Quote:
Originally Posted by Burke's Evil Spirit
It's crazy to think about how such a small thing - slightly overrating Keith Ballard's utility - led to such a misfire for this franchise - dumping a first and Grabner and Mitchell who then goes to LA and became a huge part of their Cup win.
Not blaming Gillis for this by any means, it's just bizarre to see what an effect it had.
|
I'm pretty sure the idea to move away from Mitchell and to Ballard was due to a few things, the Canucks had doubts on Mitchell's recovery from the Malkin hit which left him with a quite bad concussion, while also demanding a 2 year deal. Not mention Mitchell was not fitting into the skating defence Gillis had been putting together.
Ballard on the other hand already carried a long term contract, was known to have a physical edge to his game, and was a proven skating Dman who liked to carry the puck.
I honestly like what Ballard brings to the table, beyond Bieksa; Ballard is our second most physical defenceman. The two are similar in many aspects of the game and I believe Ballard to really be able to grab another gear as shown by his performance last spring. Also throughout the Run to the Finals he was a consistent physical force from the back end. The hip check on Jamie McGinn still makes my spine tingle, the guy can flat out throw the hip and doesn't shy away from dropping the gloves.