Where is the absolutely best defensive defenseman Brent burns

Andy Greene is in my opinion one of the better defensive d men in the league and what I think qualifies someone as that would be defensive zone starts. If you're starting in your defensive zone that means you are trust in stopping the offensive team from putting the puck in the net and getting it out of your zone. Greene has one of the better ratings in the league over the past few seasons. Again just my opinion.

Playing right wing

Interesting. I like that you mentioned the part about getting out of the zone because I think that to be an elite defensive defenseman you should be elite in your own zone and in transition.

Doughty, Morrissey

What about Dustin byflugin



Me in my mind: “I’ve just absolutely butchered his last name”

I don’t know why I forgot Doughty. Morrissey is a good one as well but would you say he’s better than Trouba?

I don’t know what to think about Byfuglien. He’s clearly tough to play against, but I don’t know if I’d call him elite.

Hahaha! Love this post.

Morrissey is wayyyyy better than trouba. He drives that top pairing and Trouba isn't too bad himself, so that's saying something.



Buff used to be prone to bad pinches and doing too much which is why he was one dimentional. Now, he has cleaned that up and is more of a complete player. Tho is great sometimes, he is more offensive minded than defensive. Good none the less, but doesn't belong on this list


However, Hedman Should also be on this list

Brian Dumoulin says screw you

I forgot about him

Ryan Mc"D"

You can't make a top DFD list without Manson

I think Orlov's underrated. Good two-way player who doesn't always take the defensive zone shift starts with Niskanen, but only because Reirden shares my belief that Brooks Orpik is immortal.

Orlov I like a lot, but I’m not sure he’s consistent enough to make this list. Orpik at this point is basically strictly penalty kill. He can defend, but my definition of “Elite defensive defenseman” means that they are elite in their own zone and in transition.

JOOSSSHHH MANSSSSOOOOON! lol

yall stay sleeping on manson

sad

He was second in the playoffs in time on ice. Niskanen played 525 minutes. Orlov, 518. T were also one and two in defensive zone starts percentage, on the Caps. He also finished 1st among Caps defensemen in usat close.

Consistent? Mostly. Bit of a Cup hangover all around the team. At his best, he's the #1. When he slacks, Niskanen gets going.

Brian Dumoulin. Go Pens!

I'd rate Pietrangelo the Blues' #1 by DZS%.

Yep.

At the same time, Carlson starting a little over half his shifts behind the red line last year doesn't make him a main shutdown guy. Niskanen and Orlov shared that job.

Subban would have been a good choice for Norris last year because he actually led his team in defensive zone starts percentage last year, and still finished in the top ten defensemen in points, which is a pretty good sign his transition game was working. Carlson had more points, paying the second-toughest defensive role in the top ten blue liners in points, but Subban, last year anyway, was his team's best at each end of the ice. Pietrangelo this year, last year, and the year before, fits that description with the Blues, although it might still be early to start talking Norris Trophy, until his point totals get a Leafs boost.

Edmundson is also a decent, dependable, shutdown defenseman. I'm still hazy on the inclusion of Parayko, above. You want to throw Dunn and Bouwmeester in there, too?

Parayko is on this list because he’s probably the toughest d-man to beat 1-on-1. The only person I’ve seen do it was Auston Matthews. He’s got the skating ability combined with his huge reach that makes him so unique and almost impossible to get around. Sure, he’ll get worked in the corners or turn a puck over from time to time, but he’s not getting beat.

In my youth I used to hold similar opinions about some Caps defensemen. Nobody agreed with me, but that was probably just because I was wrong. We tend to notice the successes of people we respect, and we tend to notice the failures of people we don't like. I don't think there are any surveys of the ability to break up rushes that have big enough sample sizes to build a team based off of, just yet. I remember one year someone came up with a study that showed Brooks Orpik was the Caps' best defenseman at stopping rushes at the blue line, and the next year the same study showed he was the worst one on the team at the same thing. Now, maybe he got older, or maybe the number of rushes they analyzed, as with casual fans like me, just wasn't enough to tell the whole story.

But when I listen to announcers around the league describing attempts to break up rushes, the home team defenseman either did a great job against an amazing player in such a difficult situation, or else he just never had a chance, because of a great play by the other team. If the opposing team scores goals while Parayko is on the ice, then he's not defensively perfect. If you have him on the list because he's perfect, good for you!