IIRC Krug and Brodie are that way too. But my original point stands that 90+% of NHL dmen have a side that they play substantially better than the other. So expecting a player to play the opposite side that they've played their entire career is asking for a disaster. And of course most players will say they can do it.

Yup. I wanted Hanifin, but we got Graves instead. Pretty equivalent to Hanifin, but much cheaper

Bye full disclosure I checked he was second. Dumolin led it. But yeah it was the end of his career. He was a solid though not spectacular dman in Carolina for a long time though.

Brodie seems one of the few players who can play both sides without issue. Doesn't really seem to have a preference. It's been awesome for us as he's been so flexible

Reminds me of one year where ovi almost got on the end of year all star team as a lw and rw. Lol

Edited to add:

Wow it wasnt almost. He was first team rw and second team lw

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/ovechkin-named-twice-to-nhl-all-star-team/

It just doesn't work. They naturally go to the spots they normally cover. It's instinct. Hard to change what's ingrained

Okay I thought he actually had a bad seasoning Calgary when they put them on the left side. He's criminally underrated on this site. But again the collective opinions on this site are bizarre.

Can't speak for his time in Calgary. Have never watched much western conference games timing wise. But on the Leafs he's transitioned back and forth and consistently made his partners better

It's also covering the board on the point. It's a lot easier to trap the puck on your natural side. You can catch the puck with the blade of your stick regularly. On your off side it's the back hand of your stick against the boards. It sounds so small but holding the point is a big part of maintaining pressure and stopping breakouts against.