Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Best NHL Team Money Can Buy: First Pairing
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Talk about someone who is criminally underrated. He had the second highest dCI among all blue liners last season (183.19). He had a 43 point season in 2014 for a really bad team (the Arizona Coyotes). Imagine what he could do with a much better team. He’s a true first pairing defenseman. A guy who can handle virtually any situation with relative ease. His $5.5 million cap hit is a beautiful thing.
- Anton Stralman. Guess who had a higher dCI than OEL? That would be Stralman. Though Stralman played 97 games, he had a dCI of 187.19. If his partner Viktor Hedman wins a Norris, Stralman can rest knowing that he played a huge role in it. Stralman had 39 points last season, playing over 20 minutes per game. Like OEL, Stralman can handle virtually any situation. His cap hit is a relative bargain at just $4.5 million.
Honorable mentions: I’m a huge fan of Erik Karlsson, so I was tempted to just include him like I did for Ovechkin. However, OEL and Stralman stood out to me. Plus, his $6.5 million cap hit was just too much for me. OEL’s a darn nice consolation prize though. I was also tempted by Drew Doughty for pretty much the same reason. Shea Weber got serious consideration as well. Weber might be the one guy who I don’t care what the advanced stats say, I’ll take him on my team (mostly because I am deathly afraid of his slap shot).
Next: Second Pairing