Maybe Keith because he’s done it 3 times (I know Niedermayer did it 4 times, but he always has Stevens or Pronger to help him with that, and I assume I’m not getting them as well).
Racethepenguin
Hedman
4 cup appearances in 8 seasons is insane.
blue-lloyd
The Oilers dont make the wcf last year without Keith, and my unpopular(?) opinion is that Keith retiring is entirely the source for the Oilers’ woes this season so Keith
somehockeyfan
Lidstrom.
Rext7177
Niedermayer for sure
Also in an alternate universe pronger is the 2006 conn Smythe winner and I’m picking him
JD397
No real wrong answer, they were each dominant and wholly-deserving of their Smythes.
That said… I am of course biased but Keith’s 2015 run seems like the most impressive to me on an individual basis. He was averaging over 31 minutes of TOI/game, which was a full minute more than Neidermayer (2nd amongst these four) in his own run and a whooping *4.5 minutes* more than Hedman (fourth amongst these choices).
He lead the entire 2015 postseason in assists and +/-, while all three of his goals were GWGs, coming in:
– Game 1 of the first series (Nashville, OTG).
– Game 6 of the first series (series winner).
– Game 6 of the SCF (Cup winner).
None of the others have comparable stats to those and I know his Smythe was unanimous , which is wild; not sure if any of the others were.
Clutch as fuck, absolute workhorse, relied upon more heavily than anyone else, and proved it wasn’t a fluke many times over with the several other deeps runs/Cup wins before that. As the Hawks blueline continued to deteriorate over the years, Keith only got better to make up that difference.
It’s pretty close, but I’m taking prime Duncs all day.
Commercial_Ad3797
Give me Brian Leetch
guko84
Victor Hedman and then Chris Pronger. Either of those guys can drag a team a few rounds.
avmp629
Hedman
No-Negotiation1240
I assume Lidstrom is just too obvious as the clear choice so you didn’t even include him lol.
Niedermayer out of these, dude was an elite skater when it was less known for d and he was like incredibly incredibly good at your ordinary stuff like a crisp exit pass etc.
Showtime98
Keith hands down
Avs_Leafs_Enjoyer
Can’t believe people are choosing anyone but Makar. The rest are just so old and slow now
^^^^^/s
citizendevil22
2015 Keith was inhuman
boipinoi604
D. Keith
Otterslayer22
Scott
Just-Concentrate-477
Tampa did it without Stammer. Made the run without Kuch. Couldn’t have won B2B without Heddy. Easy answer.
Dyne_Inferno
Prime?
Probably Keith in all honesty.
saucytopcheddar
Lidstrom.
MollysYes
I mean, I already trusted Neids to do it and he came through. That whole roster was insanely good though.
anthkraken
Keith I think.
I think he should won 2 Smythe.
Vlaggo
Cale Makar and it ain’t even close.
Fisktor
Stevens
HypeForTheHypeGod
….. Duncan Keith
*vomits literally everywhere*
juliusceasarsalads
No wrong answer here, my personal preference would be Hedman or Makar
elishaski
Makar 100%
BannedRemovedDeleted
We haven’t seen Makar in his prime yet. He’s still so fucking young! The potential is there to be way better than the other 3 mentioned.
JBirdSond1235
None, Scott Stevens.
But if Makar keeps it up for another decade them maybe.
DeputyDangle19
Niedermayer hands down. Won at every level. Edit: Where’s Nik Lidstrom in all of this…?
polloasadotaco
Oilers fans and their love for Duncan >
subtractvoid
Hedman
CaptinDerpI
The one from Calgary
bucket56
I think it’s really important to note this is all era-dependent. Different eras had different playstyles, and certain defensemen may excel/struggle in one era versus the next depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
If we are playing for a Cup in the year of our lord 2023, I’m going with Makar followed by Scott Niedermeyer, for their skating ability. I really think Nieds is getting underrated in this thread a bit, as he’s the most distant memory.
Overall, across era, I have to go Duncan Keith, the biggest workhorse of them all and arguably the most well-rounded. Could shutdown, drive an offense, was nasty as all getout, and could play 100 minutes a game.
ThatBasicGuy
It is really tough to choose because there is no wrong answer. But I’d go with Hedman. Whenever I watch my Blues go up against TB, I love watching Victor. Such a smart player!
stephenlipic
Are we talking modern era? The rules were different when Niedermayer played, it isn’t really possible to know how he would fare in today’s NHL.
For that reason I would probably go with Hedman. He’s just a beast, is huge, completely able to shut down opponents’ top lines and eats minutes like he’s Joey Chestnut on Independence Day.
Makar would be a close 2nd but I feel like Makar still needs a Devon Toews to really thrive. With Makar/Karlsson types you’re essentially running a 3-1-1 system so you need a competent guy at the back to keep the negative events at a minimum.
If I’m building a team I can’t know for sure I get a Devon Toews type that works well with Makar and Hedman works great with nothing but a pylon as a partner so I would be assured to have a major piece of the puzzle solved just with Hedman.
Edit to add: Keith IMO is very good but just overall slightly worse than Hedman. Like essentially you’re getting a slightly smaller workhorse defence man. Hedman’s size just means the difference there.
AceConspirator
Bobby Orr
InternationalLuck492
Saint Patrick
Demon-
Keith was insane that year pulling the long ass shifts whilst maintaining playoff physicality and playmaking.
DrLivingst0ne
I’d just take Makar with no hesitation
HarkeyPuck
Hedman , but any of them really.
