Sidechat logo
Download TikTok Instagram X
Sidechat icon
Join communities on Sidechat Download
NHL icon
NHL 11w
Why is the “best player in the NHL” discussion almost always just forwards? Not just talking about currently, have you ever heard anyone say that the best player in the NHL for any stretch of time was a defenseman?
comment

6
upvote 32 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous 11w

I think the only time in nhl history where a defensemen was the best player in the nhl was Bobby Orr

upvote 10 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous replying to -> #1 11w

Yeah that’s fair, I’d argue Lidstrom was the best player for a couple years in the late dead puck era as well. I just think a lot of a defenseman’s value comes from things that are hard to statistically track and they end up getting slightly undervalued compared to other positions

upvote 6 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous replying to -> OP 11w

I agree with you there’s no real stats to track how good a defensemen is at defending that’s why the Norris trophy is just the best offensive defensemen and so I do think really good defensive defenseman are very undervalued

upvote 2 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous replying to -> #1 11w

Main reason I made this post was bc I realized I’d seen people argue that MacKinnon was better than McDavid but never that Makar was the best player in the NHL. Personally I still think McDavid is the best player but I’m surprised I’ve never seen anyone make that case

upvote 4 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous replying to -> #1 11w

The defensive value of offensive defensemen ends up getting underrated too, a lot of them are still pretty solid defensively

upvote 6 downvote
default user profile icon
Anonymous replying to -> OP 11w

I think mcdavid is the best player in the nhl I think maker is definitely a top 5 player in the nhl and McKinnon is the 2nd best imo so when you have two players of that caliber on one team they’re gonna be dominate

upvote 1 downvote