No.... because:

Hits:
Skjei - 147
Slavin - 35

Blocked Shots:
Skjei - 69
Slavin - 161

Giveaways:
Skjei - 51
Slavin - 54

Takeaways:
Skjei - 17
Slavin - 83

Average TOI:
Skjei - 17:28
Slavin - 23:26

CF%
Skjei - 50.6%
Slavin - 52.8%

Slavin played 10x as many minutes shorthanded on one of the best PK's in the league.

Skjei had 110 PP minutes vs. Slavin's 76.

Skjei started nearly 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Slavin start 52% of his in the D zone.

Overall, Slavin had one of the heaviest workload's in the league and performed the same or better than Skjei in almost all aspects, save hits.

Skjei played significantly fewer, and more sheltered minutes, on a much better team. And while he hit more and got a few more assists, Skjei was nowhere near the same level anywhere else.
- BINGO!

I see you covered it more than adequately. Well done

Klefbom got more love than I expected. Not sure among the true elites just yet, but he's damn close. Him and Larsson are a quality top pair
- HB77

The lack of love for Vlasic is troubling. The Sharks post basement numbers when he's injured. Maybe not the best defenseman, but the most important.

I really don't know how we were such a "much better team"

everytime one of these blogs comes out with a top 5 and I even hint a Ranger should be considered, all I ever get is a LOL
- jimbro83

So, instead of admitting fault in your argument after he thoroughly and accurately proved that Slavin is currently better in virtually all quantifiable means or actually forming a valid counter to his argument, you decide to whine about something only tangentially related to your current discussion? Maybe that's why all you get is a "Lol".

The genuine exchange of ideas requires effort from both parties. If you want it, start contributing; if not, stop complaining when you're not taken seriously.

http://imgur.com/h3JVYUB

Anyone else experiencing this hilarious error? Crying Ryan Smyths on every page.

The lack of love for Vlasic is troubling. The Sharks post basement numbers when he's injured. Maybe not the best defenseman, but the most important.
- fry

I think that's pretty true of a lot of those shutdown guys. People don't assign enough value the truly quality defenders like Hjalmarsson, Tanev and Vlasic. Hell, even the hype train surrounding Lindholm slowed pretty hard this season after he saw another slight decline in offensive production. It seems largely centered around the idea that they don't produce enough offense but, often times, their 5-on-5 production isn't far off from those "elite offensive guys".

Since stats.hockeyanalysis closed, I don't have the exact numbers but Larsson (whom I'd consider a tier below those other four) produced similar or better 5-on-5 points/60 than Doughty, Dumba, Ghostisbehere and a number of other notable offensive Dmen. I wouldn't be surprised if that was also the case for most of the aforementioned "defensive" guys.

Often overlooked is also how integral they are to winning the Cup. Pretty much every team to have won a Cup in the past few years has relied HEAVILY upon one pairing for shutdown minutes. Chicago had Hjalmarsson and Oduya. Boston had... pretty much their entire top-4 (Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuk and Ference). LA had Doughty with a combination of Mitchell, Scuderi and Muzzin. Pittsburgh relied heavily on Dumoulin in both Cup wins. Even the runner ups did the same. Nashville had Ekholm on hard shutdown duty, New York ran McDonagh and Girardi through their competitive years, San Jose had Vlasic and Braun. The list could go on.

The few Dmen that can be elite defenders while also producing big numbers are all the more terrifying when think of the true scope of their abilities. Hedman is the ultimate example right now, but guys like Giordano, OEL and Niskanen don't get enough praise. Doughty does this as well, but he gets all the praise because Cups.

http://imgur.com/h3JVYUB

Anyone else experiencing this hilarious error? Crying Ryan Smyths on every page.
- fry

Nope, I'm getting the usual thumbsup Looks like you've got a problem. Did you anger robinsteele again?

Nope, I'm getting the usual thumbsup Looks like you've got a problem. Did you anger robinsteele again?
- MaximumBone

(frank) it's gone already. It was glorious.

Victor Hedman.

- MaximumBone

probably the closest but he's not top 10 defensively. or even top 20. maybe top 30 or 40. but top 2 or 3 offensively.

Victor Hedman.


- MaximumBone

Remember that game last year when mcdavid made doughty his b1tch like 2 or 3 times before the game was half over ? Walked around one of the worlds best like he was standing still. Never seen doughty get dummied like that before. He looked like he wanted to break his stick over someone's skull.
Good timez

probably the closest but he's not top 10 defensively. or even top 20. maybe top 30 or 40. but top 2 or 3 offensively.
- prock

How? Regularly takes on top opposition, is a quality shot suppressor, rarely makes mistakes when on the ice and has consistently operated at a comparable level defensively for years now. He's first and foremost a defender and just so happened to add near-PPG offense to his repertoire this past. There isn't a world where he's not top 10 defensively as far as I'm concerned. Name these 20 to 30 Dmen you'd prefer shutting down opposition- I'm curious.