Mizral
Hedman is consistently the best of these two but Keith during his heydey I think was the best of these three. Makar I think has potential to be better and eventually will be but he’s not quite there yet IMO.
fentown
How, in the ever loving fuck, do you not have Nick Lidstrom in this list?
defector-antal
Makar is already superior to Hedman, I’m going with him. The next Bobby Orr.
44 Comments
Makar.
Maybe Keith because he’s done it 3 times (I know Niedermayer did it 4 times, but he always has Stevens or Pronger to help him with that, and I assume I’m not getting them as well).
Hedman
4 cup appearances in 8 seasons is insane.
The Oilers dont make the wcf last year without Keith, and my unpopular(?) opinion is that Keith retiring is entirely the source for the Oilers’ woes this season so Keith
Lidstrom.
Niedermayer for sure
Also in an alternate universe pronger is the 2006 conn Smythe winner and I’m picking him
No real wrong answer, they were each dominant and wholly-deserving of their Smythes.
That said… I am of course biased but Keith’s 2015 run seems like the most impressive to me on an individual basis. He was averaging over 31 minutes of TOI/game, which was a full minute more than Neidermayer (2nd amongst these four) in his own run and a whooping *4.5 minutes* more than Hedman (fourth amongst these choices).
He lead the entire 2015 postseason in assists and +/-, while all three of his goals were GWGs, coming in:
– Game 1 of the first series (Nashville, OTG).
– Game 6 of the first series (series winner).
– Game 6 of the SCF (Cup winner).
None of the others have comparable stats to those and I know his Smythe was unanimous , which is wild; not sure if any of the others were.
Clutch as fuck, absolute workhorse, relied upon more heavily than anyone else, and proved it wasn’t a fluke many times over with the several other deeps runs/Cup wins before that. As the Hawks blueline continued to deteriorate over the years, Keith only got better to make up that difference.
It’s pretty close, but I’m taking prime Duncs all day.
Give me Brian Leetch
Victor Hedman and then Chris Pronger. Either of those guys can drag a team a few rounds.
Hedman
I assume Lidstrom is just too obvious as the clear choice so you didn’t even include him lol.
Niedermayer out of these, dude was an elite skater when it was less known for d and he was like incredibly incredibly good at your ordinary stuff like a crisp exit pass etc.
Keith hands down
Can’t believe people are choosing anyone but Makar. The rest are just so old and slow now
^^^^^/s
2015 Keith was inhuman
D. Keith
Scott
Tampa did it without Stammer. Made the run without Kuch. Couldn’t have won B2B without Heddy. Easy answer.
Prime?
Probably Keith in all honesty.
Lidstrom.
I mean, I already trusted Neids to do it and he came through. That whole roster was insanely good though.
Keith I think.
I think he should won 2 Smythe.
Cale Makar and it ain’t even close.
Stevens
….. Duncan Keith
*vomits literally everywhere*
No wrong answer here, my personal preference would be Hedman or Makar
Makar 100%
We haven’t seen Makar in his prime yet. He’s still so fucking young! The potential is there to be way better than the other 3 mentioned.
None, Scott Stevens.
But if Makar keeps it up for another decade them maybe.
Niedermayer hands down. Won at every level.
Edit: Where’s Nik Lidstrom in all of this…?
Oilers fans and their love for Duncan >
Hedman
The one from Calgary
I think it’s really important to note this is all era-dependent. Different eras had different playstyles, and certain defensemen may excel/struggle in one era versus the next depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
If we are playing for a Cup in the year of our lord 2023, I’m going with Makar followed by Scott Niedermeyer, for their skating ability. I really think Nieds is getting underrated in this thread a bit, as he’s the most distant memory.
Overall, across era, I have to go Duncan Keith, the biggest workhorse of them all and arguably the most well-rounded. Could shutdown, drive an offense, was nasty as all getout, and could play 100 minutes a game.
It is really tough to choose because there is no wrong answer. But I’d go with Hedman. Whenever I watch my Blues go up against TB, I love watching Victor. Such a smart player!
Are we talking modern era? The rules were different when Niedermayer played, it isn’t really possible to know how he would fare in today’s NHL.
For that reason I would probably go with Hedman. He’s just a beast, is huge, completely able to shut down opponents’ top lines and eats minutes like he’s Joey Chestnut on Independence Day.
Makar would be a close 2nd but I feel like Makar still needs a Devon Toews to really thrive. With Makar/Karlsson types you’re essentially running a 3-1-1 system so you need a competent guy at the back to keep the negative events at a minimum.
If I’m building a team I can’t know for sure I get a Devon Toews type that works well with Makar and Hedman works great with nothing but a pylon as a partner so I would be assured to have a major piece of the puzzle solved just with Hedman.
Edit to add: Keith IMO is very good but just overall slightly worse than Hedman. Like essentially you’re getting a slightly smaller workhorse defence man. Hedman’s size just means the difference there.
Bobby Orr
Saint Patrick
Keith was insane that year pulling the long ass shifts whilst maintaining playoff physicality and playmaking.
I’d just take Makar with no hesitation
Hedman , but any of them really.
Hedman is consistently the best of these two but Keith during his heydey I think was the best of these three. Makar I think has potential to be better and eventually will be but he’s not quite there yet IMO.
How, in the ever loving fuck, do you not have Nick Lidstrom in this list?
Makar is already superior to Hedman, I’m going with him. The next Bobby Orr.
Keith 100%, not biased at all