A Rod Langway Award update

by James Mirtle on Dec 22, 2008 10:30 AM CST in Statistics Comment 13 comments

Just based on what I've seen so far and looking at the numbers individually, I figured Chicago's Duncan Keith would be atop this list at this point. He's had a phenomenal season, and really should be in the running for the Norris Trophy if he keeps this play up.

Instead, however, it's the 'other' Staal brother leading the way. He's another youngster who has had a whale of a start; the Rangers would be sunk without him on the back end given how some of their veterans have struggled.

A look at the top defensive defencemen in the NHL so far this season, based on even strength and shorthanded goals against and quality of competition. Players had to play a significant role on the penalty kill to qualify.

	NAME	TEAM	GP	QCMP	EVGA/60	SHGA/60
1	MARC STAAL	NYR	33	0.10	1.82	2.71
2	BRENT SEABROOK	CHI	31	0.10	1.88	4.61
3	PAUL MARA	NYR	33	0.04	1.8	0.78
4	M-E VLASIC	S.J	33	0.08	2	3.99
5	DUNCAN KEITH	CHI	31	0.08	1.89	5.16
6	NICK SCHULTZ	MIN	32	0.04	1.83	3.68
7	ROB BLAKE	S.J	33	0.08	2.26	3.45
8	KEVIN BIEKSA	VAN	23	0.08	2.31	3.54
9	NICKLAS LIDSTROM	DET	32	0.10	2.38	4.29
10	WILLIE MITCHELL	VAN	32	0.08	1.96	6.03
11	PAUL MARTIN	N.J	25	0.08	1.65	6.86
12	A. VOLCHENKOV	OTT	29	0.12	2.37	5.22
13	ROB SCUDERI	PIT	31	0.08	2.17	5.69
14	ZDENO CHARA	BOS	32	0.12	1.96	7.06
15	SEAN O'DONNELL	L.A	32	0.03	2.06	3.65
16	KIM JOHNSSON	MIN	32	0.04	2.37	2.64
17	ADAM FOOTE	COL	23	0.11	2.38	5.81
18	TONI LYDMAN	BUF	30	0.06	2.52	3.28
19	CHRIS PHILLIPS	OTT	31	0.15	2.58	5.26
20	DAN GIRARDI	NYR	33	0.01	2.05	2.89
21	ROSTISLAV KLESLA	CBJ	13	0.03	1.74	6.2
22	KURT SAUER	PHX	32	0.10	1.9	8.34
23	TIM GLEASON	CAR	25	0.07	1.93	7.24
24	BRYCE SALVADOR	N.J	28	0.09	1.89	8.49
25	KIMMO TIMONEN	PHI	30	0.09	2.33	6.65
26	MARTIN SKOULA	MIN	32	0.04	2.6	2.85
27	JOSH GORGES	MTL	29	0.03	1.71	7.03
28	STEVE EMINGER	T.B	31	0.02	2.53	1.95
29	KARL ALZNER	WSH	12	0.20	1.84	13.17
30	JAY BOUWMEESTER	FLA	30	0.10	2.01	8.83

Some of the names here are regulars on this list: The Wild's Nick Schultz, for example, is the top shutdown defender on a great defensive team, and Paul Martin of the Devils is one of the most underrated blueliners in the league. Nick Lidstrom, as always, is high up here — even with his team's struggles in goal — so don't take him off the Norris ballot just yet.

Other RLA regulars: Mitchell, Volchenkov & Phillips, Chara, Johnsson, Sauer, Timonen, Bouwmeester

As for the surprises, how about the Vlasic-Blake pairing in San Jose? Vlasic has emerged as one of the league's top young two-way defencemen, and Blake (so far anyways) has been logging big minutes on one of the top penalty kills in the NHL.

Sean O'Donnell deserves some kudos, too, for playing a big part in the Kings not falling way down in the Western Conference. Los Angeles has been very, very well coached this year under Terry Murray.

It's also interesting to see Capitals rookie Karl Alzner make an appearance here, albeit after playing in only 12 games. At even strength, Bruce Boudreau is giving him some of the heavy lifting and he hasn't been scored on much at all.

Kevin Bieksa counts as a surprise, too, although he's been getting ample time with Willie Mitchell on the Canucks back end.

