Very good poll. After this year, it'll be Pietrangelo. Right now, I'd have to say Suter is more polished. In 5 years, in my mind, Pietrangelo will be top 2 in the league however.
I think Suter might be marginally better right now, but Pietrangelo will peak much higher than Suter ever did. Pietrangelo has the offensive upside Suter never had. And he's almost as good defensively already and is several years younger.
Have watched a ton of games for both obviously (Preds fan, Central division games). Splitting hairs here, but I'll give it to Suter by an edge. His positional defense and ability to carry and handle the puck are truly exceptional.
And to the chart poster, I'd love to see over what time period that was, who each was paired with, the number of games comprising the data, and what teams were played in the other's absence. The general opinion on the Preds board is the opposite; Weber was more reliant on Suter than the reverse. I don't disregard stats, but I've watched ~80/82 Preds games for the past four years and I don't really agree with the conclusion.
I think Suter might be marginally better right now, but Pietrangelo will peak much higher than Suter ever did. Pietrangelo has the offensive upside Suter never had. And he's almost as good defensively already and is several years younger.
Despite my careful wording in the OP, it seems like many people are still voting for "who they would take on their team" rather than voting for who they think the best player is. (As several posters have cited Suter as being better right now, but still voting for Pietrangelo as per the poll results).
I didn't vote but I believe Suter is the superior player as of right now, but as i'm sure everyone will agree that the gap between them is quite small, and Pietrangelo has a much brighter future.
Meh, they're so close it really depends on what you like in a d-man. I prefer more of a puck-moving and offensive kind of guy, so I went with Pietrangelo, since he's a pretty well balanced player, and Suter is more defensive. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Shows Suter without Weber, and Weber without Suter. Weber was MUCH better without Suter than Suter was without Weber in all 4 of those categories.
1. That chart is completely dependent on context, and you've provided none.
2. Generalizing time: Weber is a risk-taking defenseman - he goes for flashy hits and big shots. Suter's the dependable defenseman never going for the big play. When you pair one of the league's most aggressive defensemen with one of the most dependable ones, you have an amazing pairing that fills in its own weaknesses. Without Suter, Weber's going to have to tone it down considerably. Will he still be as great? We'll find out. And Suter might be disappointing without a dynamic presence beside him. Claiming one to be better than the other because of a chart is... stupid.
And I'm a Blues fan voting Suter at this exact moment in time. Pietrangelo will hopefully make the decision easier a few months from now.
Last edited by ThirdManIn: 01-10-2013 at 12:51 PM.
Reason: quote
I think Suter might be marginally better right now, but Pietrangelo will peak much higher than Suter ever did. Pietrangelo has the offensive upside Suter never had. And he's almost as good defensively already and is several years younger.
Have watched a ton of games for both obviously (Preds fan, Central division games). Splitting hairs here, but I'll give it to Suter by an edge. His positional defense and ability to carry and handle the puck are truly exceptional.
And to the chart poster, I'd love to see over what time period that was, who each was paired with, the number of games comprising the data, and what teams were played in the other's absence. The general opinion on the Preds board is the opposite; Weber was more reliant on Suter than the reverse. I don't disregard stats, but I've watched ~80/82 Preds games for the past four years and I don't really agree with the conclusion.
In fact, what you are saying meshes well with the statistics. Last year, Weber truly was better than Suter (statistically) but if you look at a 3 year period (which is a more reliable sample size) Suter is actually superior from a strictly +/- standpoint (which doesn't tell the whole story given that Weber gets a lot of points).
So my apologies to that poster who I responded to, I was too focused on last year.
