Special thanks to Gary Bettman for letting the guys out of the Quiet Room long enough for us to snap this pic. Enlarge. (Photo illustration by Ian Oland)

The stars of the All-Star Game were a little less bright this year. Some of the familiar faces that fans expect were absent for reasons that are becoming all too familiar in the modern NHL: head injury. Approximately 85 head injuries have been reported this year, meaning that nearly ten percent of all active players have been injured. 28 of 30 teams have reported at least one head injury, while some franchises have dealt with as many six or seven. With star center Nicklas Backstrom now sitting out due to concussion, the issue has hit close to home for Caps fans.

While Brendan Shanhan has doled out 26 regular-season suspensions — which some think have gone too far, hits targeting of the head continue. The face of the NHL, Sidney Crosby, lasted just nine games in his latest comeback before being sidelined yet again with post-concussion syndrome. His return to the ice and excellence is still uncertain.

Even worse, a season after seeing three of its enforcers die in one summer, the NHL faces mounting questions about player safety. Some players, celebrated for their toughness, bristle at league mandates regarding concussions.

One such example came on December 17th, when the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Colby Armstrong suffered a concussion after colliding with Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler. However, Armstrong did not report the concussion, choosing instead to hide his condition from trainers, who discovered it only when they found Armstrong vomiting in the locker room. While no one would question Armstrong’s toughness and grit, this is the last place that an NHL player should be expected to show his bravery.

Below the jump, we’ve chosen to highlight 12 All-Star caliber players — six each for the Eastern and Western Conferences — who’ve struggled with head injury this year. We hope that this brings attention to concussions in sports and specifically in hockey, where the problem has grown too big to be ignored.

Western Conference Head Injury Starters

Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings

Story: Mike Richards took a Sean Bergenheim shoulder to the head on December 1st. He went to IR on the following day and missed eight games with a head injury. Bergenheim did not receive any supplemental discipline.

Penalties on the play:

LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Slashing (Served by Trent Hunter)
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Roughing (Served by Trent Hunter)
FLA Sean Bergenheim: 2 Minutes for Roughing
LAK Jarret Stoll: 2 Minutes for Roughing

Richards told LA Times that it was not for the first time he’s suffered a concussion:

“I’ve been injured like this before,” he said. “Like I said, it’s just time. It’s nothing you can rush. It’s a hurry-up-and-wait sort of thing.” [...] “Obviously it’s something that you’re used to playing every day,” he said. “And going out there and having fun. It’s just not the same. You’re not with the guys in the dressing room. You always feel like you could be doing more.”

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Story: One of three Kings’ star forwards to suffer concussions this season, Kopitar was injured on a hard hit by Dallas Stars power forward Brenden Morrow behind Dallas’ net. Kopitar left the game for precautionary reasons, but thankfully for Kings fans, did not miss a single game afterward.

Penalties on the play:

LAK Mike Richards: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Instigator – Face Shield (Served by Trent Hunter)
LAK Mike Richards: 2 Minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Served by Trent Hunter)
DAL Brenden Morrow: 5 Minute Major for Fighting
LAK Mike Richards: 5 Minute Major for Fighting

A day after the hit, Kopitar described his condition to Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider:

“Feeling good. Nothing special to say, really. It was just precautionary reasons last night. I’m sure you guys know, even better than I do, what it takes after you get hit like that, what you’ve got to do (with) the quiet room and stuff. But I’m feeling good this morning, and that’s about it.’’

Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers

Story: Taylor Hall took a Corey Potter skate to the face in warm-ups before a game against the Blue Jackets, and it didn’t look pretty. Hall only missed two games – one against the Blue Jackets and the next against the St. Louis Blues.

Hall talked about the injury with the Edmonton Journal’s Joanne Ireland:

“I looked a lot better before, but what can you do?” Hall said on Thursday. “You can say that I’m lucky I didn’t get my eye taken out or that I didn’t get my throat sliced. Or, I’m just unlucky because something like his has never happened in the history of the sport with how many guys who have not worn a helmet in warm-up.”

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Story: Shea Weber, the Nashville Predators hard-shooting All-Star defenseman, took a forearm to the head from the Dallas Stars’ Mark Fistric and missed four games with “concussion-like symptoms.” No penalties were called on the play, nor did Brendan Shanahan suspend Fistric, who had already been suspended that month for an illegal hit on Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter. The hit on Neiderreiter also resulted in a concussion.