Players at the bottom in my rating system: Mark Streit, Joni Pitkanen, Nicklas Grossman, Niclas Havelid, Philippe Boucher, Nick Boynton, Trevor Daley, Dion Phaneuf, Jeff Schultz, Brad Stuart

As always, appreciate your feedback on the list.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
Duncan Keith	31	4	13	17	17	18	0	1	1	0	67	6.0

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Comments

Funny… we just opened our Christmas presents lastnight (we’re leaving for Alberta first thing tomorrow, so we didn’t want to haul them there and back) and the girlfriend bought me a black Keith jersey, with the Alternate captaincy and everything.

All I know is, he’s looking like an odd-man out for the All-Star game. Lidstrom, Phaneuf, Boyle, Weber, Campbell, Rafalski, Souray and Pronger could all see their names before Duncan does. And considering Kane and Toews are all but locks for the All-Star game, the NHL might not allow a defenseman with “average” numbers in the game.

Don't be afraid to take a few steps back, but you better keep moving forward.

by wlittle on Dec 22, 2008 10:41 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The Lydman/Tallinder pairing in Buffalo had to be reunited due to Rivet’s ongoing injury troubles, and they’ve both been hot, so it’s not surprising to see Lydman on there.

by Afino on Dec 22, 2008 10:58 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

D’oh. Just lost a long comment.

James, how is the quality of competition calculated?

by self loather on Dec 22, 2008 11:09 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I’m relying on Behind The Net for the data.

by James Mirtle on Dec 22, 2008 11:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Ah. I figured it was some measure of the opposing five.

Nice to see the young Staal get some love – I think this is what most Ranger fans hoped for him – maybe 5-10 goals, 30 points a year, but a stalwart top-pairing guy who would chew up a lot of minutes at key times. Mara’s SHGA is insane, though maybe that’s because he doesn’t play as much on the PK as the others on the list. I know that you have minimum minutes requirements, but I’d guess he’d be near the cutoff.

Noticeably absent for the Rangers, BTW, are the $59M duo, Redden and Rozsival. Also, there was a rumor a few years back that Seabrook, when he was struggling, could have been had for Petr Prucha, who was coming off a 30-goal season and could have helped some of Chicago’s scoring woes at the time. That is, of course, a pretty depressing thing to contemplate right about now.

by self loather on Dec 22, 2008 11:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, Mara plays about 2:20 a game at 4-on-5, which isn’t far off from Staal. The sample size isn’t that large given the season’s only one-third over, but so far, the Rangers’ PK has been great with Mara on it.

by James Mirtle on Dec 22, 2008 11:34 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow, I’m surprised. I guess I haven’t been watching closely enough. I always knew he had great value, though, and this just adds to it.

by self loather on Dec 22, 2008 11:44 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Rangers Fan checking in.

Staal, Girardi and Mara have been the most consistent NYR defencemen from day 1. Staal has been increasing his physical play over the last few weeks, and even Mara has been a physical presence this year. Good to see them getting some recognition, even if its early.

And everyone is picking on Rosival and Redden, and for good reason. Redden has been extremely inconsistent on both ends, and Rosival is living down to the fan’s expectations (and not coming anywhere close to justifying the contract he was overpaid). But let’s not forget the other Rangers’ free agent signee – Dmitri Kalinin. He’s been last in the league in +/- for a while, he’s added nothing offensively, and he’s eating up $2.5 M a year or so in cap space.

by poploser on Dec 22, 2008 11:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Amen pop, amen.

I have a blog too! www.scottyhockey.com
Let's Go Rangers!

by Scotty Hockey on Dec 22, 2008 4:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lydman

I was jsut saying to a friend of mine the other day how Toni Lydman was having one of the best starts to a season in recent memory. Nice to see it wasn’t just the rose colored glasses of the holidays and being a Sabres fan. When Hank and Tallinder, or 5 and dime as some call them were broken up, we thought it was for the best but now that they’re back together, it looks like all they needed was a little time apart to appreciate each other, haha. Thanks for the list

by annieb on Dec 22, 2008 11:46 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

When I said “Hank” I meant “Toni” I really should preview these things… haha

by annieb on Dec 22, 2008 11:47 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

It doesn’t surprise me to see Scuderi as the lone Penguin representative…The Orpik/Letang pairing’s been victimized quite a few times while Scuderi seems to quietly chug on.

I’d imagine Scuderi would rank high like Samuel Pahlsson did on one metric Mirtle used in the past: not much goes in his own net but he doesn’t see his team score too much while he’s out there either.

by Hooks Orpik on Dec 22, 2008 12:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yeap, he does. Although that’s fine if you’re playing against top opposition in a defensive defenceman’s role.

by James Mirtle on Dec 22, 2008 12:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

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