Wanna win a Stanley Cup or a Gold Medal? Doughty will help you.
Some fans don't understand defense in the NHL. Don't know how to evaluate it. Don't know how to watch for it. Some of these people believe the defenseman who scores the most points is the best defenseman in the league. I'm not saying any of you fit in to this category, a lot of the people I disagree with about Karlsson are still sophisticated fans.
If you have the ability to evaluate defensive play at the NHL level and you've watched a lot of Drew Doughty then you know he's arguably the best defenseman in the NHL. Same could be said of Duncan Keith, he's in the that conversation too. Erik Karlsson fails to possess the overall game of either of those guys, sorry fanboys. There's two ends of the rink and you have to evaluate defensemen on their play in both ends, not just in the offensive end. Karlsson is far from elite in his own end. He's elite in the offensive zone and neutral zone. That's reality as I see it. Karlsson helps you score goals and does less to help you prevent goals. Doughty helps you prevent goals and helps you score goals.
Some people philosophically disagree with the idea of awarding the Norris to someone who isn't elite in their own end. Some people want the Norris to go to a defenseman who helps you prevent goals.
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