Anaheim Ducks D-Man Clayton Stoner Wrongfully Criticized

First things first…..

Let me clear the air and say that I am not here to tell you why Clayton Stoner is a good defensemen. I’m not here to change your opinion about him as a hockey player and I am most certainly not here to make you realize how good he actually played during the postseason, because well, he played pretty poorly at times.

The harsh criticism of Clayton Stoner is unfair

Every tweet and article written about Stoner is often of negative nature, bashing the defensemen for poor play and lack of skill during the playoffs. However, Stoner is by no means in any way a person to blame for the Anaheim Ducks elimination from the playoffs and his poor play is quite frankly not his fault.

Anaheim Ducks /

Anaheim Ducks

Bob Murray has publicly stated that he went out and signed Stoner last summer due to his impressive play in the ’13-’14 postseason as a member of the Minnesota Wild. Murray wanted more size and strength on his blue line and Stoner was the man he chose to fill that role.
For those saying Murray was wrong in signing Stoner, you are actually the one who is wrong. Murray saw Stoner as a 5th or 6th defensemen, a gritty guy who plays between 10 and 15 minutes a night and can throw his weight around. Last year in the playoffs Stoner impressed because that was the role he was fulfilling.

During the ’13-’14 postseason as a member of the Minnesota Wild, Stoner averaged 20 shifts and around 12 minutes of ice time per game. He wasn’t being overplayed and it allowed him to succeed as he produced 3 points and was a +2. He was not exposed because he was playing the role of the 5th or 6th defensemen for the Wild and it worked well enough to earn Stoner a three year deal with the Ducks.

During the ’14-’15 postseason run that just ended for the Ducks, Stoner averaged 26 shifts and around 17 minutes of ice time per game (Excluding the double and triple overtime games against Chicago). He was being overplayed and a dark cloud of unfair criticism surrounded him. He was being used like a top four defensemen and it completely exposed him.

He was taking nearly 6 more shifts and playing almost 5 minutes more per game during the postseason in ’14-’15 with the Ducks than he did in ’13-’14 with the Wild. When he plays the right role and is not over-used he can be a great third pairing defensemen.

Clayton Stoner is not a bad defensemen, unless you try to make him something that he is not. The criticism on Murray for the signing of Stoner should stop because it was not a bad signing, it was a bad assignment of duty by the coach of the Ducks because he had no other options. (I understand James Wizniewski was available, but that is a whole different conversation).

The difference between that Minnesota Wild team that Stoner played on and this Ducks team is simple, it’s Ryan Suter. A clear cut number one defensemen for Minnesota who eats up ice time much like Chicago’s Duncan Keith, arguably the two most durable defensemen in the NHL. Stoner was not asked to play more than 14 minutes a night with the Wild during their ’13-’14 playoff run because he did not need to due to the presence of Suter.

The Ducks simply do not have that number one guy who can play those five extra minutes and take those 6 extra shifts away from a guy like Stoner. If the Ducks had a clear cut number one it would allow Stoner to excel as the 6th defensemen much like he did while with the Wild.

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