How? Regularly takes on top opposition, is a quality shot suppressor, rarely makes mistakes when on the ice and has consistently operated at a comparable level defensively for years now. He's first and foremost a defender and just so happened to add near-PPG offense to his repertoire this past. There isn't a world where he's not top 10 defensively as far as I'm concerned. Name these 20 to 30 Dmen you'd prefer shutting down opposition- I'm curious.
- MaximumBone

Top 5 overall in the league without a doubt imo.

Burns struggles in his own end at times, so i wanna put hedman ahead of him, but it's tough considering burns torrid scoring rates.
Even still, imo-


Karlsson
Hedman
Burns
Doughty
Oel

Top 5 overall in the league without a doubt imo.

Burns struggles in his own end at times, so i wanna put hedman ahead of him, but it's tough considering burns torrid scoring rates.
Even still, imo-


Karlsson
Hedman
Burns
Doughty
Oel
- HB77

That seems reasonable.

That seems reasonable.
- Tonybere

:

Yeah, I mean like beyond ek being unquestionably the best defenceman in the game imo. The other 4 are all pretty interchangeable and amazing depending on what you like (ie; burns scoring- hedmans dominance all over the ice)

BUt I still find it mystifying the lack of respect oel often gets. Maybe it's just more of a backlash against tanner , but oel is just so good. He looks effortless and can control the game at both ends when he's on the ice . Maybe it's just cause a lot of easterners don't see much of him?

Meaningless anecdote here, but being a fan of a team in the pacific I get a chance to see oel play reasonably often and there's no dman I can recall that's been able to shut down and make life difficult for Connor so often

Top 5 overall in the league without a doubt imo.

Burns struggles in his own end at times, so i wanna put hedman ahead of him, but it's tough considering burns torrid scoring rates.
Even still, imo-


Karlsson
Hedman
Burns
Doughty
Oel
- HB77

Fair list.

On Hedman, I can think of maybe 6 or 7 Dmen that I'd prefer over him in the defensive end: Vlasic, Tanev, Doughty (by a step), Ekholm and Hjalmarsson (maybe not this season's, but past seasons). I'd place OEL on about the same level and see Stralman and Enstrom being close as far as effectiveness of defending style but they lose something in reach and strength in boxing out being below 6 feet.

In my opinion, the tier below these guys would include guys like Niskanen, Giordano and Larsson (maybe some bias here).

How? Regularly takes on top opposition, is a quality shot suppressor, rarely makes mistakes when on the ice and has consistently operated at a comparable level defensively for years now. He's first and foremost a defender and just so happened to add near-PPG offense to his repertoire this past. There isn't a world where he's not top 10 defensively as far as I'm concerned. Name these 20 to 30 Dmen you'd prefer shutting down opposition- I'm curious.
- MaximumBone

how is he not top 10? he just isn't in my opinion.

he's damn good. I'm not arguing that. just not top 10 defensively.

this last year I think he was the best overall dman in the league. he would have been my pick for the norris.

but instill think there are quite a few better defensively. I'm not gonna start naming names and arguing them. it gets silly. I mean top 20 or 30 basically means he could be first pairing if he didn't really offer up any points at all, so it's not like I'm knocking him.

Fair list.

On Hedman, I can think of maybe 6 or 7 Dmen that I'd prefer over him in the defensive end: Vlasic, Tanev, Doughty (by a step), Ekholm and Hjalmarsson (maybe not this season's, but past seasons). I'd place OEL on about the same level and see Stralman and Enstrom being close as far as effectiveness of defending style but they lose something in reach and strength in boxing out being below 6 feet.

In my opinion, the tier below these guys would include guys like Niskanen, Giordano and Larsson (maybe some bias here).
- MaximumBone

sure. that's a solid list. the gap from 10 to 20 or so gets pretty small so i don't think we disagree all tgat much.

if there were one dman in the league, age, play, everything considered, it would be hedman.

:

Yeah, I mean like beyond ek being unquestionably the best defenceman in the game imo. The other 4 are all pretty interchangeable and amazing depending on what you like (ie; burns scoring- hedmans dominance all over the ice)

BUt I still find it mystifying the lack of respect oel often gets. Maybe it's just more of a backlash against tanner , but oel is just so good. He looks effortless and can control the game at both ends when he's on the ice . Maybe it's just cause a lot of easterners don't see much of him?

Meaningless anecdote here, but being a fan of a team in the pacific I get a chance to see oel play reasonably often and there's no dman I can recall that's been able to shut down and make life difficult for Connor so often
- HB77

I don't think I can actually make an argument counter to that after the playoffs he just had, but it's my belief that the hierarchy among "#1 Dmen" (based mostly off minutes played) is as follows:

----- 1st tier --------
Karlsson and Hedman
----- 2nd tier --------
Doughty, OEL, Burns, Letang, Giordano, Keith and Subban
----- 3rd tier --------
Niskanen, McDonagh, Pietrangelo, Klefbom and Jones
----- 4th tier --------
Ekblad (concussions have hurt his game), Byfuglien, Slavin, Suter, Weber, Fowler (might be higher with a better track record and Klingberg
----- 5th tier --------
Leddy, Rielly, Chara (age hurts him),Green, Johnson and Ristolainen
----- Guys that should be nowhere near #1 --------
Greene and Edler

