Well NHL coaches polled in an anonymous survey say that McDonagh is the best overall defenseman in the east so suck it

Hey, I was just being nitpicky, I enjoyed both articles a lot (probably the best I've read by you on this site) and think their are a lot of valuable takeaways.

My biggest takeaway is that it's pretty much impossible to definitively name the best defenceman or list the best defenceman. I prefer to group comparable players since bias (eye test and/or statistical) make it difficult to say one is better than the other. It's down to preference.
- BleedingHabs

Couldn't agree more. Except my best work was clearly my review of Lethal Weapon 4.

I thought this was a good exercise. Normally it pains me to read analytic articles because of their failure to use common-sense, acknowledgement of margin of error, and seeing the problem through to the end (I cant stand Yost's posts on TSN, always missing key stats that are critical to the conclusion). I thought you covered this all very well and made note of your decisions that impacted your conclusion. My takeaway from this is that mixing your eye test and stats is that you feel Karlsson and Doughty are the best in the league and I dont think you'll find many to argue that
- WhiteLie

Yes, thanks very much. I think it's always nice when people get what you're going for (or conversely when you manage to explain yourself properly for once!) In the end, you're right, Karlsson and Doughty would probably be my top two if I was building a team from the ground up. In fact, I'd very carefully consider taking EK with my first overall pick. But don't forget about OEL, if he was on a top team, he'd probably be widely regarded as a top , if not THE top defenseman. I might pick him between Karlsson and Doughty.

My new favourite blogger.
- The-O-G

hahahaha yeah right!

Yes, thanks very much. I think it's always nice when people get what you're going for (or conversely when you manage to explain yourself properly for once!) In the end, you're right, Karlsson and Doughty would probably be my top two if I was building a team from the ground up. In fact, I'd very carefully consider taking EK with my first overall pick. But don't forget about OEL, if he was on a top team, he'd probably be widely regarded as a top , if not THE top defenseman. I might pick him between Karlsson and Doughty.
- James_Tanner

Yes your very large disclaimer (though still ignored by some) was key

Doughty probably the best, letang not that good defensively

Well NHL coaches polled in an anonymous survey say that McDonagh is the best overall defenseman in the east so suck it
- rangerdanger94

2 cups and gold for doughty

2 cups and gold for doughty
- DougGilmour_93

Silly goose, doughty plays in the west.

Yes!! #FireTherrien

First year back with Habs, finishes 1st in conference
2nd year back, finishes 3rd, but makes ECF
This year he's 1st in Conference with 16 games left.

(frank) he needs to be fired and replaced with a sack of potatoes because the Habs Corsi sucks
- l3ig_l2ecl

Last I checked, wins and loses were still the best analytic.

As far as Corsi is concerned, there is an inherent assumption that all teams play the same offensive and defensive schemes and that every goalie is of equal skill.

P.S. I am not a fan of MT because I would love to see more offense for entertainment value, but it doesn't change the fact that I like that the Habs win games. Even if paint dries faster...

I guess you didn't see the part where I said I've watched virtually all of his games? Or the part where I called plus/minus a joke-stat?

Anyways, you obviously aren't swayed by new information, so it's cool think what you want and all hail President Palin.
- James_Tanner

So if you watched virtually all his games you would know he's far from being underrated....in fact he's totally overrated

5 yr $20m for a guy that would have trouble making the top 10 teams in the league.

By the way, I watch EVERY game

According to Pete De Boer, the best defensemen is Peter Harrold.

Well NHL coaches polled in an anonymous survey say that McDonagh is the best overall defenseman in the east so suck it
- rangerdanger94

how many of those coaches were fired within the year?

Underated Players
Kindle
Ekholm
Hamilton
Ellis
Rundblad
Klingberg
Michalek
Jordie Benn
J.Faulk
Yandle
Gardiner
Demers (leads league in shorthanded CF% )

Any list with Rundblad being underrated should include a complementary CT scan for the blogger who wrote it....no offense... I like the article...but he is AWFUL

Doughty, Weber, Karlsson, Subban, Keith.. In that order

Underated Players
Kindle
Ekholm
Hamilton
Ellis
Rundblad
Klingberg
Michalek
Jordie Benn
J.Faulk
Yandle
Gardiner
Demers (leads league in shorthanded CF% )

Any list with Rundblad being underrated should include a complementary CT scan for the blogger who wrote it....no offense... I like the article...but he is AWFUL
- ChicagoDave

Sens got Turris for that guy....

Kris Russell is too underrated to make the most underrated list. Leads the league in shots blocked...by a mile.

See, I think you can pretty much totally write-off the eye test because - as I discussed yesterday - it's far more problematic than even poor use of statistics.

Also, the list of various players performing well in various situations is so fluid and so large that there's no shame in not being a top five. Keith is a great example, as clearly he is a great player, but none of the stats consider him as good as his general reputation.

I think it's far more likely that reputations play too large of a role in evaluations and while I wouldn't completely discount them, there is simply no evidence to say that Weber or Keith have been among the top five most effective D this season.
- James_Tanner

Whats more useful to determine whether or not a bad line change contributed to a scoring chance? The analytics? or the eye test? You cannot totally write off the eye test. Stop saying that. Its untrue and it makes it look like you never actually watch games.

NO

No mention of Vlasic? What's up with that James?

how many of those coaches were fired within the year?
- Bigern4MVP

I don't know. It was an anonymous poll, silly goose.

I stopped reading when I saw Jordie Benn's name. I see the effort in this analysis, and you did a fine job, but Jordie Benn...no.

No mention of Vlasic? What's up with that James?
- SJSharks39

This blog has nothing to do with food.

Whats more useful to determine whether or not a bad line change contributed to a scoring chance? The analytics? or the eye test? You cannot totally write off the eye test. Stop saying that. Its untrue and it makes it look like you never actually watch games.
- sniper11

While the idea behind this post is good, how often are players making bad line changes that result in goals? How many goals go in because of deflections off the stanchions? While these events do happen they can't be weighed heavily because of their infrequent occurrence and would mostly be chalked up to luck.

On the flip side, if a player constantly leaves his man wide open and every shot that player takes goes in but the defender actually has a positive Corsi over the course of a game, is that player considered good or bad?

This blog has nothing to do with food.
- Dangles13

68.342 % of all stats are made up.

Some people say that the Rangers have one of the best defenses in the league and you haven't mentioned any of them. Seems odd.