It seems like the meaning of the phrase "playing physical" is changing. I couldn't find it but I remember reading an article where Jim Nill said that when they tell their players/prospects to play physical, they really mean playing tough on the puck first. Therefore, if a player wins a lot of his battles for the puck or just seems to have the puck a lot, then these days they play physical according to some.
By this rationale Lidstrom and Kronwall are just as physical as one another, or Filpula and Stuart, considering they all battle hard for loose pucks and more often than not, come up with them. Staying on the puck and working hard on your assignments is not the same thing as a defenseman being physical. Shea Weber is physical, Kronwall and Stuart are both pretty physical, Ed Jovanovski is physical. Shane Doan is a very physical forward. Joni Pitkanen is not a physical hockey player, unless of course you change the meaning of "physical hockey player" to "hard working" hockey player. In which case you'd still have to convince me that Pitkanen meets the qualifications, but at least then I'd be able to walk around talking about how Henrik Zetterberg is the most physical player in hockey.
