Quote:
Originally Posted by Carey Price
Eric Cole is 5th in the NHL in hits. Moen is 61st, Emelin is 144th but he has only played 8 games.
|
It's nice to have some bigger bodies like Cole, Moen, Kostitsyn and Pacioretty on our forward lines. Eller and Nokelainen help, too. If we could add one more physical center, we could no longer be considered small up front.
Defense is another matter. I wouldn't mind seeing Montreal try to pry a guy like Marc Methot out of Columbus. He is a big body who throws some weight around but he is never going to be any kind of an offensive threat. He might be a good complement to a Weber/Diaz type of defenseman.
If the coaching staff had enough patience to allow Emelin to develop, then we would have two physical defenseman to complement some of our offensive talent.
Combos of Gorges/Markov, Emelin/Subban, Methot/Weber(or Diaz) would give the team a far different look than it has today.
My strategy would be to keep Spacek around until we know one way or another if Markov can return. And even if Markov does return, I would keep Spacek to rotate into the lineup and act as mentor. He would be our flex player. Campoli would be gone. Diaz would be kept as the flex player until/if Markov returns.
Sorry Hal. Opportunities must be given to younger players if this team is ever going to move forward. His skill set doesn't match my vision of what a defense should look like.
I guess I am just tired of the passive nature of this team. We are passive on the forecheck, passive on defense and passive behind the bench. Other than a freak playoff run, the team has been mired in mediocrity with this approach.
If results are going to be mediocre, at least we could be involved in some exciting games instead of this buttoned-down approach.