Just being a smartass BTW in my previous post.
Carlson had long been on my shit/trade list because he was so friggin marshmallow and seemingly stoned 24/7 in both his play and overall demeanor. I believed he should have been traded while his trade value was way higher than his actual team value (in years past)
I will admit (and have begrudgingly stated many times over the last several seasons) he has radically improved his play in the last 3, 4 seasons, improving each year in both his offensive and defensive play. He used to be at best an average dman with some offensive skills. Through coaching or work ethic or study or maturity or combination of all, he certainly has improved his overall game on both the offensive and defensive sides. I have actually even seen him play with more physical edge than years past. Although I believe this year is somewhat of an anomaly, he has become one of the best offensive dmen in the league.
I personally don't feel that makes him a candidate for the Norris trophy. I realize in today's standards that simply based on his offensive output, he will be a front runner in the Norris discussion.
However, call me old school or stubborn or whatnot, but I do not believe he is the leagues "TOP PLAYER WHO DEMONSTRATES THE GREATEST ALL-ROUND ABILITY IN THE POSITION". He is certainly the best offensive player in the position this year so far, but not the greatest all-round ability in the position which is who the Norris Trophy is (should be) awarded to.
I am not arguing he is not great. He is a great skilled player. He has steadily and mightily improved his overall game each of the last several seasons. He is having a phenomenal year. He has a huge impact on his team's success. He is one of the most valuable assets having the very best season of his career on the best team in hockey. That does not equal Norris Trophy winner. I'd be more in favor of voting him MVP over Norris candidate. I'm not down on him or trying to argue semantics, but he is not a GREAT defensive player. He certainly is not THE greatest defensive player. Is he great? Yes. Do I want him on my team? Yes. Is he a good defensemen?....Yes. He d skills have improved mightily. He O skills even more so. Still does not make him the best defensemen in the league.
Maybe I am wrong in my understanding of what a the best defensemen is? Maybe I'm just too old school. (Maybe I played D 9 years and only scored a handful of goals and I'm just jealous
[size=78%] )[/size]Either way, glad to be having this discussion rather than one about tossing Johnny Q Dylan into the volcano
