Chelichic 12 Report post Posted September 17, 2008 Hey read this today and thought it was good. Read Me Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings: Lidstrom is the NHL's version of “Mr. Perfect” because you rarely see the guy make a mistake, and that's quite remarkable considering how many minutes he plays. Just take a sampling of the last five years for example. Lidstrom has been among the League's top four in ice time per game, and in four of those years, has finished among in the top five in scoring among defensemen. He was fourth in the NHL with 26:43 of ice time per game last season. It was his lowest number in five years, but he still led the League's defensemen with 70 points. He was third in minutes per game from 2005-07 after being first the previous two seasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted September 17, 2008 Rafalski was the leader in ice time for the New Jersey Devils the previous two seasons, averaging 25:30 per game and 47 points per season, including 55 in 2006-07. He put up 55 points last season, but played to a plus-27 after being a plus-4 in 06-07. OK so we all know what Lids is, he is an ice time eater, a plus/minus destroyer, he is the ultimate D-man. However, look at what happened to Ralf's stats. Sure his minutes dropped a little, yet he managed to score the same amount of points (by product of the system change) and his plus minus is through the roof, a +23 change, WOW! He was on one of the most defense first systems in the game, granted no scoring makes it hard to get many pluses. I was stoked when the Wings sign Ralf, I thought he would be a comparable replacement for Schneids, he was that and more. I love the reason the author gives for Ralf's +/- : That's what happens when you play with Lidstrom and forwards like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the two leaders in ice time per game among the Central Division's forwards last season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted September 17, 2008 Eric Brewer is overrated. He's a good defenseman, but he's not a great guy to be a team's #1 defenseman. He doesn't score much, and even for his size isn't as physical as he should be. Also, he's a little prone to injuries. Of course, it doesn't help that he's played for s***ty teams his whole career, but that's just my take on him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted September 18, 2008 Brewer 4th? I'm not sure I would rank Brewer 4th just among a comparison between the Wings and Blues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
