Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashasx
I didn't just use 4 "superficial stats".
Players like Weber and Giordano did it all this season. They hit, they blocked shots, and they scored. Keith didn't do those first two because the other defencemen balances it out? That's an argument against Keith, not for. It's an individual award.
This is not an argument anyone can win, so let's stop acting like it.
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Keith blocked shots too. 89 to be exact. That's not much less than Chara's 104, but it's about half as much as Weber (and less than Gio despite Gio playing less games). What do you think would be a good reason for that? If you guessed "Keith has significantly higher possession numbers than Weber" you'd be correct!
See, Keith blocks less and hits less, because he has the puck MORE. He's a puck possession defenceman. His zone starts aren't as high in the defensive zone 5 on 5, but when he's on the ice his team is controlling the puck FAR more than Weber, and a good amount more than Chara.
The problem here is how you're valuing what it means to be a defenceman in today's NHL. These guys have different roles, but it's all about how you perform in your role and how you accomplish goals outside of your area of expertise. Keith is an offensive, puck possession defenceman. Does he hit a lot? No, but he blocks a decent amount of shots considering his possession numbers.
With Keith, the Hawks are in possession of the puck 56.8% of the time. Chara 55.2 and Weber 48%. It might not seem like a lot at only 3-8% different, but considering you claim the quality of competition difference between all three is significant at only 2%, then I'd say the numbers speak for themselves.
I have no problem if you say "Weber deserves the award," because quite frankly I think all three men deserve their nominations and I would not be shocked by any means to see any of the three win it. They were all the best defencemen in the NHL this year. The problem I, and I think a lot of people have, is the extremes you're going to in order to make your point. Keith deserves to get nominated, he was just THAT good, if you don't see it, you're wrong. It's not that it's an opinion or whatever, you're just wrong. Sorry. Furthermore, to say that you know better than professional hockey writers? Come on man. You barely know better than 95% of the people here, so don't act like you know better than people whose profession it is to study and write about hockey. It just makes you sound ignorant on every single level.
Again, if you prefer one of the other guys, that's fine, these guys are outstanding. But you'd do a lot better around here if you chilled with the hyperbole. It's getting a little crazy. People will listen to you without you being outlandish every time.