Kesler and the Selke
I was pleasantly surprised to see Ryan Kesler get nominated for the Selke but I’ll be shocked if he actually does win it. It isn’t that he wouldn’t be a worthy winner, but defensive ability has to be seen to be believed, and voters know Richards and Datsyuk a lot better than they know Kesler.
I can’t speak to Richards because I haven’t watched him play often enough or carefully enough to evaluate his defense. I do know Datsyuk. He is a wonderful defensive player stamped out of that same Russian machine that produced Larionov, Fedorov and Chubarov. They cover(ed) enormous amounts of ice and are (were) capable of making a play on the puck in all four corners on the same shift.
Still, Kesler is ahead of Datsyuk in my books. He’s got the nose for the puck and the speed but he is also big and physical. A Ryan Getzlaff or Joe Thornton can’t overpower him. I think he’s a good comparison to Bob Gainey and the league invented the Selke award to honour him. Nobody wanted to play against Bob Gainey then and nobody wants to play against Ryan Kesler now.
I’m glad Ryan is starting to get the recognition he deserves.
Tom, I found myself wondering if your man Chubarov might end up back in the NHL. Apparently the Russian League is really struggling, forcing players to take massive pay cuts. (Not shocking, given that oil is now down to $50 a barrel as opposed to $140. That whole league was being bankrolled by mad money from oil fortunes.) There will be few, if any, players making NHL type money in that league next year.
You know how much I love Kesler, but he’s not ahead of Datsyuk here. They get it done differently, Kesler more with speed and strength and Datsyuk with smarts and his stick. They’re the two best forwards in the league when the puck is going the wrong way or in the wrong end, with Pahlsson and Richards close behind. That Datsyuk also does what he does with the puck is unbelievable. He is the best player in the league and has been for two years.
I don’t think Chubarov is ever coming back. He has kind of had good but not great seasons in Russia since he returned, which is somewhat surprising given how strong he was coming on with Vancouver. He played on a bad team in the KHL last season, and I don’t think he’s ever been selected for the National Team for any of those Euro-tour tournaments they have, and certainly not for the World Championships. Again, surprising since he played so well at the World Cup in 2004. A fabulous fabulous player, but they’ve got a bunch of them over there. I think his game is better suited to North America, just a shame he’s not over here. I doubt his family shares the sentiment though.
Vancouver should be thinking about bringing over Shirokov though. Had a very nice season in CSKA and has some high end skill. My guess is he’s miles ahead of Grabner and he’d be a much cheaper way to replace Demitra’s offense.
You know how much I love Kesler, but he’s not ahead of Datsyuk here.
Yeah, well, I can’t deny an emotional attachment that can cloud a guy’s judgement. I can’t say anything bad about Datsyuk.
Datsyuk also does what he does with the puck is unbelievable. He is the best player in the league and has been for two years.
I had a discussion with a friend about this the other day in the context of the Hart. The focus is always on who had the best year this year, the MVP. We thought a better discussion was “Who is the best skater in the league?”
If it was the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final and your team was built around the best player in the league, who is he?
We agreed that it came down to this year’s Hart candidates – Malkin, Ovechkin and Datsyuk. I don’t think there is a dime’s worth of difference between the three of them.
For as long as we are talking straight Most Valuable, you have to take Ovechkin. I raved about Malkin last year on this blog, and it still stands. The Penguins and Red Wings, though, both have other weapons and pretty good depth relative to the rest of the League. Where would the Capitals be without Ovechkin? That guy carries the team on his back every night. You take him off the Capitals, and they are a lottery team, especially with the kind of goaltending they got most of the year.
You clearly have not watched the Capitals much. I may be reaching here, but it’s almost to the point where I fear an injury to Backstrom more than one to Ovechkin. The kid is absolute dynamite and does all the heavy lifting getting the puck out of the bad zone and carrying it into the good one. If he ever loses the baby fat and takes working out seriously, look out. He’s as smart a hockey player as they come. Just a joy to watch.
I would argue that Ovechkin was surrounded by more talent this season than either Crosby or Malkin. Ovechkin does a lot for the Capitals, no doubt, and with that many goals on a division winning team he’s certainly not a bad MVP pick, but the Capitals allow Ovechkin to play a very goal-scoring friendly kind of game. He basically has no other responsibilities on the ice other than hunting down opponents in the offensive zone and looking for the puck in the neutral zone (and racing back to stop breakaways when the Caps loosey-goosey PP turns it over). A once-in-a-lifetime freak of nature player, for sure, but the Capitals allow him to maximize his Ovechkiness. I’m not sure you can say the same thing about Crosby or Malkin (picking Staal over Kessel (or Backstrom) looks dumber every day).