In this edition of the hotstove we share our picks for the NHL's most overrated defenseman.
Todd Cordell
I have to go with Shea Weber.
He is a very good defenseman but many would suggest he is as good or better than Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban, and the best of the best. I don't believe that to be the case and the numbers back me up.
Shea Weber, Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban. Not even in the same universe anymore. pic.twitter.com/9FS88f2l9Q
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) January 5, 2016Weber isn't in the same league in terms of possession and his point totals are worse, too.
Again, he is very good but many believe he is currently one of the very best the league has to offer and the numbers suggest that's not the case.
I'd rather have Karlsson, Subban, Victor Hedman, Roman Josi and Drew Doughty to name a few.
Jason Lewis
By a coaching staff and perhaps a general manager? Dan Girardi.
How he still manages to log 19-20+ minutes a night on the Rangers top pairing is beyond me. He is a possession black hole that is double digits worse in chances allowed relative to his teammates. The worst thing about it is that he has also drug Ryan McDonagh down on multiple occasions .
When they are on ice together McDonagh and Girardi allow 65.20 Corsi against per 60. When McDonagh is away from him? 47.27. Yea, it's that bad. I saw a lot of this with Doughty/Regehr last season and it was awful. Thank goodness they started pairing Girardi with Yandle...which seems to be a bit better. Still though, with Yandle he is a 53.99 CA60, without he is a 66.18. It is amazing how much he has relied on his partners to carry the mail defensively. It's okay though, he's only got another 5 years at $5.5MM...
As a whole, a defenseman overrated by fans? Shea Weber. Don't get me wrong, Weber is a really good defenseman. But he is more in that tier of 7-15 group than 1-7 or 1-10 maybe. A lot of folks lump him in in the 1-5 area and that simply is too high.
James Tanner I like this one because it has two answers, both which will be massively unpopular, but both which are pretty easy to defend.
Shea Weber, who is closer to Dion Phaneuf than being a top ten NHL defensenmen has declined drastically in recent years. He is still good, he just isn't as good as some people make him out to be.
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