hohosaregood
Banned
- Sep 1, 2011
- 32,422
- 12,643
Not a good comparison. Braun is turning out into a great defensive-dman who can move/pass the puck. A #4 guy. Burns was slated to be a #1 premier d-man.
Frankly, Braun is getting overrated. Perhaps it is because he is shining compared to Demers, Irwin, and Petrecki, but is he that much better than the heights Demers reached in 2010?
I think Braun is a definite #3 guy right now, and it's pretty clear he doesn't need to play with Vlasic to be good. Demers hadn't really shown that he could play without Vlasic then.
Anyways at that point, we had Vlasic and Boyle as a for sure good defenseman. Then we had Demers who had yet to come around to what he could be, Irwin who was a rookie, Murray who sucked, Stuart has been on the decline, and Braun who was probably a #4-5 guy at the time. The fact that we lost Burns as a defenseman was a scary thought at the time but since the emergence of Braun, the loss of Burns hasn't been an issue on defense.
Really, it's a question of Burns being a monster on defense or at forward. He totally changes the complexion of the team either way and right now, I'd rather he do it up front. Considering what he's shown us as a forward, I think we might be better off. If we need him on defense, I'm sure he will be willing to make the change again but he is literally a gamebreaker on Thornton's wing right now.