Shea Weber also sometimes drops the gloves. Fox Sports Tennessee’s John Manasso wrote an interesting article on why he shouldn’t:

It’s understandable that you don’t want your opponents to know that you won’t fight. Keep the secret to yourself. You don’t have to disavow fighting publicly. Just don’t fight. You have too much to risk and too little to gain.

Sami Salo, Vancouver Canucks

Story: In one of the most controversial hits this season, Brad Marchand caught Sami Salo with what seemed to be a borderline hit somewhere between a hip check and a clip. This earned Marchand a lengthy suspension from Brendan Shanahan, missing five games; Salo is yet to return.

Penalties:
BOS Brad Marchand: 5 Minute Major for Clipping (Served by Shawn Thornton)
BOS Brad Marchand: 10 Minute Game Misconduct

Salo told Vancouver Sun what he thinks about the hit:

“I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck,” Salo said Friday, answering questions for the first time since landing heavily on the back of his head and neck when upended by Marchand during the Canucks’ 4-3 win in Boston two weeks ago. “You can’t play the game thinking about what other guys might do. You can’t play the game… thinking this guy might elbow me or something.

Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild

Photos by PointNShoot

Story: Minnesota goaltender Josh Harding was accidentally elbowed in the head by his teammate, Nick Schultz, while battling with the Sharks’ Joe Pavelski in front of the net. The elbow left Harding with a concussion. He became the fourth Wild player to suffer from a concussion this season joining Guillaume Latendresse, Marek Zidlicky, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard on the sidelines.

Western Conference Honorable Mention

Forwards: Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagne, R.J. Umberger, Ryane Clowe, Alex Steen, Andy McDonald, Mike Fisher. Defensemen: Brent Seabrook, Ian White, Radek Martinek, Michal Roszival, Carlo Colaiacovo. Goalie: Steve Mason.

Eastern Conference Head Injury Starters

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Story: You’re probably already sick of reading about Crosby’s collision with then-Capital David Steckel and hit by Lightning d-man Victor Hedman, so we won’t elaborate on it. Sid’s comeback from those two hits lasted all of nine games. In the last game he played, he collided with the Bruins’ David Krejci and that is believed to be a reason of his latest concussion. He also collided with teammate Chris Kunitz, which as the National Post so elegantly said, “finished him.” It was revealed during All-Star Weekend that Crosby suffered a broken neck as well.

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Story: Another friendly-fire incident that resulted in injury, Giroux was accidentally kneed by teammate Wayne Simmonds, who tried to jump over the fallen Giroux. Giroux missed only four games and at first it looked like he never missed a beat, recording a four-point performance in the very first game back, but then…

PhillyBurbs.com sums it up best:

The conspiracy theory is that the concussion he suffered back on Dec. 10 against Tampa Bay (in a collision with teammate Wayne Simmonds) hasn’t completely healed yet and that there might be some residual effects.

Giroux did return after missing four games and put together a four-point night at Dallas on Dec. 21. But in the 13 games since then, just one goal (in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic) and eight assists.

Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals

Story: The Washington Capitals first-half MVP, Nicklas Backstrom, was elbowed by Rene Bourque, who was later suspended five games by Shanahan for the incident (and beaten up by us video-game style). Backstrom has no timetable for a return, and the Capitals’ success and overall mobility has declined with him out of the lineup. The Caps with and without Backstrom are two entirely different teams. Backstrom’s health will likely influence George McPhee’s trade strategy come the deadline.

Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers

Story: One of the scariest injuries in awhile, because of its seriousness and because of its effect on a player who has been a measuring stick for toughness. Chris Pronger was hit high by an errant Mikhail Grabovski stick. Right away, the injury didn’t look good with concerns mostly focused on damage to his sight. However, Pronger returned from what was called an “eye injury” and played six games. After that, he had a knee injury that required surgery, and it was only at this time that the Flyers organization revealed that he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome, and would likely be out for the rest of the season.

The Flyers’ captain told NHL.com:

“I just didn’t feel well, I didn’t know what it was,” Pronger said that day. “I never felt like that before with headaches and nausea, and that stuff. I had a concussion baseline test and passed that … I got lightheaded, had headaches, you’re nauseous.”

