The Puck Stops Here
Top Defenceman So Far
by PuckStopsHere on 12/20/09 at 01:07 PM ET
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In November I picked Chris Pronger as the best defenceman so far this year. Since then his Philadelphia Flyers team have run into problems (they are 14th in the East Conference). The Flyers have struggled lately and Pronger has not avoided those struggles.
My current pick as top defenceman in the NHL so far is Mike Green of the Washington Capitals. Green is clearly the best offensive defenceman in hockey. He leads the NHL’s defencemen with 33 points. His puckmoving ability is instrumental to the Capitals offence. The criticism has been his defence, which is clearly improving. Green is playing in more and more tough defensive situations with the Capitals. Green’s defence was good enough to make him a Norris frontrunner last year and it is better now.
I have always advocated evaluating players based upon the number of “win shares” they produce for their team, even though it is a thought experiment and there is no clear way to calculate such a statistic. I think Green has produced more wins for Washington than any other defenceman has produced for his team this season. People who will argue for a better defensive player this season get one with less offensive skills and with less overall value. Nevertheless, I am sure some people will argue that way.
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Tags: Chris+Pronger, Mike+Green, Washington+Capitals,
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