Erik Johnson has been the Colorado Avalanche’s top defenseman for a while now. Unfortunately, he is not a true No. 1 like Duncan Keith, Victor Hedman or Shea Weber, though.
There is no clear-cut definition for a true No. 1 defender. It is hard to say if there are teams with more than one “true No. 1″, but it is safe to assume that not every team has even one — the Colorado Avalanche included. Then again, isn’t every teams’ top D-man one?
So how do we define a true No.