RYAN SUTER - Defenseman - 34 - $7.53MM Cap Hit - UFA In 2025-2026
LAST UPDATED 8/20/19
Ryan Suter may be 34 years old, but he's still an incredibly reliable NHL defenseman. He's played either a full season or nearly a full season every year of his 14 year NHL career, and has scored from 40-51 points every year for the last few years now. He has a sterling defensive reputation and is almost always playing more than 25 minutes a night. He's a true workhorse in every situation and plays a mistake-limiting, jack-of-all-trades game. While I think that his reputation as a true shut-down penalty-killing machine is a bit overblown, and his isolated impact numbers are not in line with his league-wide reputation, I still think he's a valuable defensive defenseman. The ability to eat very tough minutes even if they sometimes take a toll is a remarkable trait, and few defenseman can play as long and as hard as Suter. I worry about how his body will age given how much tread he has on his tires, but since his defensive game is more reliant on his brain and his strength rather than his skating, I think he'll still be a valuable defenseman as he gets deeper into his thirties. I struggle to call him a true #1 defenseman thanks to his underlying numbers, but if his advanced metrics keep him from being a true anchor of a defense I can assure you he's at the very least a high-end #2 who's not too far off.
Ryan Suter may be 34 years old, but he's still an incredibly reliable NHL defenseman. He's played either a full season or nearly a full season every year of his 14 year NHL career, and has scored from 40-51 points every year for the last few years now. He has a sterling defensive reputation and is almost always playing more than 25 minutes a night. He's a true workhorse in every situation and plays a mistake-limiting, jack-of-all-trades game. While I think that his reputation as a true shut-down penalty-killing machine is a bit overblown, and his isolated impact numbers are not in line with his league-wide reputation, I still think he's a valuable defensive defenseman. The ability to eat very tough minutes even if they sometimes take a toll is a remarkable trait, and few defenseman can play as long and as hard as Suter. I worry about how his body will age given how much tread he has on his tires, but since his defensive game is more reliant on his brain and his strength rather than his skating, I think he'll still be a valuable defenseman as he gets deeper into his thirties. I struggle to call him a true #1 defenseman thanks to his underlying numbers, but if his advanced metrics keep him from being a true anchor of a defense I can assure you he's at the very least a high-end #2 who's not too far off.
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