Line Combos: Defense Pairings for 2015/2016 (Diaz, Schlemko UFA's)

[Beats By CoRD]

Ok so first off I just want to say, we MAY have the best and deepest D in the league now. Who would be better? Nashville? Rangers? Hawks when healthy?

Who do you think we be paired together for next season? I know nobody wants to break up the Brodie/Gio pairing. But you gotta think with a legit #2 RHD that they will try him with Gio at some point. We FINALLY have 3 RHD's that can play, and coaching has stated they like have a RHD on the right side.

I can see:

Giordano (LHD) - Hamilton (RHD)
Brodie (LHD) - Wideman (RHD)
Russell (LHD) - Engelland (RHD)

Now my other question is, do you think we will be resigning Diaz and Schlemko? AND, do you think they both will accept short term 2 way contracts? We need these guys in case of injuries, but we also need them to be able to be sent down without going through waivers. How do you see it playing out?

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[Taranis]

Your lines look good, I would say sign Schlemko to be a 7th D to a one year one way contract.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I'd resign Schlemko. Don't necessarily want to keep one of the younger guys as a 7/8 would rather they play big minutes in Stockton.

Now if someone steals a job...

 

[Skobel24]

We haven't had a defense like this since Bouw/Dion/Regehr.

 

[YMCMBYOLO]

Sign Schlemko to a one - year deal. Unless Wotherspoon is ready to play NHL minutes you have to re-sign Schlemko or look at the free agency market.


Who thinks Wotherspoon is ready to play on the team full-time ?

 

[BurnEmUp]

We haven't had a defense like this since Bouw/Dion/Regehr.

Thank goodness we don't have the same coach anymore though.

 

[Taranis]

Who thinks Wotherspoon is ready to play on the team full-time ?

I would have said yes on the bottom pairing but now with Hamilton we don't have an open spot.

 

[Skobel24]

Sign Schlemko to a one - year deal. Unless Wotherspoon is ready to play NHL minutes you have to re-sign Schlemko or look at the free agency market.


Who thinks Wotherspoon is ready to play on the team full-time ?

Honestly, I was really unimpressed with what I saw from Wotherspoon.

Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Wideman
Russell - Schlemko
Engelland

I really liked what I saw from Schlemko. As much as I like Engelland, we need more mobility.

 

[Anglesmith]

I'd like to institute a rule for this thread that pairings of defencemen are referred to only using a portmanteau of the two defencemen's names.

With that said, there are many different combos of defencemen to try. I think priority number one for training camp will be to basically evaluate whether, with time, Hamdano can be as good as Brodano. If it can be, then I think Hamdano is the way to go for the top pairing. I think all other decisions trickle down from that.

Despite their success, I think Russman needs to be broken up no matter what. So, depending on whether Brodano or Hamdano is our most effective top pairing, I'd go with:

Hamdano
Brodeman
Russelland

with Smid (if healthy) and Wotherspoon as extras

OR

Brodano
Russilton
Smideman

if Smid isn't healthy, then Wotherspideman could be good. With Engelland as the spare.

Either way, an embarrassment of riches. The only true answer to this thread is "whichever setup looks best in training camp."

 

[MuffinMerc]

Giordano - Brodie
Hamilton - Wideman
Russell - Engelland
Schlemko
And Wotherspoon probably being the first call up

 

[MonyontheMoney]

Giordano - Brodie
Russell - Hamilton
Wotherspoon - Wideman
Engelland

 

[Lunatik]

I wonder if Wideman can play his off-side effectively. If he can I would play Wideman with Engelland and give Wideman PP time and Engelland some PK time.

 

[Anglesmith]

I wonder if Wideman can play his off-side effectively. If he can I would play Wideman with Engelland and give Wideman PP time and Engelland some PK time.

I don't like Wideman with Engelland, to be honest. Both of them are lacking in footspeed, so I can see there being a lot of the same issues we had last year with Smid and Engelland. That said, Wideman is a better distributor, so maybe it works?

 

[Lunatik]

I don't like Wideman with Engelland, to be honest. Both of them are lacking in footspeed, so I can see there being a lot of the same issues we had last year with Smid and Engelland. That said, Wideman is a better distributor, so maybe it works?

I think the issue with Engelland/Smid was the Smid injury more than anything

 

[Anglesmith]

I think the issue with Engelland/Smid was the Smid injury more than anything

Me too, but even with other partners, we had trouble unless Engelland was with a good skater like Russell or Brodie. Just need someone who can get to the loose puck, break-up a cycle and get it up to the forwards instead of getting stuck in spin.

 

[Lunatik]

Me too, but even with other partners, we had trouble unless Engelland was with a good skater like Russell or Brodie. Just need someone who can get to the loose puck, break-up a cycle and get it up to the forwards instead of getting stuck in spin.

to be fair Potter and Diaz are not good hockey players

 

[Calculon]

Gioton
Widie
Russko
Engelland

 

[Johnny GODreau]

Brodie-Hamilton
Giordano-Wideman
Russell-Engelland
Schlemko

Wotherspoon and Morrison play top pairing minutes in Stockton.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

to be fair Potter and Diaz are not good hockey players

To be fair, neither is Engelland.

 

[Beats By CoRD]

to be fair Potter and Diaz are not good hockey players

False. Diaz can play. I think he needs more ice time to really elevate his game. That said, he's not going to be given it on the Flames. I think if we can get him on a 1-year 2-way contract and let him play most of the year in the A, and have him as an emergency call-up, that would be fabulous.

 

[Beats By CoRD]

To be fair, neither is Engelland.

Somebody didn't watch the Flames in the playoffs. Smh.

 

[Lunatik]

False. Diaz can play. I think he needs more ice time to really elevate his game. That said, he's not going to be given it on the Flames. I think if we can get him on a 1-year 2-way contract and let him play most of the year in the A, and have him as an emergency call-up, that would be fabulous.

No, it is absolutely true. Good NHL players don't sign 1 year deals close to the league minimum to be #7 defensemen on teams that are supposed to be terrible at the last possible moment because there are no other offers on the table.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Andersson-Kylington
Gio-Hamilton
Brodie-Wideman
Russell

 

[SaintMorose]

I'd like to see

Gio - Brodie
Russell - Hamilton
Schlemko - Wideman (until a young guy 'lets call him Morrison' proves he's ready to be an everyday player)
Engelland

This gives us a very mobile top 4 that can really go up against any top 4 in the league.
Wideman gets to play vs some lesser forwards making it easier to win puck battles and he gets I think a better first pass partner.
Engelland gets a chance to slot in vs some heavier teams when someone isn't 100%
There's a big spot to be earned by deadline time where Wideman sits and even Schlemko can be out-played if T-spoon/Morrison/Rafikov show NHL readiness

PP
Hamilton - Gio
Wideman - Brodie

Right and Left shots on opposite sides give the most mobile partner to Wideman

PK
Gio-Brodie
Russell - Hamilton

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Somebody didn't watch the Flames in the playoffs. Smh.

I didn't know fighting two people at the same time constituted one's value as a Hockey Player.