What do P.K. Subban, Kris Letang and Duncan Keith all have in common? All three of them are world-class defensemen. All three of them will represent their countries when the 2014 Winter Olympics roll around, and all three are typically mentioned in the Norris Trophy discussion at the end of the season.
They all have one other thing in common though: Subban, Letang and Keith all spend less time out on the ice than Paul Martin does.
In fact, only 10 players in the NHL spend more time playing than the underrated and embattled Pittsburgh Penguins defender. While Letang gets the accolades and Sidney Crosby gets the highlight packages and Evgeni Malkin has lines shuffled to try and get him going, Martin continues to do what he's always done on the blue line for 25 minutes a night.
And that's quietly play at an elite level in the defensive zone while not drawing attention to himself in the process. There's nothing flashy in Martin's game. He doesn't skate like the wind like Erik Karlsson, and he doesn't have a 106 MPH slap shot like Shea Weber.
All in all, there's nothing visibly impressive about Martin at all. Maybe ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
Breaking Down Paul Martin’s Importance to Pittsburgh Penguins’ Blue Line
November 21st, 2013 by Franklin Steele Leave a reply »
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