Yost: Giordano/Hamilton Best Defense Pair in Hockey

[Bingo]

http://www.tsn.ca/hamilton-and-giord...ockey-1.704373

There is significant value in having a pairing that can absolutely obliterate the competition for 20 minutes or so a night at 5-on-5. The Flames have that in spades with the Hamilton/Giordano pairing. Add in the very talented T.J. Brodie picking up minutes down the lineup and you have a blueline that’s getting the job done.

I’m struggling to remember a pairing that has been this decisively dominant over the course of a full season. There have been a few great ones in the modern era – Erik Karlsson and Marc Methot in Ottawa; Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman in Tampa; and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun in San Jose come to mind as a few examples – but I’d argue that 2016-17 Hamilton/Giordano has set a new benchmark for greatness.

But I thought Spector said Hamilton was a huge disappointment?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/w...ugie-hamilton/

[atb]

Originally Posted by Bingo

http://www.tsn.ca/hamilton-and-giord...ockey-1.704373





But I thought Spector said Hamilton was a huge disappointment?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/w...ugie-hamilton/

Supports this image I saw a few weeks ago. It's not the best formatting but you can see how well Gio & Hamilton are ranked comparatively:

[dino7c]

gonna be some Butthurt about this

[bigrangy]

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=160307

[AC]

Yost put up an episode of a new podcast with Tyler Dellow the other day
https://soundcloud.com/thesecondpodc...h-tyler-dellow

They spend most of it raving about everything to do with Calgary. From the D, to their depth, to the 3M line as a whole. Tyler says having the 3M trio is the equivalent of having a true superstar with how truly dominant they are.

[saillias]

I listened to a podcast yesterday where Yost and Dellow spent 10+ minutes praising the Flames. Different times. Because of the Hartley era and "Russellmania" Flames fans were predisposed to ignoring and discrediting anything these guys said.

It's a good time to be a Flames fan, this looks to be a playoff team and contender for the foreseeable future. The caveat being that Treliving just has to stay out of his own way with the July 1st contracts.

[shadowlord]

When I first saw the headline, I thought: "Isn't this a old article from earlier in the season?". But it turns out Gio/Hamilton has been consistently the best this whole year; and last season, it was Gio/Brodie getting the praises. Too bad there's very little talk about Norris consideration for Gio.

I would love to see that chart with the Brodie/Stone pairing once they are together for enough minutes to make the minimum cut-off. In the current chart, the other Flames pairing in the "dull" quadrant is Brodie/Wideman.

[EldrickOnIce]

'Dull' is not necessarily bad though. Just means neither shots/chances for or against.
When Burns/Martin are on both teams are getting non stop shots, but their differential is +4 per game compared to Gio/Hamilton at +18. The Flames pair generates almost as much, but gives up a lot less.
Good stuff though. Really like these visual charts. I have zero interest in looking at a spreadsheet.

[Jbo]

Spector continues to astound me with his overall being terrible.

[Roof-Daddy]

So that chart right there is a big reason why a divisional rival can get Stone for a 3rd round pick from an analytical leaning GM?

Goes to show that the Flames have three really good defensemen when Gio/Brodie were one of the strongest pairings previously. When you put two of them together you get a top D pairing, while the third guy has to carry his partner.

[Classic_Sniper]

I think the 3M line really helps this pairing be as good as their underlying numbers show. They dominate along the boards and cycle so well creating chance after chance. Dougie and Gio are incredible at pinching or keeping the puck in at the blueline. This group is truly a 5 man unit and hopefully they stay together for years upon years as their chemistry is seemingly unmatched.

[activeStick]

But I thought the Flames instantly regretted the Giordano contract this summer when they signed him?

[GoJetsGo]

I know Gio's offense isn't what it was under the last couple years where the d was more free flying,

but man has he been beastly down the stretch. His all around game makes him one of the best in the league.

Hamilton has been great as well. He's been much more confident since being paired with Gio, and while he's not exactly mean, he's certainly playing more like a guy who's aware of how big he is. That's in addition to his offense growing.

One of the best pairs in the league without a doubt.

And the added bonus of Stone fitting in so well has really solidified the second pairing and Brodie has been much improved. That really bodes well going into the playoffs if everyone stays healthy.

[calgaryblood]

They are without a doubt one of the best pairings in hockey. Credit to Gio for getting his act together after his early season lull along with Hamilton. Having Brodie and Stone at 3 and 4 is a big plus as well.

This team looks set on defence for years to come if we hopefully re-sign Stone. Only thing we are missing I believe is an upgrade over Bartkowski. He's been ok but would be nice to get someone more reliable and that'll likely have to come from within the system.

[greyshep]

I loved the Hamilton deal from the start and it hasnt changed. Everyone seems to forget that this guy is still just 23 years old! Many great years ahead for this player IMO.

[Benched]

i know it's pumping our tires, so I'm clearly biased towards it....


but it's nice to see an article with stats and figures and other league comparables, as evidence to justify the opinion, rather than just fan-boy pom-pom waving or wild speculation.

(ie. a well written article)

[CaptainYooh]

...I’m struggling to remember a pairing that has been this decisively dominant over the course of a full season. There have been a few great ones in the modern era...

I do love Gio/Dougie pairing, don't get me wrong. I just guess "modern era" should have been defined better for such a grand statement... Pronger/Niedermeyer, Weber/Suter were much more dominant pairings.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

I do love Gio/Dougie pairing, don't get me wrong. I just guess "modern era" should have been defined better for such a grand statement... Pronger/Niedermeyer, Weber/Suter were much more dominant pairings.

Would love to see how the fancy stats compare for Gio/Dougie vs the pairs you mentioned. Would be interesting to see how far off they are.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by Torture

Would love to see how the fancy stats compare for Gio/Dougie vs the pairs you mentioned. Would be interesting to see how far off they are.

This would be a very difficult stats compilation to assemble. 1st defensive pairings play the most minutes on each team, so that stat is not meaningful in the comparison. Then, you'd need to compile all of the combined goals for/against, points, hits, broken offensive attempts, turnovers, blocked shots, fights (?) etc. line-by-line. Tough.

This is more of a perceptional evaluation. Those two pairings really dominated the league defense; indisputably.

I often wonder, how superb could a Regehr/Phaneuf pairing be if those two guys liked playing with each other a bit more. Or Bouwmeester/Regehr... So much unrealized potential there for us, unfortunately. I'm dwelling on the past, no need.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I think the 3M line really helps this pairing be as good as their underlying numbers show. They dominate along the boards and cycle so well creating chance after chance. Dougie and Gio are incredible at pinching or keeping the puck in at the blueline. This group is truly a 5 man unit and hopefully they stay together for years upon years as their chemistry is seemingly unmatched.

Someone, Dimitri Filopovic I think, said earlier in the season that he thinks that if the Flames could play 3M + Gio/Dougie for 60 minutes a game they'd never lose.