Quote:
Originally Posted by Parallex
That's not possible. If he was a possession blackhole that means the Flames were giving up way more shot attempts they they were taking... I don't think you can call yourself "reasonably good defensively" if the other team is constantly allowed to fire rubber in the direction of your goalie when you're on the ice.
That said as the HERO chart demonstrated 2010-2012 Smid was a legitimate #4 d-man so if we could get that Smid back then it'd be a real boon (both in play and in terms of trade value).
|
He can block shots, doesn't screw up in the d-zone terribly often and can clear the front of the net. But you can't rely on him to move the puck that well as he's mostly limited to chipping the puck off the glass or boards.
Russell also had pretty bad possession stats but was decent enough in his own zone, would you say he wasn't good defensively? Just a matter of perspective. A positive corsi (aka Oilers) stat isn't always going to indicate 'better' defensive play.