Lists often vary based upon how much you see of a particular guy so there's some natural biases that can't be overcome. The order in each individual section can change based off what you need or want in a Dman, but it penalizes those high-flying but mistake-prone offensive guys (Byfuglien, Klingberg and Leddy) who might otherwise be higher.

how is he not top 10? he just isn't in my opinion.

he's damn good. I'm not arguing that. just not top 10 defensively.

this last year I think he was the best overall dman in the league. he would have been my pick for the norris.

but instill think there are quite a few better defensively. I'm not gonna start naming names and arguing them. it gets silly. I mean top 20 or 30 basically means he could be first pairing if he didn't really offer up any points at all, so it's not like I'm knocking him.
- prock

I realize you're not knocking him; I've just grown accustomed to him not getting enough credit that I might have taken a defensive tone so apologies for that. I simply believe he's easily top-10 in both capacities and I like to hear arguments counter to mine that might help me question my own opinions.

As everyone has some in-built biases based upon who they get to see most, I'm curious to hear others' views on Dmen that I might not get to see as often. Gives me incentive to watch more games to improve my own ability to assess players- nothing more really.

A lot of homer love for Alberta teams and some pity points for OEL.

No defenseman from Edmonton, Calgary, or Ari should be considered top 5 in the west. Heck, you could argue Nashville's top 4 is better than guys from those teams.

Kieth
Suter
Peit
Vlasic and Burns
Josi and Subban
Buff
Doughty

All pretty amazing. You bring in names like Hamilton, Gio, Klef, and OEL and you may as well open the flood gates. Larsson belongs in the same group as Gio and OEL IMO.
- Aerchon

I realize you're not knocking him; I've just grown accustomed to him not getting enough credit that I might have taken a defensive tone so apologies for that. I simply believe he's easily top-10 in both capacities and I like to hear arguments counter to mine that might help me question my own opinions.

As everyone has some in-built biases based upon who they get to see most, I'm curious to hear others' views on Dmen that I might not get to see as often. Gives me incentive to watch more games to improve my own ability to assess players- nothing more really.
- MaximumBone

I think in tears past he's been top 10 defensively. just not top 10boffensively. when that's what he aims to do, he can put up the points. ibthink he's capable of both. he's just yet to show that he can do both at the same time. he needs to learn to pick his spots.

funny enough, that's one thing Erik karlson learned this year. he improved defensively, without giving up much offense. he just isn't capable of being a top defensive dman like hedman and doughty are.

I don't think I can actually make an argument counter to that after the playoffs he just had, but it's my belief that the hierarchy among "#1 Dmen" (based mostly off minutes played) is as follows:

----- 1st tier --------
Karlsson and Hedman
----- 2nd tier --------
Doughty, OEL, Burns, Letang, Giordano, Keith and Subban
----- 3rd tier --------
Niskanen, McDonagh, Pietrangelo, Klefbom and Jones
----- 4th tier --------
Ekblad (concussions have hurt his game), Byfuglien, Slavin, Suter, Weber, Fowler (might be higher with a better track record and Klingberg
----- 5th tier --------
Leddy, Rielly, Chara (age hurts him),Green, Johnson and Ristolainen
----- Guys that should be nowhere near #1 --------
Greene and Edler

Lists often vary based upon how much you see of a particular guy so there's some natural biases that can't be overcome. The order in each individual section can change based off what you need or want in a Dman, but it penalizes those high-flying but mistake-prone offensive guys (Byfuglien, Klingberg and Leddy) who might otherwise be higher.
- MaximumBone

You forgot that guy that scored 4 - yes FOUR goals in the playoffs.............what was his name again??

You forgot that guy that scored 4 - yes FOUR goals in the playoffs.............what was his name again??

- Aussiepenguin

UnSkjeiable

- K-man25

Yep

He kinda lost the plot there.
Larsson's a quality defender. And he's got a nasty streak which helps.
But he's kind of a plodder that is really only truly effective in his own end. He's solid at separating the puck and making the easy dump out or even an intelligent move to allow his partner to move the puck. Which Certainly proved to be a useful asset for what the oilers needed. But it's not like he's even that good at first pass in transition.
He's a really good partner for klefbom, but is a typical physical defensive guy. Hes admittedly improving and I saw growth in even just last season so maybe those offensive tools can develop. But at present, Decent 2, great 3. NOT on oel's level.


And to say that all of nashvilles top 4 might be better than any dman in Alberta!!?
Gio, klefbom and Hamilton are unequivocally better than Ellis and ekholm (and that's no slag- they're real good)
Despite the kind of down season - Brodie's probably better too

Larsson and hamonic are decent comparisons in pure effectiveness to the two lesser preds defenders i mentioned tho

UnSkjeiable
- Gramps28

He isn't as good as Slavinski

Subban is so over rated. Not even a top five.