Top FA defenceman for 2010-11

Of the top free agent defenceman* signed this past summer, who has been the best signing?

Sergei Gonchar, OTT ($5.5M, 34 GP, 4 G, 12 A, 16 Pts, -19, 20 PIM, 34 Hits, 52 BkS)
Paul Martin, PIT ($5M, 33 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 14 Pts, +8, 4 PIM, 17 Hits, 55 BkS)
Dan Hamhuis, VAN ($4.5M, 22 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 Pts, +2, 12 PIM, 36 Hits, 23 BkS)
Anton Volchenkov, NJ ($4.25M, 20 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts, -5, 12 PIM, 46 Hits, 37 BkS)
Zbynek Michalek, PIT ($4M, 24 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 5 Pts, -4, 8 PIM, 21 Hits, 57 BkS)

* Based on the top 5 defenceman signed, over the average price of $4m/year, according to TSN's Sortable Free Agent Tracker

My vote is for Paul Martin. He's tops in pretty much all categories, while not leading in any of the bad stats. 14 points, +8, only 4 penalty minutes, and 55 blocked shots is very good overall performance.

I didn't realize they all sucked so badly. I wonder what numbers Martin would have if he played on the Sens or Devils. He'd probably have more blocked shots, and fewer of everything else.

Pretty well looks like they were all overpriced haha... Slightly makes me feel better.

But my God, I didn't realize Gonchar was a -19. I knew it was bad, but Hey-zeus, is that ever appalling.

Paul Martin rather easily, all these guys are overpaid though.

Thems are the risks of free agency.

Martin and Michalek have been aboslute studs on defense this year. Great signings.

Big Ev wrote:Martin and Michalek have been aboslute studs on defense this year. Great signings.

Of the FA crop, maybe, but to say they've been studs on D is like changing the definition of a stud. And if you, then, throw their salaries into the equation it's pretty sad, actually. 50 blocked shots through 30+ games isn't bad, but 3-4 per game is closer to a stud than 1-2. And on the offensive side of things, there aren't any great stats there, either.

If you actually watched them play you would see just how great they've been on D for the Penguins this year (and yes, they've been studs on D) . They're one of the big reasons why the Pens are where they are right now. This is a case where you can't just blindly look at stats.

and you're right, they don't have great offensive numbers (Martin's is decent), but that's not what they are paid for. I'm sure the Penguins could care less since they have gotten plenty of offense from Letang and Goligoski.

They've earned their paychecks as far as I'm concerned. I'd actually go as far as saying that Paul Martin might be the best defensive d-men playing right now.

oh and Hamhuis has been pretty damn good too...I'd say the worst is Volchenkov then Gonchar

Big Ev wrote:If you actually watched them play you would see just how great they've been on D for the Penguins this year (and yes, they've been studs on D) . They're one of the big reasons why the Pens are where they are right now. This is a case where you can't just blindly look at stats.

and you're right, they don't have great offensive numbers (Martin's is decent), but that's not what they are paid for. I'm sure the Penguins could care less since they have gotten plenty of offense from Letang and Goligoski.

They've earned their paychecks as far as I'm concerned.

True, regarding reading too much into the stats. I obviously don't watch a lot of Pens games, but I don't recall noticing them that much against the Sens, or hearing much about their play in the daily NHL game summaries.

Also, last year the talk on these boards were that Martin provided decent offensive stats in the stifling Devils system, and would explode in Pittsburgh; and Michalek, back in the days when the faithful here thought he'd be a great fit here, would be a great shot-blocking replacement for A-Train, with an offensive upside to boot.

Gonchar is sucking because he is on a struggling team.

Rest of those guys (except A-train) are on great teams and I'm sure they feed off that.

I love A-train but he's overpaid for what he does. I'm sure Lou will arrive at that conclusion eventually (if he hasn't already).

It is very likely that the top FA defenceman signing of the 2010-11 season is not one of these guys listed though. And I realize I could have titled this the "worst" signing , or better yet, "the least awful of the worst"

it's hard to fathom....gonchar was actually our best defensive d-man to start the season, then everyone complained about lack of offense and then he became offensive and everyone talked about how great the signing has been (when we last won 4 straight and things were rosy). Now, he does neither and is a HUGE liability.

I guess the positive is that the pendulum HAS to swing back the other way at some point

Yeah I don't get it, Gonchar was great early on and was on pace for 50+.

His plus/minus always sucked but I figured that's due to the team in general.