Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
#6 Anton Stralman
DFC’s Prediction: GP: 80 G: 2 A: 16 Pts: 18
Actual Production: GP: 82 G: 9 A: 30 Pts: 39 +/-: +22
Regular Season: Perhaps Steve Yzerman‘s highest profile off-season signing was that of Anton Stralman, formerly of the New York Rangers. Stralman signed on to be the defensively responsible partner of Victor Hedman, and at a very cap friendly number: $4.5 million. And wow, did the Lightning get some bang for that buck.
We all knew Stralman was going to provide solid defense. Stralman’s advanced stats dominance was printed right there on his name tag. But what’s little known about Stralman these days is he actually entered the league as an offense oriented defenseman. And this year we saw the return of that scoring touch, and without neglect to his defensive responsibilities.
Stralman set career highs in every major category this year. His nine goals are more than he had scored in the previous four years combined. What happened, in short, was this: Stralman’s caveman stats finally caught up with his advanced stats.
There were, however, a few blips on the negative radar. Stralman went through a stretch or two where his focus seemed to wane. He seemed to be on the wrong end of a disproportionate number of own goals this year, and there were some ugly own zone gaffes, particularly on the power play. But those minor, and fairly infrequent, flaws are all that separate Stralman from an elite two-way defenseman. So it’s fairly easy to shrug them off.
Regular Season Grade: A
Playoffs: If Stralman was great in the regular season, he was fantastic in the playoffs. He managed a goal and nine points in Tampa Bay’s 26 games, while also looking, dare I say it, not entirely dissimilar to Nick Lidstrom at times in his own end.
But above all that, perhaps what makes Stralman such a valuable member to the Lightning right now, and this is a thing that was particularly highlighted in these playoffs, is how brightly Victor Hedman shines when partnered with Stralman.
Hedman is undoubtedly an all-world talent, but we saw him struggle through large chunks of the regular season when injuries forced him to play alongside lesser talents. Those struggles rarely existed when Hedman played with Stralman. Think of it like this: Stralman is the phonebooth that turns Hedman’s Clark Kent into Superman. And that, in and of itself, is a special talent to have.
Jon Cooper has said it a hundred times: Anton Stralman may never win a Norris trophy, but his partner probably will. I think that sums up Stralman’s game nicely.
Playoffs Grade: A+
Looking Forward: One thing that’s interesting to note is that at around the time Stralman entered the New York Rangers organization, he completely reshaped his game, becoming a defense-first defenseman under coach John Tortorella. This could be significant, moving forward, because Stralman, in essence, reset his development. And he’s still just twenty-eight years old. So there’s a lot of evidence to suggest he is not yet a finished project. Which means—lucky us—what we saw this year might be just the tip of the ice burg.
Next: Next Up: Mark Barberio
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