Weber.

Weber.
- acdc1206

The picture clearly is Subban.

Thank you for acknowledging that Karlsson is more than Offense, cause he really is.

Tired of that storyline.
- corbechev

Karlsson is magic in the offensive zone. Where he spends 80% of his time.


And he is (frank)ing brutal in the other two...

How was Nate Guenin's name not mentioned, he is constantly the Avs the best player on the ice every minute of every night.

Karlsson is magic in the offensive zone. Where he spends 80% of his time.


And he is (frank)ing brutal in the other two...
- lumlums

Karlsson is very good in his own end. Amazing how people want to take the memories of a 19 year old kid and pretend everything remains the same.

The reality is that Ottawa has the youngest line up in the NHL. And, yet, they have 9 skaters scoring double digit totals. All of this is possible because of the way Karlsson can dominate all zones on the ice.

Every team knows if you stop Karlsson you can stop the Sens. But, it is becoming harder and harder for other teams to contain him.

Very good blog Tanner, might be your best work to date. Tough to leave Suter and Gio off there but you gotta draw the line somewhere.

Karlsson is very good in his own end. Amazing how people want to take the memories of a 19 year old kid and pretend everything remains the same.

The reality is that Ottawa has the youngest line up in the NHL. And, yet, they have 9 skaters scoring double digit totals. All of this is possible because of the way Karlsson can dominate all zones on the ice.

Every team knows if you stop Karlsson you can stop the Sens. But, it is becoming harder and harder for other teams to contain him.
- spatso

He's very good at skating players right off the puck and his stick is pretty good too. He struggles with big forwards in front of the net and in the corners but he doesn't spend a lot of time doing that anyways.

I cannot condone any list of top defensemen that has Karlsson on it. If I were starting a team today, my first draft pick on D would be Subban. As much as I hate the "cheap" element of his game, a la Brad Marchand, he is adept at both ends of the rink and can absolutely take control of any given game. Karlsson wouldn't even make my top-100.
- rynoisgod

Watch him change your mind tomorrow. He may not be the best D man in the NHL, but he is top 5 easily, and is only 23 years old. Best chance for a d man in the modern era to hit 1000 points.

So by this logic, how many goals does Ovechkin need to score to be considered a great defensive player?

Karlsson could score 150 points, but it wont negate the fact that he's weak in certain situations in his own end.
- sbroads24

1) That's the biggest false equivalency I've ever heard.

2) He's not particularly weak in his own end. May not be playoff Drew Doughty, but he's no Keith Yandle, either.

What you seem to be confused about is that the Norris Trophy is awarded to the best player who is a defenseman by position.

It is not awarded to the guy who is best in his own end. If that were the case, we may as well give er to Grant Clitsome and call er a day.

1) That's the biggest false equivalency I've ever heard.

2) He's not particularly weak in his own end. May not be playoff Drew Doughty, but he's no Keith Yandle, either.

What you seem to be confused about is that the Norris Trophy is awarded to the best player who is a defenseman by position.

It is not awarded to the guy who is best in his own end. If that were the case, we may as well give er to Grant Clitsome and call er a day.
- TommyDeVito

I would not be opposed to seeing two separate trophies. One for offense and one for defense.

Yet Alex Ovechkin isn't the best forward because of his possession #s and +/-?

Even though he scores more actual goals than everyone else?
- sbroads24

Alex Ovechkin has easily been the best forward this season, and it's not all that close.

Weber.
- acdc1206

Byfuglien, who should be in the top five for Hart voting.

Ottawa fans trying to convince everyone Karlsson is good in his own end

Letang is having an Incredible season and is 5B

Ottawa fans trying to convince everyone Karlsson is good in his own end
- BlowMonkey

He's average in his own zone.

Way above average at defending against rushes.
Above average at carrying the puck/making passes out of the zone.
Average positionally.
Below average at winning puck battles along the boards.
Well below average at outmuscling players in front of the net.

The fact that he's not at puck battles and outmuscling players in front of the net should explain why he doesn't PK.

Doesn't mean he's a terrible defenseman, though.

My top 5 D all around:

1-Weber
2- PK Subban
3- Doughty
4- Keith
5- Karlsson

Would I trade PK for any of those guys? No.
Doughty is close, but id bet anything that Doughty on a Habs team would not perform as well as PK right now. and if PK with LA, we'd be talking about him as the clear favourite for the Norris every year.
I know i sound like a homer, but those that know me know i look at things very neutraly... Take the time to think about what i'm saying...

EDIT
PS. As a Habs fan that get to see Ottawa play quite often: people tend to Underestimate Karlsson's capabilities in his own end. People saying that he sucks defensivly are way overexagerating. He does a GOOD job in his own end but just not at the same level IN HIS OWN END as some of the other elite defencemen in the league.

