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Defensemen aren't really broken down into offensive and defensive. The game is far more fluid than that. Buff may not be Chara but his positive impact on the game is greater than anyone not named Phaneuf on our blueline. He has been a legit #1 dman ever since he was moved back there.

The fact that gunnar and Gleason rank #2 and 3 on your list tells you all you need to know about whether or not Buff would be an upgrade here.
 
Pronger84 said:
Defense isn't about scoring, I'm talking about positonal play and play without the puck. Just because one can put up points from the backend doesn't make them good in their own end, just look at guys like Karlsson and Green who are great scoring but brutally defensively.
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It's simple. You shield your poor defensive defenders from bad match ups, put defensively responsible forwards out there with them whenever possible, etc. When you have a defender like Phaneuf doing the heavy defensive lifting at an elite level, you don't necessarily need defensive stalwarts as long as they're efficient at moving the puck out of their zone, winning board battles, and providing transition offence.
 
Are people really opposed to adding one of the top offensive dmen in the league who is also a 6'5 260 beast, only turning 29, and only making $5 mill a year?

It comes down to the cost to acquire him. But on his own obviously a guy like that improves this team by a lot. Any team really.
 
Pronger84 said:
Offensively they'd be our best blueliners, but defensively it wouldn't even be close! If Karlsson and Green were on the team I'd rank the following defensively: 1. Phaneuf 2. Gunnar 3. Gleason 4. Rielly 5. Karlsson 6. Gardiner 7. Greene
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Nope. No way.

I'm not getting Pronger'd again.
 
You do realize that elite puck moving is part of being elite defensively too.....he does get this yes?

Moving the puck out of one's zone is a very key element in keeping the puck away from the other team, and springing your own attack...

It's like im on Polka Dot Door.
 
MyNameIsJonas said:
You do realize that elite puck moving is part of being elite defensively too.....he does get this yes?

Yes, moving the puck is an important part of being solid defensively, however there are other things to it then just that such as positional play, retrieving the puck and knowing where to be when the puck isn't on your stick in your own end. Karlsson is great at moving the puck but he struggles a lot with his play without it.
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Pronger84 said:
MyNameIsJonas said:
You do realize that elite puck moving is part of being elite defensively too.....he does get this yes?

Yes, moving the puck is an important part of being solid defensively, however there are other things to it then just that such as positional play, retrieving the puck and knowing where to be when the puck isn't on your stick in your own end. Karlsson is great at moving the puck but he struggles a lot with his play without it.
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Polkaroo Potato
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I'm curious, Pronger, if you could build a defense core without any restriction who would your top 6 defensmen be?
 
Matrim said:
I'm curious, Pronger, if you could build a defense core without any restriction who would your top 6 defensmen be?
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My top 6 would be

1. Phaneuf
2. Bouwmester
3. Doughty
4. Karlsson
5. Rielly
6. Gleason

Edit sorry didn't know I could include retired players:

1. Lidstrom
2. Doug Harvey
3. Bobby Orr
4. Phaneuf
5. Bouwmester
6. Karlsson
 
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Another question for you Pronger: If Bobby Orr in his prime was playing for this Maple Leaf team, where would rank him defensively. He'd probably slot in behind Gleason, and just ahead of Rielly, right?
 
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