Pronger’s wife Lauren also offered her perspective on the injury:

“It’s a tough go at home,” she said. “We’re going day-to-day right now — good days, bad days. It’s been a lot of trauma going on. We’re just praying right now. He’s battling. He wants to be out there more than anybody. It’s tough for all of us to watch him go through this.”

Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Story: Kris Letang was injured in the third period of a Canadiens – Penguins game on November 25. He returned in that game and scored the OT game-winner, but missed 21 games afterwards. Though there was no penalty call on the play, Pacioretty was suspended three games by the Department of Player Safety.

Sidney Crosby gave Letang advice before he returned to the ice. Letang told the media:

“Pay attention to how your body reacts out there and make sure I’m 100 percent ready, not taking any chances because you need your head for the rest of your life. It was a question of feeling good and being confident that I can do the job out there.”

Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

Story: Ryan Miller was hit by Milan Lucic in a race for the puck. Lucic was not suspended for the hit and only got two minutes of penalty time for charging. Later this season, Jordin Tootoo collided with Miller and was suspended for two games. The concussion Miller sustained after the Lucic hit was his second in a year.

Miller told Yahoo! Sports what it felt like to have a concussion:

“My issue every time has been, it affects your focus and concentration,” Miller said. “You feel like you have ADD. You feel like you have extreme ADD when you have the headaches and you have the uncomfortable ‘off’ feeling. I mean, I think history can kind of show I’m a very intense, focused person, and when I can’t even get through a 10-, 15-minute task at home, which I can usually sit down and do, something’s wrong.”

Eastern Conference Honorable Mention

Forwards: Jeff Skinner, Martin St. Louis, Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, Danny Briere, Evander Kane. Defensemen: Zbynek Michalek, Joni Pitkanen, Marс Staal, John-Michael Liles, Victor Hedman. Goalies: James Reimer, Al Montoya, Rick DiPietro.

Layout, graphics, and introduction by Ian Oland.
Additional reporting by Ana Hansen.

Photo credit: paparazzi.ru

This week, the Caps went 3-1-0 against the Lightning, Hurricanes, Islanders, and Habs, and if you asked someone who they thought was the only team to beat us, they would probably be surprised by the answer. Despite being outshot 77-136, the Caps still managed to outscore opponents 9-7 and take 6 of 8 points. Especially if you blindly ignore that Tuesday ever happened, it was a pretty good week.

Elsewhere in the NHL, a compelling case was made for wearing helmets in warmups, Mrs. Pronger made us sad about Chris Pronger again, Brian Elliott was re-signed in St. Louis, Chara and Alfredsson were named captains of the All-Star Game, Rangers owner James Dolan apparently has no idea the Stanley Cup is not awarded in January, and Ryan Kesler and Alain Vigneault had a lovers’ quarrel.

In case you were wondering the most important question–how does everything in the world apply to the Washington Capitals?–here’s a helpful guide to what’s terrible this week.

Best of the week

• Dmitry Orlov has a pretty hard shot.
• This graphic will be helpful for tonight!
• Terrifying enforcer Karl Alzner fought Steve Downie.
• Alex Ovechkin, rap star.
• Dmitry Orlov’s face after scoring his first NHL goal.
• If you haven’t watched the Rene Bourque Punch-Out Video, watch the Rene Bourque Punch-Out video.

Follow Ana on twitter, or on her blog, you know, if you feel like it, or get really bored.

Doug Johnson of the Puck Buddys delivers your pregame report. @PuckBuddys.

The Puck Drop: So, class, pencils down. What have we learned this weekend, hmm? Anyone? Anyone?

Well one of the things we’ve learned is that Coach Dale Hunter really isn’t like Coach Bruce Boudreau. As a player or as a coach. Yes, do we remember that? Do we also remember how Dennis Wideman got gipped out of a hat trick by some fusty clock-watchers in Toronto? Recall that? And… and another lesson; do we all remember how confusing it is to watch the Capitals play game to game? That roller-coaster – yeah, remember that? Awake one night, asleep the next? Hmmm?

It’s AH (Anno Hunteramus) 1, and so far we’re breaking even with genuinely mixed performances. A few months back, before “The Troubles“, we spanked the Flyers 5-2 in their own barn, with Hamrlik (remember when he was hot?) knocking in the GWG and Vokoun in the net. And here we are today. It’s cold, but Hamrlik is sorta hot again – or at least not cold cabbage – and Raccoon is once again starting to show a little of his elite-ness.

So, class, this Tuesday, which Capitals team do you think will show up? Hmm? Bueller?

