Elite Forward vs. Elite Defenseman

This topic was broached in the Stltoday.com Bluestalk forums.

Is an elite forward more important to his team than an elite defenseman? I posit that an elite forward is more important than an elite defenseman. It is my stance that you can build a very good defensive team with a collection of good defensemen. However, I don't think it is possible to build a very good offense with a collection of good forwards. Perhaps my view is just obscured by the Blues' situation.

The Blues do not have an elite defenseman but do have a very good defense because they roll out three pairs of good defensemen. If you take away their best defenseman (much argument about who that is), they will still have a very good defense. The closest the Blues have to an elite forward is Paul Kariya (elite: yes or no?). If you remove Paul from the lineup, the Blues go from a mediocre offense to a bad offense.

Now look at the flip side and add players. If you add an elite defenseman, the Blues' defense would improve but not significantly. If you add an elite forward, the Blues' offense goes from mediocre to very good, rolling out two dominate scoring lines. Like I said, this opinion is probably colored by the state of the Blues. They are stacked with good to very good defensemen and are severely lacking in skilled forwards. Thankfully, I will be in a situation to re-evaluate my opinion when the Blues' graduate their young skilled forwards drafted in the recent years.