Traik-eotomy
Lack of a defensive imprint could make it tough for Stars’ John Klingberg, the NHL’s top scoring blue-liner, to win the Norris Trophy ... Matt Martin may be needed in a playoff series against the Bruins ... Kane, Miller soaking up their new-found sunshine
A year after Brent Burns finished in the top 10 in scoring and two years after Erik Karlsson was tied for fourth overall, the league’s top defencemen are back doing what their job title suggests: Defending.
Neither Victor Hedman nor Drew Doughty, who are the presumptive favourites for the Norris Trophy, is in the top five in overall scoring. They were not even in the topfour among defencemen heading into Wednesday’s slate of games.
So where does that leave John Klingberg?
The Dallas Stars defenceman had 57 points in 70 games heading into Wednesday’s game against Toronto. That was good for a tie for 43rd overall. But it’s probably not good enough to land him many first-place Norris votes, not with how good Hedman and Doughty have been.
The other thing that is hurting Klingberg is the 25-year-old rarely kills penalties — he ranks seventh amongst Dallas defencemen in short-handed ice time — and is still viewed as one-dimensional. The problem is that one dimension isn’t quite at the Karlsson or Burns level.
“He plays both ends of the ice, which most people probably don’t see because he has such good numbers offensively,” said St. Louis Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo. “Playing against him, he’s a guy you circle. He’s a guy who once he touches the puck, something’s going to happen every time. He can do damage every shift. You want to key in on. He’s having a heck of a season, lemme tell you.”
Dallas’ Marc Methot, who for years watched Karlsson get criticized over his lack of defence, agreed that Klingberg is more than just what his offensive stats might show.
“He’s very underrated in cutting guys off and using the wall and his speed to take away time and space from forwards who are coming into the zone,” said Methot, who compared Klingberg’s skill-set with Karlsson’s. “I probably would have been reluctant to say that, even during training camp, because I hadn’t seen him play enough. But, yeah, he’s just so dynamic with the puck and he’s so good at finding the net from the point.
“He’s not a heavy guy. He’s very tall, but he’s very lean. I don’t even know if he’s 180 pounds. He’s a terrific skater, it gets him out of trouble.”
I’ve got him behind Hedman and Doughty right now, but Columbus’ Seth Jones will win at least one Norris Trophy before his career is complete. He’s that good. And at 23, he’s that young.
Jones, who has three game-winners in his last three games, has 14 goals, is ranked in the top 10 at his position in scoring, and is averaging close to 25 minutes per night.
According to an NHLPA poll released last week, Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom is the league’s most under-rated player. But for me it’s Mark Stone, who’s got 62 points in 58 games on an awful Senators team. Put him with players who can produce and he’d be a star.
Matt Martin has played once in the past 20 games. But if the Maple Leafs meet the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs, the question will be whether he get backs into the line-up. I’d personally rather have Kasperi Kapanen or even Andreas Johnsson. Then again, I also wouldn’t want Brad Marchand rabbit-punching Auston Matthews in the face as he did in 2011 with Daniel Sedin.
As we inch closer to next month’s NHL Draft Lottery, is there any way wingers Andrei Svechnikov or Filip Zidina could overtake Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin as the No. 1 pick?
“Zero chance,” said North American Central Scouting’s Mark Seidel. “There’s always somebody who will try to put a spin on it and try to create drama, but there’s no way he doesn’t go first. In the scout-
ing community, he’s at the (Connor) McDavid and Matthews level. I haven’t talked to a guy who wouldn’t pick him at No. 1.”
■ I asked Seidel whether the Senators, who owe the Avalanche a first-round pick in either 2018 or 2019 as part of the Matt Duchene trade, should give up their selection if they fall outside the top three.
“That’s a risky play,” said Seidel. “You don’t want to miss out on a guy like Jack Hughes (who is the projected No. 1 pick in 2019). But this year’s draft is much stronger than next year’s. The guys in the four-to-eight (range) are difference-makers. They could be all-stars.”
■ The worst time to get injured is right before the playoffs. But the best time to come back from an injury is right before the playoffs.
Just ask Chicago’s Patrick Kane, who missed the final month of 2014-15, but looked refreshed when he returned for the post-season, scoring 23 points in 23 games en route to winning a Stanley Cup. That bodes well for Matthews, as well as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and rookie defenceman Charlie McAvoy.
■ Toronto fans are griping that the Maple Leafs (thirdbest record in the East) will likely play the second-place Bruins in the first round of the playoffs, but it doesn’t get much easier in the West, where Minnesota (fourth-best record) looks like it could see Winnipeg (third best).
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” said Wild forward Eric Staal. “But it’s the same for everybody. Everyone’s legit. Every one that gets in there — even the teams that the No. 1 and No. 2 are going to face — are going to give it to you. That’s just the way that it is.”
■ Must be something about the sun. While Evander Kane has six points in six games since moving to San Jose, J.T. Miller has five goals and nine points after heading south to Tampa Bay. Of course,
it helps when you’re playing alongside Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton or Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, respectively.
■ With three weeks remaining until the post-season, a few predictions that I’ll probably come to regret :
Florida will catch New Jersey for the final wild-card spot and Calgary will miss out on the playoffs; Patrik Laine will overtake Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard Trophy, while Kucherov, McDavid and Evgeni Malkin will all reach the 100-point mark; and Tampa Bay — not Nashville — will win the Presidents’ Trophy.
And then they’ll play each other in the final.