from 100 feet away,” Murphy said. “He would come flying down the wing and you would think, ‘Oh, no, here he comes, what’s he going to do?’ “
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Comments
My problem with this article is that its about rushing defensemen like Orr and Coffey, but when it tries to show modern examples - most of them are offensive defensemen but not rushing defensemen.
Dan Boyle is the only one they listed that I would actually consider a rushing Dman. In addition, I would have used Mike Green, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski as examples, as opposed to the one they used. This is not to say that those they listed are bad or even slow, they’re just not that kind of player.
Posted by BZ on 12/09/08 at 10:19 AM ET
Game strategy now really limits the chances for D men to put themselves in the position of being caught deep in the other teams zone… just Uncle Mike what he’d have for you if you caught yourself up ice a couple times after you blow through the neutral zone.
Lebbie can flat out fly sure, but he’s got little demons ‘tween his ears when it comes time to do something with the puck.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 12/09/08 at 10:53 AM ET
I guess the author of this article hasn’t watched Kris Letang much. He is verry Coffey-esqe in his style of play while doing a much better job in the other 2/3rds of the ice.
Posted by invert from Pittsburgh, pa on 12/09/08 at 12:37 PM ET
Neutral-Zone trap should become a penalty, much like illegal defense used to be in the NBA. It would open the game up even more, and would make the game much more entertaining
Posted by bsalamon on 12/09/08 at 08:51 PM ET
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Brett Lebda cannot shoot the puck.
On the other hand, he can skate like the wind and is pretty good in puck handling.
He often does skate right through the trap, perhaps because the D does not pay any attention to him. If he could just shoot, he would be a legitimate threat.
My point is, the potential is there for a skating D man to take it to the net.
I guess nobody in the league has the Bobby Orr skills to do it.
Posted by w2j2 on 12/09/08 at 10:01 AM ET