We're gonna regret letting go of Exelby and Finger now that we don't have Aulie and Schenn on the back end. These guys as well as Komisarek are the type to build around in the new NHL!
We're gonna regret letting go of Exelby and Finger now that we don't have Aulie and Schenn on the back end. These guys as well as Komisarek are the type to build around in the new NHL!
I thought that it was a fair trade. Ashton looked really good in the calder finals. I thought that he was the best player on the team. (Although some of that might have been because he was fresh comming off of an injury.)
At the time of the trade, size up front was a way bigger need. Aulie obviously provides the type of D that we're really missing both right now and likely long-term. We have a ton of guys who are great with the puck, great skaters, high hockey IQ, etc. But not too many physical defensive defencemen.
But Ashton could be great too. I love the idea of having size in guys like JVR/Kulemin/Ashton/Frattin on our wings for our future. I think physical defenders are easier to acquire than physical scoring wingers, so (assuming Ashton pans out) it's a good move.
everybody seems to be ignoring the obvious , in today's NHL you need fighters who can play minutes instead of sitting on the bench waiting for the nod , Aulie is a big boy who knows how to throw down , Wilson berated him for playing tough physical hockey and forced him to play a style of D he wasn't used to in his second year in the league ,come on both Aulie and Schenn are miles better than Liles who couldn't win a defensive zone puck battle all year and quarterbacked our PP into obscurity in the last third of the season when he came back from injury , We are going to miss both of these young Dmen as teams continue to exploit the 2 real pylons we kept Komi and Liles
everybody seems to be ignoring the obvious , in today's NHL you need fighters who can play minutes instead of sitting on the bench waiting for the nod , Aulie is a big boy who knows how to throw down , Wilson berated him for playing tough physical hockey and forced him to play a style of D he wasn't used to in his second year in the league ,come on both Aulie and Schenn are miles better than Liles who couldn't win a defensive zone puck battle all year and quarterbacked our PP into obscurity in the last third of the season when he came back from injury , We are going to miss both of these young Dmen as teams continue to exploit the 2 real pylons we kept Komi and Liles
Phaneuf/Holzer/Gunnar/Franson all have size, granted Gunnar/Franson aren't exactly "punishing physical D", but our need for size up front was WAY bigger than our need for size on the blueline.
Kessel/Mac/Bozak/Grabo - All small and/or soft
Lupul - Has size, but isn't exactly "punishing" either
Kulemin - probably more of a 3rd line player
Ashton/JVR are both guys who could be huge upgrades in terms of adding some size to our top 6. LA had Brown/Kopitar/Richards/Carter/Penner in their top 6 who either had size and/or physical edge. Our forwards have been completely physically dominated over the past few years, our D hasn't been nearly as bad in that regards.
LoL @ this notion of "today's NHL" (do you remember when you didn't need a good goaltender in "today's NHL" to win the cup?) You can't just say that big d men have no place. People soon forget Hal Gill's contributions with Montreal. Aulie has a place. He should have stayed on this team.
Thinking you'll be more likely to see Liles in the 3rd D pairing.
Franson - Gardiner will be an interesting pairing. Gardiner and Reilly will be great QB'ing the PP. Both have great mobility.
I'm sort of wondering if Gardiner is expendable with the addition of Reilly though. We all know Gardiner is the only one teams are interested in major trade talks...
Gardiner, Reilly, Blacker, Percy... possibly Finn down the road
Our future D prospects probably never looked brighter for this franchise. Not really losing any sleep over trading Aulie.
If I had to give our D prospects an overall rating it would be 8.5/10...We have excellent prospects for that position. We actually have an abundance of D at this point I think we may see some move for a #1C.
Add: Finn is right up there as well, no debates or maybe's.
Phaneuf/Holzer/Gunnar/Franson all have size, granted Gunnar/Franson aren't exactly "punishing physical D", but our need for size up front was WAY bigger than our need for size on the blueline.
Kessel/Mac/Bozak/Grabo - All small and/or soft
Lupul - Has size, but isn't exactly "punishing" either
Kulemin - probably more of a 3rd line player
Ashton/JVR are both guys who could be huge upgrades in terms of adding some size to our top 6. LA had Brown/Kopitar/Richards/Carter/Penner in their top 6 who either had size and/or physical edge. Our forwards have been completely physically dominated over the past few years, our D hasn't been nearly as bad in that regards.
Dion and Gunner fight like girls and Komi got punched out by the wet paper bag , Aulie was a big boy who could also kick Orr's butt , after he pounded Hartnell in Philly in his first season here he lined up across from Carkner{sp?} in Ottawa a couple of nights later and they caught the conversation on camera with no mike but you could see Carkner say " you want to go with me ? no effen way I'm not fighting you , I'm not stupid " and he skated away from Aulie when the puck was dropped , who do we have now who has that kind of impact on opposing goons ? Wilson put a big leash on him last year and he listed to the coach and got traded for it .
