Drew Doughty
 

when this kid is on the top of his game he is the best defenseman in the league. amazing defense, one of the smartest players ive ever watched. offensive skills rarely seen from a defenseman. he is a treat to watch and can control the play like few others.

Depends. Is Weber on his game at the same time?

assuming all d men are playing at their best, i still think so. doughty controls the play like chara, and is very smart defensively but can jump in the play like karlsson and create offense. he is a great player and i dont think another defenseman can match him overall.

Since Lidstrom retired, maybe. I'd still take Weber, Chara, or Karlsson over him.
Just because he has one of the worst attitudes I have ever seen on ice.

no, weber is.

i can see how you can make a case for chara or weber, both are outstanding, but karlsson is one dimensional and doughty brings great offensive talent while being rock solid on D.

I'm hugely biased so I won't even vote. But when Doughty is at his best, he controls the game in all 3 zones. Makes great defensive plays, moves the puck out of the zone quickly, hits, and scores.

He's still young, the attitude is maturing.

Wow how many players have you actually watched?

Who cares, I'm just glad he is a King for a long time. Dude can play and plays INCREDIBLE when it matters most. He is playing like he did in the Olympics right now.

I don't think there's a "best" defenseman any more. There's a group of players that are all on the same level, and they occasionally rise and fall. One of them needs to step up, maintain consistency, or a new talent needs to appear if the NHL is going to have a consensus #1.

True say.

As for Karlsson, he may be one-dimensional, but its a heck of a dimension, and his defensive game is still improving. I probably would take Doughty over him, but still don't like him much.

In the future, non-playoff related polls need to be started in the Poll sub-forum attached to the NHL Talk forum.

Oh, yay! Another one of these posts.... Ignorance at its finest.

Doughty is playing at the top of his game right now and is a serious candidate for the Conn Smythe as well.

I voted yes but he has to be more consistent IMO.

karlsson is soft, doughty has an edge and plays a good physical game, maybe you should counter my pointbefore calling me ignorant

Erik Karlsson.

Best, no. Most talented, yes. Until he takes his offseason workouts seriously he will only be elite in spurts.

He's good but he's no Brad Doty.

Letang is better.

No...

No he's not. Letang is good but pretty overrated at this point. Looked pretty horrible defensively in the playoffs.

:laugh:

This.

Weber is no Doty.

Best overall? Nah, but he can be.