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Top 6 NHL defensive pairings to watch this season
Plus, Quinn Hughes named captain, Avs sign Tatar, and more.
Brandon Rubeo & kevin Allen
September 13, 2023
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Good morning. Last week’s poll was about as close as you can get, with Adin Hill & Logan Thompson narrowly winning with 24% of the vote.
Today’s poll has the potential to be just as divisive.
- Brandon Rubeo & Kevin Allen
Today’s Lineup:
Top 6 NHL defensive pairings to watch this season
Canucks name Quinn Hughes captain
Avalanche sign Tomas Tatar
Jake Sanderson signs monster 8-year extension
👇 And a lot more…
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Top 6 NHL defensive pairings to watch this season
Those who know hockey history would probably agree that the best NHL defensive pairing of all-time was Bobby Orr and whoever the coach sent out with him.
But there have been some memorable pairings through the years, including Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson in Montreal, Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis in St. Louis and Raymond Bourque and Glen Wesley in Boston.
Here is a look at the top six pairings, in no particular order, worth watching heading into the 2023-24 season:
Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes: Burns is a beastly presence with many tools, including a wicked shot. Slavin is the Rod Langway of this generation. Burns and Slavin are big, and hard to play against.
Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken: They logged 1,369 minutes together, according to naturalstattrick.com. Their plus-minus was +21 and their Corsi was 54.65. When they were on the ice, the Kraken had 78 more scoring chances for than against. Larsson is the defensive guy and Dunn can move the puck.
Cale Makar and Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche: When they are healthy and playing together, they are among the league’s best tandems. In 753 minutes together, they gave up only 289 scoring chances and posted a 57.73 Corsi.
Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils: This pairing played a major role in the Devils’ rise last season. They were +23 in 1,018 minutes together and New Jersey had 138 more scoring chances for than against in 2022-23.
Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, New York Rangers: These two buddies are a good fit because Fox is a dynamic offensive force and Lindgren is a defense-first player. Their Corsi was 54.84.
Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson, Los Angeles Kings: The Kings were a more effective team when these two players were on the ice together. Their Corsi was 52.36 and the Kings had 84 more scoring chances for than against when Doughty and Anderson were together on the ice.
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