What appears on paper to literally be a David vs. Goliath situation is not initially what it seems. The Bruins giant defenseman Zdeno Chara resides as the king of the hill among defenseman regardless of what the Norris voters think. Stanley Cup champion Drew Doughty coming off of his worst regular season in a young career
Was regarded by some as the best player not named Quick in the Stanley Cup Final.

Starting with Chara you have an older (35) defenseman who uses his ridonkulous size and reach to be a literal Wookie on skates. He has never seemed more comfortable in his 6’9” frame than in the past five years with Boston, and it’s practically a felony that he doesn’t have a collection of Norris trophies awarded to the leagues’ best defenseman.

By the numbers Chara is still among the defensive elite. His hits and blocks won’t lead the league, but will be consistently productive. Where Chara excels is on the offensive end of the ice. Consistently among the lead leaders in shots, Chara also led also led all defenseman with a plus/minus of +33. His power play points and overall offensive production put him in the elite category for all blue liners. He’ll be 36 in March, but Chara has not played less than 77 games since arriving in Boston in 2006.

On the other side we have 22-year-old Drew Doughty. Since breaking into the league as a teenager in 2008, Doughty has teased the Los Angeles Kings with some inconsistent play.  He blew up in his sophomore season, posting some hefty numbers that justified his status as the Kings number one draft pick (number two overall in 2008). A statistical drop the following year and discord with outgoing coach Terry Murray had Doughty’s numbers dropping drastically the next two years.

His playoff effort this June reminded us that Doughty has the tools to be a viable fantasy selection. He’s a great skater who will use the body and block some shots. He’s a fixture on the Kings special teams and remember folks, he’s only 22. Doughty also just signed a big contract that will pay him an average of $7 million over the next eight years.

The smart pick this year is Chara. He’s a proven commodity and the Bruins first round playoff exit will make a great roster hungry to play better. Chara will be playing in front of a new goalie in Tuukka Rask, but that adjustment shouldn’t affect anything statistically. Doughty’s future is brighter obviously because of his age, but watch out for the dreaded Stanley Cup hangover. A pile of money, and a Stanley Cup ring in Los Angeles could be a dangerous combination for a 22-year-old.