How good is Brian Rafalski?

I think this has been a source of debate among a lot of Devils fans for the past couple seasons. Some people view Raffy as a one-dimensional PP QB type who is overpaid, while a lot of others point to his ability to log big minutes in all situations and claim he's a top d-man in the league.

So just what is he really? I've been cruising HF recently and I've noticed the tremendous respect that Raffy gets from fans around the league. He's in virtually everyone's top 20 d-man list (even in the top 10 for some) on the general discussion board, and a lot of people see him as one of the best d-men on the market this summer.

Analyzing the stats, it's obvious that Brian is a very good offensive defenseman. On pace for over 50 points this year, he leads the rush well, is poised at the point, and has a very deflectable wrister. Defensive prowess cannot be quantified by statistics, so you must analyze his game closely. IMHO, Rafalski is very sound defensively. He makes the smart plays and is so good in positioning his body to stop the big play. A lot of his brilliance really goes unnoticed. He has the occasional gaff when he's muscled off the puck by a bigger forward or when he whiffs on a pass in the defensive zone, but these instances aren't overly common.

Rafalski is 11th in the NHL in ice time, logging 25:50 minutes per game. He is also 1st in even strength ice time per game. He is currently 15th among NHL defenseman in points scored with 34, and ranks 6th among NHL defenseman in assists.

So to the point of this long-winded post: Is Brian a legit #1 defenseman in the NHL? What's his market value? How would you rank him against Kimo Timonen, Brad Stuart, Andrei Markov, and the rest of the impending UFA defenseman class?

Rafalski is a legit #1 defenseman. The only thing holding him back from scoring goals like Kaberle or Nieds is his shot is rather weak. But the speed, moves, and passing are all there. I've never seen another D-man with the agility of Spider Man. He is like the Dominick Hasek of defenseman becasue he can bend into a friggin' pretzel to break up a two on one.

I think he's best as a #2 type guy, though he can hold his own in terms of #1 Dman ice time and ability. He won't intimidate anyone with his physical play, but he's smart in his own end and is a very good skater who can move this puck. He can QB the powerplay, but doesn't have the shot to put up huge goal #s like many #1 D-men.

If I made a list of top D-man currently in the NHL, he's probably in the #15 range, give or take.

By that statement though, I guess you can say he's a number 1 guy...just his skill set lends more to a #2/offensive defensman in traditional senses.

I think he is worth every penny. I always feel comfortable watching the games when he is on the ice. He isn't really a superstar, but he is just a solid defensman you can count on at all times and doesn't make stupid mistakes.

When Stevens and Niedermeyer are on the team, he's a #3 defenseman. ;)

Without those guys, he has the skillset to be a legitimate #1, though he does better if he has someone who can take the heat off of him and let him be a good #2. Truth be told, we were severely spoiled to have Niedermeyer and Stevens on the team, so when they left we looked at Rafalski and thought that, while he may be good, he's no Stevens or Niedermeyer. But that's unfair to Rafalski, since very few players can be held up to those standards (maybe 1 or 2 in the league currently). On his own, without comparison to those old Devils, he's a fairly solid #1. I'd put him about #12 or #15 or so on the current NHL defensman depth chart, so there are others in the league who could come in and be #1 over him.

I think the original poster answered his own question. Brian Rafalski is a legit #1 d-man on not only one of the best defensive teams in the league, but one of the best teams in general. His being named to the All-Star game says it all.

He has greatly improved his play over the last 2 seasons. Early last year, most didn't think he could lead our defensemen and be our #1. But he improved in all parts of the game, limits his mistakes and is playing top minutes. Rafalski I think is now a top 20 Defenseman in the league.

Considering he came from no where, I'd say he's pretty good. The guy got paired up with Stevens from the get go too. Sure it's easy to say anyone could do well with Stevens, but talk about pressure and playing against top lines every night. When Rafalski resigned with that (some called) huge contract, there were doubts. But he has performed well, and is a major part of the blueline...eating massive amounts of minutes. He's #11 in total on ice time per game (avg) @ 25.50 mins. Ahead of him at #10 is ....oh...Martin @ 25.52. People have bashed the hell out of Martin this season, but look at the ice time and think of how fast he has progressed since he entered the league (another topic for another thread).

Yeah...I think Rafalski is doing well. :handclap:

I think he's best as a #2 type guy, though he can hold his own in terms of #1 Dman ice time and ability. He won't intimidate anyone with his physical play, but he's smart in his own end and is a very good skater who can move this puck. He can QB the powerplay, but doesn't have the shot to put up huge goal #s like many #1 D-men.

If I made a list of top D-man currently in the NHL, he's probably in the #15 range, give or take.

By that statement though, I guess you can say he's a number 1 guy...just his skill set lends more to a #2/offensive defensman in traditional senses.


Incredible avatar! :bow:

Quite frankly, there was a two year span from 1999-2001 when I was convinced he was better than Niedermayer.

He's been a legit #1 for a long time, people just didn't notice because he was always playing with Stevens.

Rafalski is a legit #1 defenseman. He's not a superstar defenseman, like a Pronger, Niedermayer, or Lidstrom, but there's only a few of those in the league.

Quite frankly, there was a two year span from 1999-2001 when I was convinced he was better than Niedermayer.

He's been a legit #1 for a long time, people just didn't notice because he was always playing with Stevens.

Thank you. I think many Devils fans are spoiled with his consistently outstanding play year in and year out. Also, thanks for pointing out the fact that for a long stretch of time Niedermayer wasn't considered the "future hall of famer" he is so regularly described as nowadays. It always annoys me when people bring up the "playing behind 2 hall of famers" attack during Brodeur debates. As much as I loved Nieder as a Devil, for most of his time here he was hardly a hall of fame caliber dman.

Thank you. I think many Devils fans are spoiled with his consistently outstanding play year in and year out. Also, thanks for pointing out the fact that for a long stretch of time Niedermayer wasn't considered the "future hall of famer" he is so regularly described as nowadays. It always annoys me when people bring up the "playing behind 2 hall of famers" attack during Brodeur debates. As much as I loved Nieder as a Devil, for most of his time here he was hardly a hall of fame caliber dman.

Totally agree. Niedermayer only started playing like a HOF defensemn during the '03 playoffs.

look, raffy is a #1 defenseman; i could name at least 15 other teams in this league that would take him as their number one defenseman any day. i had my questions about him last year but this year it seems he has stepped up his game in a huge way and is one of the best dmen in the game hence the reason he was voted into the all star game :bow: