The Malik Report
Zetterberg, Babcock earn ‘2015 All-Playoff Team’ votes from ESPN Insiders
by George Malik on 06/18/15 at 10:59 AM ET
Comments (3)
Via an Insider-only entry, ESPN writers weighed in regarding their "2015 All-Playoff team," and Hockey Abstract's Rob Vollman made a surprising pick up front...
Vollman: My vote went to Detroit's captain Henrik Zetterberg. He's one of the toughest shutdown players against whom to play, while also posing a potent scoring threat of his own. He's the type of player who does it all, taking on top opponents in both zones and killing penalties, while averaging almost four shots per game throughout his career. Fitting much the same model as Jonathan Toews, Zetterberg is the ultimate player to take on a playoff run. Most playoff teams have at least one line of elite scoring threats, making players like Zetterberg that can neutralize them a veritable necessity.
While a predictable former Wings earned the "best coach" nod from Corey Pronman:
Coach: Mike Babcock
Also receiving votes: Hitchcock (one)
Pronman: When it comes to coaches, my evaluations are based on a combination of three factors, in this order of preference:
1. Deference to people in the industry and what they say
2. My personal experience dealing with the person and
3. Any form of statistical evaluationOn the first, there is a moderate consensus among NHL people that Mike Babcock is the best coach in the NHL currently. The praise you hear for him is very high as a tactician, a workhorse and an overall hockey mind. Statistically, Detroit was always a dangerous team under him even as the roster has changed substantially, and not always for the better. We've compiled one powerful All-Playoff team -- and Mike Babcock is the coach to lead it.
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Comments
Was this article written in 2009?
Posted by VPalmer on 06/18/15 at 12:04 PM ET
Where Z is concerned, it probably could have been up to about 2013. Even with much of his back health restored now, he’s definitely not the same player he was back then. That “shutdown” role seems to be moving on to Glendenning – and I’m guessing it will eventually move on to Larkin.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids, MI on 06/18/15 at 12:11 PM ET
Where Z is concerned, it probably could have been up to about 2013. Even with much of his back health restored now, he’s definitely not the same player he was back then.
I was thinking the same thing. Z was almost invisible from about January on this year, including playoffs.
Also Babcock was good as usual but this isn’t like the last few years where we were in the top 2 in injury time lost and full of unproven rookies and injured vets, so he shouldn’t have blown anyone’s minds in 2015.
This is a good example of lazy hockey media guys making stuff up based on reputation rather than performance.
Posted by Shanny_Fan on 06/18/15 at 03:27 PM ET
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Was this article written in 2009?
Posted by VPalmer on 06/18/15 at 12:04 PM ET