The Naughty and Nice List, Part Deux

Oh, we can’t move forward before we distribute treats to our favored Caps! (If only…) Our Kringlelicious list starts with:

• 

  Sasha ^ 2

  Naughty: A first for our list, at least this one. Sasha appears to be struggling under…well, what? New coach? Excessive enigmaticness? Not enough attention from Ovi or Nicky? Alex Semin…Mr. Semin? Eyes front young man! You are daydreaming too much and need to buckle down. You don’t want to get left behind, do you? Well, do you? No, I thought not. Alex Semin gets our first-ever, totally non-creepy punishment of a lump of coal. Or a visit by Krampus, who will bundle him in a sack beating him with switches while Moors load him into a boat for oblivion. Hey, it’s not our mythology.

• Nice: Nicky 19, again, is doing yeoman’s work, and for that gets a plate of fresh-baked Schmunikenknugen. Wideman already got our hat – which was rightly earned, NHL douches – so we’re knitting a pair of mittens for his current, or future, special lady friend. But the holiday confetti goes to John “Towelie” Carlson, who continues to dazzle, notably now under his training-wheels coach, and reminds us every game what commitment and focus really are. That, and always being handy with a towel.

What Makes Them Hot

Yap yap, the dogs have been barking that we don’t have enough inside intel on the other teams. Oh yeah? Well BOOM! We just went and got the freshest smack on the Philly Pheebs available, courtesy PuckBuddys’ senior correspondent – AND 1/2 of our Winter Classic team – Joseph. Welcome to school, boys! Click him here and be in awe… so check, and mate.

At left: Chris Pronger (out with a concussion/virus)

1: Lightning in a Bottle: So the Phlyers phlaked their way through another win Saturday, this time against the Bolts. Except it wasn’t phakery. They’re down several key players – monster Chris Pronger, adorable Brayden Schenn and now, potentially, shrimp-tastic Claude Giroux. Add to that Laperrierre (add or detract vowels as fits,) Gustafsson and Betts and you’ve got a hobbled team. AND yet, they managed to thrash Tampa. Watch out Caps: ugly Philly dogs can bite.

2: Rookie Luck: Per Joseph, rookie D-men Kevin Marshall (really not so much of a child anymore) and Marc-Andre Bourdon (isn’t that a dessert?) have been playing beyond expectations. Sure, they need to, given the crimped Flyers’ bench. But just as we celebrate Alzner and Carlson, Philly is celebrating these two dipwads, and with good reason. They have the potential to f-us up. Oh, AND Jagr – ugh – plays like he never did with us, which is to say, good. (And the f-er is hot as hell, still, which just makes us hate him even more.)

Brayden Schenn

3: Anger Bear: Joseph was too classy (another Flyers first) to say it but the Flyers have one thing going for them even more this season than previous ones: anger. Sure, everyone hates them; even, we hear, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Yeah, they play in toiletville for diabetic cases who can’t stuff enough toxic yellow cheese in their mouths. But…but, they are playing in this year’s Winter Classic. And against the Rangers (vomit-buckets at the ready.) There is nothing like a fight with a New Yorker to get a Philadelphian…Philadehoover?…Philajerkist?…up and on their toes. They want that Classic. And there’s no better way – if you’re sorry enough to be Philadelphia – than to beat the Caps.

What Makes Them Not

1: Ow! Owie Owie OW OW!  Oh Lord, we’re not going to take a stroll through the sick ward on the Philly bench. Let the ghouls do that. C’mon, they’re playing like the Black Knight in the Holy Grail (dork alert); limbs hacked, blood spurting. (“Bring us an shrubbery! Avery!)  They’ve got mouth, but do they have much more?

2: History. Oh, haha, look at me! I’m Newt Gingrich, and I’m a historian! Whoops, whatever, all politicians stink; it’s just the ones that open their mouths and belch out nonsense that are remembered. Over the years the Flyers may have dominated the Caps (or, in fact, they have) but – and this is my huge BUT  – they have only come 39-36 at Caps home games over the entire play. Meaning all those years we sucked and they didn’t? We’re still almost even at home. Yeah, this is a home game. Caps, you’re rockin’ the red (10-4-1) at Verizon this season. We expect that to continue.

