Dan Hamhuis #2 of the Vancouver Canucks . (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)Rich Lam/Getty Images
This is just a fun list I put together every year, with the purpose of attempting to rank defensive ability in the NHL purely based on a few of the advanced statistics available online these days.
Using some of the figures from Gabe Desjardins' terrific Behind The Net site, I rank every defenceman who plays in defensive situations by the quality of players they face (QCMP) and how many goals against they are on the ice for at even strength and while shorthanded.
It's certainly not a perfect method, but it does give us a decent idea of which defensive defencemen are doing a good job of keeping the puck out of their net against good players.
|
RK |
NAME |
TEAM |
GP |
QCMP |
EVGA |
SHGA |
|
1 |
DAN HAMHUIS |
VAN |
64 |
0.065 |
1.91 |
3.80 |
|
2 |
JASON GARRISON |
FLA |
73 |
0.097 |
1.99 |
4.31 |
|
3 |
MIKE WEAVER |
FLA |
82 |
0.088 |
2.04 |
4.72 |
|
4 |
JOHN CARLSON |
WSH |
82 |
0.056 |
1.93 |
4.72 |
|
5 |
RYAN SUTER |
NSH |
70 |
0.041 |
1.81 |
4.77 |
|
6 |
JOHNNY BOYCHUK |
BOS |
69 |
0.044 |
1.55 |
5.44 |
|
7 |
BROOKS ORPIK |
PIT |
63 |
0.035 |
1.99 |
3.81 |
|
8 |
KARL ALZNER |
WSH |
82 |
0.059 |
1.90 |
5.64 |
|
9 |
KEVIN BIEKSA |
VAN |
66 |
0.070 |
1.67 |
6.04 |
|
10 |
CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF |
VAN |
79 |
0.029 |
2.06 |
2.19 |
|
11 |
MARC STAAL |
NYR |
77 |
0.076 |
2.20 |
5.55 |
|
12 |
WILLIE MITCHELL |
LA |
57 |
0.086 |
2.50 |
1.95 |
|
13 |
JAROSLAV SPACEK |
MTL |
59 |
0.053 |
1.95 |
6.02 |
|
14 |
SHEA WEBER |
NSH |
82 |
0.046 |
2.34 |
4.29 |
|
15 |
DOUGLAS MURRAY |
SJ |
73 |
0.057 |
2.07 |
5.79 |
|
16 |
HAL GILL |
MTL |
75 |
0.063 |
2.47 |
3.57 |
|
17 |
ZDENO CHARA |
BOS |
81 |
0.062 |
1.88 |
7.17 |
|
18 |
NICKLAS GROSSMAN |
DAL |
59 |
0.100 |
2.02 |
7.91 |
|
19 |
ALEX EDLER |
VAN |
51 |
0.017 |
2.03 |
5.06 |
|
20 |
CLAYTON STONER |
MIN |
57 |
-0.020 |
1.67 |
4.10 |
|
21 |
PAUL MARTIN |
PIT |
77 |
0.006 |
2.23 |
3.52 |
|
22 |
JEFF SCHULTZ |
WSH |
72 |
0.014 |
2.27 |
3.98 |
|
23 |
DAN BOYLE |
SJ |
76 |
0.065 |
2.37 |
6.58 |
|
24 |
BRAD STUART |
DET |
67 |
0.099 |
2.67 |
5.59 |
|
25 |
TONI LYDMAN |
ANA |
78 |
0.058 |
2.12 |
7.65 |
|
26 |
DAN GIRARDI |
NYR |
80 |
0.082 |
2.39 |
6.74 |
|
27 |
COLIN WHITE |
NJ |
69 |
0.016 |
2.05 |
5.83 |
|
28 |
MATT GREENE |
LA |
71 |
-0.017 |
1.84 |
5.59 |
|
29 |
ROB SCUDERI |
LA |
82 |
0.042 |
2.08 |
6.93 |
|
30 |
DREW DOUGHTY |
LA |
76 |
0.046 |
2.26 |
6.84 |
Honourable mentions: Robyn Regehr, Stephane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
There are a few key limitations to this list that I try and point out every time. One is that players that play with really strong teammates are rewarded, whether that be a good goaltender behind them or a strong defence partner. That's why you see a lot of defence pairings show up and why players on strong teams, like the Canucks, have a much better chance of being ranked.
Still, I think it's a fair group based only on the numbers. And you can crown Dan Hamhuis the Rod Langway Award winner for 2010-11.