Anyone say DeKeyser yet.......... Ok, it's Weber.

My top 5 D all around:

1-Weber
2- PK Subban
3- Doughty
4- Keith
5- Karlsson

Would I trade PK for any of those guys? No.
Doughty is close, but id bet anything that Doughty on a Habs team would not perform as well as PK right now. and if PK with LA, we'd be talking about him as the clear favourite for the Norris every year.
I know i sound like a homer, but those that know me know i look at things very neutraly... Take the time to think about what i'm saying...
- Habs-Sam

Sure... You wouldn't trade PK for any other defenseman because he's the key cog in the Habs' system.

I wouldn't trade Karlsson for any other defenseman because on top of being really young and good, he's also quite affordable. That's important to the Senators.

Preds wouldn't trade Weber for anyone because he's a beast, a leader, and probably the best dman they could have in a year where they were contending for a Stanley Cup.

Kings wouldn't trade Doughty because he's a playoff workhorse and has won it for them before. Ditto with the Hawks and Keith.

Anyone say DeKeyser yet.......... Ok, it's Weber.
- ShooterMcGavin

Go home. Detroit fans not allowed on this thread.

Letang is having an Incredible season and is 5B
- lloyd095

Honestly, yeah. Crazy good year for Letang.

Sure... You wouldn't trade PK for any other defenseman because he's the key cog in the Habs' system.

I wouldn't trade Karlsson for any other defenseman because on top of being really young and good, he's also quite affordable. That's important to the Senators.

Preds wouldn't trade Weber for anyone because he's a beast, a leader, and probably the best dman they could have in a year where they were contending for a Stanley Cup.

Kings wouldn't trade Doughty because he's a playoff workhorse and has won it for them before. Ditto with the Hawks and Keith.
- Mr_Clean

It's very team specific for defensemen. If Karlsson is your guy then you need to have 4 solid PK guys but you never have to worry about offense. If Weber is your guy then you need an additional 4 pk guys for when Weber is in the box, but he can qb a pp just fine.

Sure... You wouldn't trade PK for any other defenseman because he's the key cog in the Habs' system.

I wouldn't trade Karlsson for any other defenseman because on top of being really young and good, he's also quite affordable. That's important to the Senators.

Preds wouldn't trade Weber for anyone because he's a beast, a leader, and probably the best dman they could have in a year where they were contending for a Stanley Cup.

Kings wouldn't trade Doughty because he's a playoff workhorse and has won it for them before. Ditto with the Hawks and Keith.
- Mr_Clean

Ottawa loves Karlsson, so they wont trade him for anything even tho there my be better options out there TECHNICALLY.

Nashville wont trade Weber because they want to win NOW. Let's say they werent so high in the standings, im sure Nashville would listen VERYYY closely IFFFFFFFFF bergevin offered subban for weber given the age factor (not gonna happen).
Same logic with Chicago and Keith.

James Tanner
Arizona Coyotes
Joined: 12.21.2013

"Based on what? I just gave you some pretty objective information that suggest he's (Yandle) an elite #1 and in the top 5 at the worst."


-------------------

Opinions change.
- Reeder17

You don't have to go back that far either. He was saying similar things about Yandle not too long ago.

I don't think Tanner is really all that good at evaluating D. Yandle is good, but nowhere near top 5. Top 20 maybe. And Karlsson is nowhere near number 1. He can't defend at all. Funny, two similar type of D, neither very good defensively. Kind of gives you an idea of what importance Tanner puts on defensive play, when it comes to Dmen.

Ottawa loves Karlsson, so they wont trade him for anything even tho there my be better options out there TECHNICALLY.

Nashville wont trade Weber because they want to win NOW. Let's say they werent so high in the standings, im sure Nashville would listen VERYYY closely IFFFFFFFFF bergevin offered subban for weber given the age factor (not gonna happen).
Same logic with Chicago and Keith.
- Habs-Sam

Oh yeah. Honestly, if I were the GM of a hypothetical struggling Nashville squad and someone offered me Subban for Weber, I would take it and run.

Sure, Weber is better NOW, but in 3 years? 5 years? That big Weber frame is gonna start wearing down pretty quick. And Subban can still get better!

It's very team specific for defensemen. If Karlsson is your guy then you need to have 4 solid PK guys but you never have to worry about offense. If Weber is your guy then you need an additional 4 pk guys for when Weber is in the box, but he can qb a pp just fine.
- Dangles13

Exactly. Different systems will allow different Dmen to thrive... They are all great players, but they would have different values (usually higher on the team they're already on, given that the system is usually built with that particular Dman in mind)