3: Orange You Sick Yet?  OMG. RLY? SRSLY? Orange? God, the dried-up vomit along U Street on a Saturday morning looks better than those Philly orange….eeeygh. I’m getting queasy just thinking about it. LOOK Philly, we’ve taken you to task before, and you persist in coming back, like the Spanish flu. Repeat after me: “Nobody likes me. I’m a Flyers fan. My city is a vermin-infested sewer. Animals with sense flee from me. I stink like offal on a stick in the sun and smell like ass. I am a Philadelphian.”

Yeah, that’s it. Flyer trolls, go run and look up “offal” while you shove more CheezWhiz down your throat.

Meme of the Night

(Photo credit: Andre Ringuette)

True story. Guy walks into a bar. He immediately pulls down his pants, starts cursing a blue streak, and vomits on the floor before stumbling out the door. Bartender says: “Hey, I didn’t know there was a Flyers game today!”

The Low Down: There’s no question Philadelphia is cursed with the worst sports fans in the history of everdom, and that includes the Flyers. Their arena smells, their colors look like butt, and those are the nice things we have to say.

Unfortunately, they’re also a consistently solid squad, bringing a hard game to every outing. The Broad Street Bullies may be long gone, but the Flyers remain a serious team – this year included. Unlike the Caps, they don’t need to “get up” for any particular game; they’re ready to play from the first puck drop. Just like Mike Knuble… except for the fact that we adore Kanoobs and hate them. So what’s the secret to their success?

Their Secret Weapon

The Power of Pugly? No, much credit of late must go to coach Peter Laviolette, who in his nine years as NHL coach has lead three teams to the playoffs six times, capturing Lord Stanley’s Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. You don’t get those results through luck alone.

This is Laviolette’s third season with the Flyers (Hawks’ fans no doubt remember him well) and so far his overhaul of last year’s roster appears to have built on the core Flyers strengths, much as Boudreau and GMGM (to a lesser degree) have attempted for the Caps.

And we suspect this is due in large measure to a truly secret weapon: Flyer scout Patrick Burke. Just one of 15 on the scouting team, Burke is said to have one of the sharpest eyes for talent around. He should… it’s in his genes.

What Makes Them Hot

Chris Pronger

#1: Chris Pronger. A newly minted captain, Pronger is among the most effective defensemen anywhere on ice this season. 1 goal and 4 assists make him 20th in the league in points – not bad for a big rig who’s pushing the upper edges of 30’s. Harder to put your finger on, but we think there’s something about knowing you’re leading your team in the Winter Classic that makes a guy feel a little invincible. And with a name like “Pronger”…well, ‘nuff said.

#2: Jaromir Jagr. Defeating every anti-bacterial effort to make this 38-year-old scab dry up and go away, Jagr is back on the ice, already getting three assists this season, and now we’re facing him again. Given the Caps at-times chaotic performances in the zone (1st period against the Pens’ forecheck, anybody?), Jagr and linemate Claude Giroux could give Tomáš (or Neuvy) (or Holtby) (or Saborin) fits. We know it’s righteous to lay down the Jagr-hate in this town, and why not? He’s a stain. He’s the wanker always trying to “Friend” you. He’s basically the Brinks bank robber with a Munster mullet. 10 shots with no points against Ottawa? Let’s just make sure he doesn’t add any more points to his tally Thursday.

#3: Ilya Bryzgalov. OK, I grew up in Detroit where “z” is considered a vowel, but this guy’s name is still a puzzle. So are his tweets. Obvs a big fan of the Lion King, @bryzgoalie30 reads less like a professional athlete and more like a 10-year-old with Twitterrhea. “Childhood is when you are running from the bathroom in the middle of the night, happy you didn’t get eaten,” are among the updates that make more sense. I do NOT want to see what’s in his bathroom. If there is something about this cat, it’s why he’s been spending so much time in the crease. Boasting a .935% save rate so far this season, he’s not infallible but pretty damn close. Worse, Sergei “Bob” Bobrovsky showed a lot of promise in camp this year, giving Laviolette a choice between good and good.

