This week’s NHL mailbag takes a look at which teams can stop the Tampa Bay Lightning, who’s the next great goal scorer, and more.
The 2018-19 NHL season is almost over. So in honor of it, we’re bringing back one of our favorites – a mailbag post! This week, our expert Dave Stevenson answers questions about the Tampa Bay Lightning, who’s the next great goal scorer, NHL Awards predictions, fan mail, and more.
Remember, if you’d like to have your question answered in a future post, please ask them via Twitter using the #PuckProseMailbag hashtag. Also, if you prefer email, you can send in questions to FanSided.dave@gmail.com. Please use “Puck Prose Mailbag” as the subject. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Mail Time!
Zdeno Chara is a slam dunk Hall of Famer, yeah?
Oh, no question. I’m not a Boston Bruins fan. I like being honest and I don’t like Boston sports teams. They aren’t quite up to Pittsburgh in my level of irrational disdain (I don’t hate anything), but they’re darn close.
That said, Chara’s a no-doubt Hall of Fame guy in my mind. He’s one of the last great defensemen of his kind. Chara’s a throwback to the days when franchise defensemen were giants who weren’t necessarily the best skaters. Yet here he is, still skating at the age of 40. Chara’s obviously limited, but you’ve got to admire how he’s adapted his game to fit in the modern, faster NHL.
He’s got a Norris Trophy on his resume, even though Mike Green should have won it that year (yes I’m still bitter). Chara’s the tallest player in NHL history as well, which is pretty darn cool. Also, he’s a guy who you just can’t hate. Even Montreal Canadiens fans respect the heck out of him.
Is he in the “best defenseman ever” conversation? No. But if that’s the bar, you might as well kick out every defenseman in the Hall of Fame other than Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom. Chara’s easily one of the best defensemen of the post-2005 lockout era. He had a pretty impressive (and long) prime. Can’t find a reason why Chara isn’t a Hall of Fame guy. At worst, he’s a better version of Scott Stevens, who is already in the Hall of Fame.