Nice to see both Datsyuk and Zetterberg getting noticed - most of the season Zetterberg was mentioned, but Datsyuk not nearly as much.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/25/08 at 10:52 AM ET

It is nice to see Baroque.  The hockey writers have got it right.  If you voted by pure numbers, you would have to think Datsyuk is the run away favorite.  Coach Babcock’s opinion is for Zetterberg, wonder why?

I don’t see enough of Madden to form an opinion there.  Obviously, being a previous winner and runner-up twice; he is stout defensively.  But, just looking at his numbers, it is hard to imagine him being on the same level as Zetterberg or Datsyuk:
GP G A P +/- PIM
John Madden NJD C 80 20 23 43 1 26

But like I said, I haven’t seen him play enough to make an informed opinion.

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/25/08 at 11:01 AM ET

Hard to defend against both men, indeed.  You have to wonder how much of that is our system.  Maybe the organization deserves a trophy.  Perhaps something in cup form…

Posted by Hippy Dave from San Francisco by way of Detroit on 04/25/08 at 11:03 AM ET

Coach Babcock’s opinion is for Zetterberg, wonder why?

Maybe he didn’t want to confuse the selectors and went with Zetterberg since he was getting so much attention as it was - give a unified front to increase his chances instead of diminishing the chances of both players.

Or he figures Datsyuk is going to get the Conn-Smythe, so Zetterberg should have something for his mantle, too. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/25/08 at 11:21 AM ET

Franzen’s getting the Conn-Smythe

Posted by Pharazon from England on 04/25/08 at 11:35 AM ET

Franzen’s getting the Conn-Smythe

Undoubtedly he will as long a he keeps up the pace!!!

Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 04/25/08 at 11:37 AM ET

The “numbers” don’t mean much.  The Selke isn’t for two-way play.  It’s for one-way play.  Defensive.  Madden is the clear winner.  And don’t throw plus-minus stats into it.  If you go night after night against the other team’s top line in a shutdown role, it’s amazing not to be a minus player.

However, Datsyuk or Zetterberg will win.  It’s ironic that it now requires offensive stats to get recognized for defensive play.

Posted by Randy from Saint John on 04/25/08 at 12:09 PM ET

My vote is for Datsyuk. He had a ridiculous number of takeaways this year. Players would be confidently moving the puck through the neutral zone, and Datsyuk would somehow sneak up behind them, steal the puck, and start going the other way in the blink of an eye. I was predicting that other teams would stop thinking of Datsyuk as only a skilled playmaker, but they still seem to underestimate how hard he’s going to work to get the puck back. Z plays a great overall defensive game, too, but Datsyuk also makes his victims look like idiots, sometimes even putting the puck between their legs for the steal (and the Selke win).

Posted by Muero from Ohio on 04/25/08 at 12:10 PM ET

It’s ironic that it now requires offensive stats to get recognized for defensive play.

Same thing for Gold Glvoes in baseball - unless you are Ozzie Smith calibre, you need to hit to get attention for defensive ability.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/25/08 at 12:12 PM ET

And don’t get me wrong, I love Zetterberg and Datsyuk too.  They’re great at both ends of the ice.  But the Selke really can’t be awarded according to numbers.  There are few stats that can truly measure a player’s defensive prowess.

Posted by Randy from Saint John on 04/25/08 at 12:20 PM ET

Then how Randy can Madden be the “clear” winner?

Posted by Sp4r7an on 04/25/08 at 12:36 PM ET

If you go night after night against the other team’s top line in a shutdown role, it’s amazing not to be a minus player.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg do go against the top line every night and they post a +41 and +30. I do understand what you are saying that stats aren’t the only thing you can go by, but the stats are there as a result of hard work and skill.

Posted by Sp4r7an on 04/25/08 at 12:41 PM ET

What about Mikko Koivu or Brian Rolston?  I’d argue that one of the two should’ve been a finalist.

Posted by Roy on 04/25/08 at 12:57 PM ET

I personally don’t even think Zetterberg is in the same class as Datsyuk—and Zetterberg is very, very good defensively.

And it ISN’T about Datsyuk’s offensive numbers, it’s about how it seems like he’ll strip someone of the puck 2 or 3 times every shift, and it doesn’t matter who it is, it’s always the same result.  And how a “soft”, smaller player like him is now a threat to hit you and seperate you form the puck, and take it back the other way.  And that *is* defensive, and is Selke-worthy.  Really, we in DET got to see a defensivley-sound, Selke-winning Sergei Fedorov in his prime, and Datsyuk is light-years beyond that.

Posted by Primis on 04/25/08 at 02:18 PM ET

What a joke. Zetterberg and Datsyuk may be good 2-way players, but this is about defense. Once again, this trophy will go to the wrong player (example Brind’amor 2 years in a row??). Patrick Sharp got snubbed. He was my second choice after Sammy Pahlsson. John Madden was my third, but he won’t get it.

Posted by Itlan on 04/25/08 at 03:24 PM ET

Here’s where the candidate list should have started:  Behind The Net

Posted by Itlan on 04/25/08 at 03:28 PM ET

People who don’t think that Datsyuk or Zetterberg are worthy candidates haven’t seen these guys give up many more scoring opportunities than the ones they already earn to hustle back and take care of their own end first. 

I can’t count the number of times that Datsyuk or Zetterberg have beaten their defencemen back to the puck on both hands and feet, because it happens several times per player, per game.  It’s pretty rare that a forward on a Babcock team gets 22-24 minutes a night, but that’s what Pavel and Hank do, and it’s because they spend as much time on the PK as they do the PP. 

Babcock actually said today that it would be unfair to ask him to pick between the two, but I’ve got to go with Pavel.  I’ve never seen a player more tenacious to win puck battles without resorting to checking to do so.  He blocks shots, he takes away at least two or three times as many pucks as he’s credited with, and it’s pretty amazing to watch a player as skilled as he is be the one Wings forward who’ll refuse to make a pretty deke in his own end because the most artistic of all Wings knows that it’s about getting the puck out and placing it in a spot that might end up generating a scoring chance for instead of attempting to get too fancy and try to set up a forward who ends up missing the pass and overcommitting going the other way, creating a scoring chance against.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 04/25/08 at 06:44 PM ET