In 5 years time, how do you think these 4 D will be ranked amongst eachother in terms of who's the better nhler?
1. Guhle
2. Mailloux
3. Hutson
4. Reinbacher
My guess is that Guhle and Reinbacher are the safest bets for establishing themselves as perennial top-4 material; and should thus in principle not be paired together, but rather use to alleviate the defensive duties of their more offensively-inclined prospective partners; namely Hutson for Reinbacher, and Mailloux (or Barron) for Guhle.
As for Hutson and Mailloux, the projections are murkier; undeniable offensive talent for both, but remains some doubt in each case as to how it will effectively translate at the NHL-level. Could end up top-4 material, but could also become 3rd pairing/PP specialists.
This being said, with Engstrom, Harris and Barron - and, to a lesser extent, Xhekaj and Struble - also in the pipeline, the Habs shouldn’t have to worry about their new core’s emerging defensive depth.
The crux of the issue in regards with the Habs’ (crucial) D pipeline will be: identifying the « keepers » and navigating between sustainable long term deals to secure them and leveraging the others as trade baits to acquired talent up front or between the pipes!