What Makes Them Not

Brayden Schenn

#1: Zac Rinaldo. Sounding like the dumpy one in a Disney boy-band is Rinaldo, a 5’forgettable, 170-pound pest with exactly 0 goals or assists so far. But he almost gave Kings defenseman Drew Doughty a concussion recently, so there’s that. Sasha may or may not care, but this guy doesn’t even rate: a zero save for his willingness to get in the way of good players. We strongly encourage everyone to ignore this jerk at all costs. Maybe like the recession, he’ll just go away. Oh, wait; he just did, sent packing by Laviolette to the Phantoms. (Were you reading our draft, coach?) But we had so many more Rinaldo jokes! Ugh, called up in his place is Brayden Schenn, which isn’t the best news. Schenn’s a skilled center (8 goals 10 assists last year) who hasn’t seen much ice time lately. Whether he takes Rhino’s spot on the fourth line or bumps someone else will be interesting to see.

#2: Ouch. Still on injured reserve are Blair Betts and Ian LaPerriere, which is too bad for the Flyers because they could use these two. Betts isn’t a big scorer, but he’s consistent, as is right winger LaPerriere, who’s out with post-concussion syndrome. And while technically healthy, Matt Carle just has not been performing up to par.

#3: Phans. You know what’s funny? Booing a Cancer Awareness PSA. Fun-nee! Or laughing at injured players on the ice. Hi-LAR-ious! Or beating up rival fans in the stands. Oh, you scamps! Look, Philadelphia: get over it. Nobody wants to be you, nobody wants to live in you, nobody wants to play for you. You are a colossal super-collider of suck, and everyone knows it. Just save us all the bother, sit down, and shut it.

What To Watch For

On the Caps bench, we may, or may not, have put to rest our sluggish opening stanzas. While it’s hard to argue with 5-0, we’ll take a slug or two anyway (just call us Jay Beagle) – the Flyers are in just about everyone’s top 5 list at the moment, and if we give them an opening, it will be very hard to claw back. It wasn’t just a couple star players that participated in the Senators thrashing, it was most of the Flyers unit. We’re also watching for news on Neuvy’s bad paw.

Over on the jerky side, let’s see where Schenn and if Jody Shelley play – Shelley’s just off one of Shanahan’s five-game suspensions for boarding and just generally being an ass (although technically you can’t really be suspended for that – yet.)

The Only Thing We Share

The good sense to despise the Pens. And the Rangers. And the Devils.

Schultz For Norris? Maybe next year, Sarge. (Illustration by @megHamonster)

The Norris Trophy sounds simple to award: “The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

Not surprisingly, it seems the voters (Professional Hockey Writers’ Association) use how many points a defenseman scores in the season as the “offensive component” when looking for their winner. Since the 1997-8 season, only last year’s winner (Zdeno Chara) has been out of the Top 10 in Points for defensemen – and he wasn’t out by much, ranking 12th.

A defenseman’s Plus/Minus factors in to the voting as the “defensive component.” In the same time frame, all but two winners had a Plus/Minus less than 10 – Nicklas Lidstrom in 2000-1 had a +9 and Rob Blake in 1997-8 had a -3 (the only other winner of the Norris with a negative Plus/Minus was Randy Carlyle in 1980-1). And you would have to go back to when the “Secretary of Defense” won the first of his two Norris Trophies to find another winner with a Plus/Minus not in the double digits.

We can narrow down the list to who should be the finalists, and eventually the winner, if we use these two stats to guide us through the candidates (as of Apr 10, 2010):

• Mike Green, WSH – 75 points, +37
• Duncan Keith, CHI – 68 points, +21
• Drew Doughty, LAK – 58 points, +19
• Chris Pronger, PHI – 55 points, +22
• Nicklas Lidstrom – DET, 49 points, +22
• Tyler Myers, BUF – 47 points, +14

We can further narrow down the list by age. If we take out Bobby Orr‘s Norris domination from 1967 to 1975, with the exception of Dennis Potvin (who sucks) in 1975-6, no other Norris winner was younger than 23 years old. That appears to eliminate Drew Doughty (20 years old) and Tyler Myers (19). My guess is the voters also look at the award as a “right of passage.”

That leaves us with four candidates – Green, Keith, Pronger and Lidstrom – with a chance to win.

If we go back to the criteria to win, “greatest all-round ability in the position,” it is hard to ignore Mike Green. He ranks first in Points for defensemen and second in Plus/Minus for defensemen and 4th overall for the entire NHL.

Looking at it another way: Mike Green would have the best expected win% (and wins) based on Goals For and Against when he is on the ice, even with less ice time than the other candidates:

• Mike Green, expected win% .761, 24 wins.
• Duncan Keith, .559, 20
• Chris Pronger, .625, 22
• Nicklas Lidstrom, .621, 21

The lone argument that could be used against Green is that he has played against weaker competition than the other Norris finalists. However, the Caps sit atop the Top 5 spots in the NHL for Plus/Minus, so this could skew the results a bit.

