OTTAWA, Ontario — There is no NHL by-law mandating that teams have an elite defenseman if they want to win a Stanley Cup.
It only seems that way.
Fact is, for all the unpredictability of the playoffs, the need for a franchise-caliber defenseman seems to be an almost unwavering truth.
Kris Letang filled that role for the Penguins in 2016. A year earlier, Duncan Keith did it for Chicago.
Before them were Drew Doughty and Zdeno Chara, Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer.
Some of those guys won multiple Cups. All performed at a level few of their peers can match.