One factor that is often a constant on a successful NHL Stanley Cup winning squad, is an exceptionally skilled defenseman on the blue line.
This is not a new revelation; it is a constant that has been in place since “Rovers” were skating on teams in arenas across NHL cities nearly 100 years ago. In the last fifty years, only a few teams were lucky and skilled enough to raise Lord Stanley’s cup without the prototype offenseman on the team.
Eddie Shore, King Clancy, Red Kelly, Doug Harvey, Pat Stapleton, JC Trembley, Bobby Orr, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Denis Potvin, and Paul Coffey, Chris Pronger, and Scott Neidermayer stood out especially in the playoffs where they added a new dimension to the offense and made plays at critical points in the series.
A dominating fourth forward gave their team a edge and the cup on many well documented occasions.
The legend continues with the Detroit Redwings future hall of famer, Nick Lindstrom, and 2010 Norris Trophy winner Keith Duncan.
Only the two-time cup champion Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes, in recent memory, had no one single defenseman who displ ...
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Article written by Warren Shaw
NHLs Best Defensemen in the Stanley Cup
August 16th, 2010 by Warren Shaw Leave a reply »
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