If “the greatest all-round ability in the position” doesn’t include being the top defensemen offensively (Points scored), the second best defensemen in Plus/Minus (4th in the NHL overall) and giving your team the best chance to win when you are on the ice, what does it mean?

Let’s hope the voters see it through and vote Mike Green for the Norris.

Sometimes a good protest comes in T-shirt form.

And then Stevie Y announced the Defenseman.

We heard Dan Boyle and Drew Doughty. Then Duncan Keith and Scott Niedermayer. Next was Chris Pronger and Brent Seabrook. And then… the 7th and final defenseman… Shea Weber?

After all the days that have passed since, we here at RMNB have still struggled to understand how Canada’s Best Defenseman, Mike Green, was left off the roster. Even as recently as Friday Night during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, I professed to Daniel that Mike Green’s Defensive Acumen was at worst an 8 out of 10 – but more realistically a 9. And I said “EASILY” too. This prompted Daniel to investigate my claims as he was quite suspicious. Below are Daniel’s findings. How has Mike Green stacked up against his fellow countrymen and the rest of the NHL this year? See for yourself below the jump. You might be surprised.

First off, I’d say that you can make a fairly strong argument that the Chicago Blackhawk’s Duncan Keith is actually Canada’s best defenseman overall – at least this season. Green’s a very strong second though.

Here’s a handy table of the defensemen on the Candadian Olympic hockey team, along with the Capital who was left off (stats courtesy of Behind The Net):

Relative plus-minus is plus-minus adjusted for his team so that a good player on a bad team isn’t penalized. OGVT is offensive goals versus threshold (“contributions to goals scored against the opposition” above what a replacement level player would have done – Puck Prospectus); DGVT is defensive goals versus threshold; and GVT is total goals versus threshold (which includes shootout GVT as well).

As you can see, Keith is actually ahead of Green by a little over 1 goal (as of 2/12), though they rank 1-2 amongst all defensemen in the NHL. Also, Niedermayer sort of sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s the Captain of the Canadian team though, and was therefore likely chosen for veteran leadership and other intangibles more than his current playing abilities. And that makes sense considering his long list of accomplishment includes the following: 2 Stanley Cups, the Conn Smyth Trophy as Playoff MVP in 2007 & a Gold Medal with Team Canada in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

The Candian defensemen (not counting the Captian) actually rank 1st-2nd (Green)-3rd-4th-13th and 14th in the whole NHL in GVT. It’s a very strong crew, with or without Mike Green. When the team was chosen and Mike Green was excluded, I heard that one of the potential reasons for it was that Canada was trying to build a strong defensive unit. Looking at the DGVTs, that does indeed appear to be the direction in which they went, as Green – while excellent overall – hasn’t necessarily been the strongest on the defensive end. In fact, ranking all NHL defensemen by DGVT, the Olympic crew is 1st-2nd-4th-5th and 27th, while Green is all the way down at number 47. Taking him over Shea Weber might have been a good call given the narrow difference in DGVT and large difference in OGVT though.

Here’s a graph of all NHL defensemen with at least 50 games played this season, ranked by DGVT:

Those green lines are (somewhat ironically) the top defensemen on the Canadian team (ie. not Niedermayer). The red line is Mike Green. He’s slightly above the average (which is 2.8 DGVT for this group) but not by a great deal.

Even just comparing Green to his fellow Capitals teammates, he doesn’t come out terrifically. He’s third behind Jeff Schultz (4.3) and Alex  Ovechkin (3.4) in DGVT, and 6th in relative plus-minus. Additionally, Green is 13th (!) on the team – amongst players with at least 10 games – in Quality of Competition (which GVT apparently does not account for). Even facing lesser competition, he hasn’t been a stand-out defensively (though he’s still good there, and great overall).

I’ll finish by noting that I’m not the only one who doesn’t think all that highly of Green’s defense (from the pre-season projections at Puck Prospectus):

“The one hold up with Green is his sometimes spotty work in the defensive zone. This was especially evident in the playoffs against superior competition, so if Green works on his defensive game, he could become the top defenseman in the entire league.”

That comment was attached to a projection of 6.3 DGVT, whereas Green is currently on pace for just a 4.4 DGVT. I’m just saying…

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