Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
It raises an intriguing question, is having a deep or expensive D a model for success in the modern NHL? Without looking into it closely it doesn't appear to be. Nashville is the one example. Otherwise how many contenders or teams that have gone deep have been loaded on D in recent memory?
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Strong blue lines are vital to success with last year's injured Penguins an exception to the rule that goaltender their way to the finish line. Otherwise:
2017 Preds (Ekholm-Subban / Josi-Ellis / Irwin-Weber)
2016 Sharks (Vlasic-Braun / Martin-Burns)
2016 Penguins (Dumoulin-Letang / Cole-Schultz / Maatta-Daley)
2013/15 Blackhawks (Keith-Seabrook / Oduya-Hjalmarsson)
2015 Lightning (Hedman-Stralman / Coburn-Garrison)
2014 Kings (Mitchell-Doughty / Muzzin-Voynov / Martinez-Regehr)
etc. All of these were top 5-ish defense cores.
Our blue line's problem is that we don't use them as an advantage.