2008-09's Rod Langway Award

by James Mirtle on Apr 13, 2009 11:46 PM CDT in Statistics Comment 11 comments

Following up on the post listing the top defensive forwards this season, here's my statistically based look at the top defensive defencemen in the NHL.

As always, this chart is based on (a) playing a significant amount of time shorthanded, (b) facing difficult even strength competition as determined by Behind The Net, and (c) keeping goals against down at even strength and while killing penalties when on the ice. Players also had to have played a minimum of 55 games this season.

	NAME	TM	GP	QCMP	EVGA	SHGA
1	NICK SCHULTZ	MIN	79	0.06	2.06	3.31
2	SEAN O'DONNELL	L.A	82	0.05	1.82	5.28
3	ROB SCUDERI	PIT	81	0.05	1.98	5.12
4	KIM JOHNSSON	MIN	81	0.04	2.13	3.29
5	WILLIE MITCHELL	VAN	82	0.06	1.93	6.41
6	JAN HEJDA	CBJ	82	0.08	2.28	5.77
7	ZDENO CHARA	BOS	80	0.06	2.23	5.84
8	ANTON VOLCHENKOV	OTT	68	0.08	2.29	5.88
9	PAUL MARTIN	N.J	73	0.04	1.87	6.09
10	AARON WARD	BOS	65	0.04	1.98	5.89
11	BRENT SEABROOK	CHI	82	0.09	2.11	6.68
12	DUNCAN KEITH	CHI	77	0.08	2.18	6.44
13	M-E VLASIC	S.J	82	0.02	1.99	5.18
14	DAN GIRARDI	NYR	81	0.03	2.38	2.28
15	NICKLAS LIDSTROM	DET	78	0.09	2.14	6.92
16	KIMMO TIMONEN	PHI	76	0.06	2.42	5.86
17	ROB BLAKE	S.J	73	0.00	1.83	4.86
18	BRENT BURNS	MIN	60	0.02	2.35	3.82
19	MARC STAAL	NYR	81	0.06	2.71	4.55
20	FEDOR TYUTIN	CBJ	82	0.02	2.28	5.14
21	MIKE GREEN	WSH	67	0.00	2.18	2.60
22	HAL GILL	PIT	62	0.03	2.23	6.19
23	MATT GREENE	L.A	82	0.00	2.02	5.01
24	CHRIS PHILLIPS	OTT	82	0.07	2.70	5.40
25	CRAIG RIVET	BUF	64	0.04	2.43	5.84
26	DENNIS WIDEMAN	BOS	79	0.02	2.05	6.36
27	TONI LYDMAN	BUF	80	0.05	2.48	5.96
28	SAMI SALO	VAN	60	0.06	2.09	7.95
29	KEVIN BIEKSA	VAN	72	0.03	2.60	4.28
30	GREG ZANON	NSH	82	0.02	2.02	6.57

Last year's co-winners of this fictional award were Adam Foote and Nick Lidstrom, and this time around I think I'd go with either Chara, Mitchell or Hejda. Martin, Keith and Vlasic have also quietly had excellent seasons for great teams.

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Through these Langway lists, I have become a huge fan of many players, notably Duncan Keith and Marc Edouard-Vlasic. Another player I hold in high regard is Brent Seabrook. However, are you of the mindset that Keith makes Seabrook better, since I see consistent (yet entirely warranted) praise of Keith, but not much mention of Seabrook despite putting up equally impressive stats with his usual ornery play?

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Apr 14, 2009 12:09 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That’s a good question … I think the two play together all the time, and as a result, their numbers on lists like this are going to be incredibly similar. Consider that a limitation of the format I use.

I think Keith’s the one driving the defensive play of the pairing, but they obviously both contribute. They’re both far more valuable together than apart, it seems, but I really like what Keith provides. He also puts up a ton of points despite not getting the power play minutes others like Campbell do.

They’re both impressive. The games I’ve seen this season, Keith’s been more so.

by James Mirtle on Apr 14, 2009 12:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The games I’ve seen this season, Keith’s been more so.

If I had to choose between the two, I would probably lean towards Duncan Keith as well, if only because his puck-moving skills are very noticeable compared to Brent Seabrook. Like Nik Lidstrom, Keith does have a knack for being a difference maker on both ends of the ice, whereas Seabrook’s impact is more inclined towards the defensive end and physical play.

Does your evaluation include how many goals a team makes up for when said player is on the ice (for example, Behind The Net’s GF/60 minutes ratio) for the amount of goals his team is “responsible” for when he’s on the ice? I only ask because I think I’ve seen you reference those numbers a few times in past Langway posts, but they could have been random facts to strengthen your points, rather than the evaluation itself. In any case, thanks for these lists.

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Apr 14, 2009 12:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, I don’t look at offence at all. In my mind, that’d be a different award than simply looking at players who can shutdown top opposition like those listed here.

by James Mirtle on Apr 14, 2009 12:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If such an award existed, I’d give it to Paul Martin or Willie Mitchell. Two of the most underrated players in the game.

by Make a play Whitner on Apr 14, 2009 12:16 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

strange

there must be some sort of glitch in your system, because none the awesome Avalanche defensemen are on there

Hyphens cause writers more trouble than any other form of punctuation, except perhaps commas.

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Apr 14, 2009 7:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No, don’t think so. Tampa Bay’s shut out too.

by James Mirtle on Apr 14, 2009 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

weird.

Hyphens cause writers more trouble than any other form of punctuation, except perhaps commas.

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Apr 14, 2009 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’d just like to campaign a bit for Rob Scuderi. Not only does he come in #3 on this list overall, but he’s insane when it comes to the 3-on-5 penalty kill. The Pens have let in only two 3-on-5 goals all season, and Scuderi has been out there for the bulk of those minutes (I can’t seem to figure out how to determine whether Scuderi was on the ice for either of those two goals, so I’m not sure if he was or wasn’t).

by Freeptop on Apr 14, 2009 1:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The Generalissimo strikes again!

Id like to personally thank Glen Sather for doling out a combined $11.5 M this year for Redden and Rosival, thereby ensuring that when Staal and Girardi come up for free agency in the summer of 2010, the NYR are unable to afford them.

And hey, hows the Tyutin for Zherdev trade working out for you, Glen? Wonder if Tyutin could have put up his 9G & 25A here in NY, instead of giving Redden over twice the money, for less points? [3G & 23A]

Glen Sather is a Hockey Genius.

http://glensathersucks.com/
http://twitter.com/ThGeneralissimo

by poploser on Apr 14, 2009 4:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Everybody knows

Mike Green plays no defense blah blah blah I’m a fucking idiot.

by passive_voice on Apr 14, 2009 10:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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