I would think it’s a cheap vet RD not one with a higher cap hit then a current young F that can help now
Prefer to keep him but I’m not going to be shocked if a Kakko , Schneider package is available for the right cost
Speculation: RHD available or potentially available
- Thread starter Hunter368
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I would think it’s a cheap vet RD not one with a higher cap hit then a current young F that can help now
Prefer to keep him but I’m not going to be shocked if a Kakko , Schneider package is available for the right cost
In a word? Bad. It’s evident he has a certain skill set but it’s more evident he’s rusty and not up to speed yet which is pretty understandable given he’s joining a new team mid season after having missed the last six months due to injury. His defense has been suspect and the offensive production hasn’t come through yet. I’m still in wait and see mode but initial impressions are not fantastic.
I don't see anyone taking Schmidt at his caphit and with an extra year. It would cost a significant sweetener to include Schmidt.
I always thought it had to do with the fact that you want your defensemen to have their stick facing the stick of the opposing forward. And that most forwards coming up play their natural right hand - so by math most of the best forwards would be right-handed. So more of your skilled defensemen end up being left handed as a result.
At the higher levels especially pro being able to keep the puck in the zone on offense at the boards (and also to flip the puck out along the boards vs sending it across the middle) is more of a premium which is what makes right-handed defensemen more valued.
Hey Quiz guy you never lived up to the name, I always thought you’d be making interesting quizzes/polls on the polls section, maybe you still have plans to
Cheers
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26Mats
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I think he's available because of the log jam. He's definitely getting traded this year or next. IMO might as well trade him now if a good offer comes in.
Next year we have to find ice time for all of the following.
Montreal:
Matheson - Struble
Guhle - Barron
Harris - Xhekaj
Kovacevic
Laval:
Hutson - Reinbacher
Engstrom - Mailloux
Trudeau - AHL vet/Bogdan
There is no logjam on the right side at the moment. Savard and Kovacevic are the only competent RHD currently. Savard is the only top-4 RHD we have. Barron is still a work in progress. Harris playing his offside is not ideal. Mailloux Reinbacher have a year or 2 more of development.
Xhekaj and Struble do not play RHD.
26Mats
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26Mats
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There's a logjam on the left. So we either have to trade some LD's or play them on the right.
26Mats
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As stated, LHD's can play the right side in the short run. Hughes is building for the future, not this year or next.
Ran pub trivia way back in the day which is how I pulled the name. Even with that I am shockingly bad at Puckdoku.
It's not really trivia but IIRC the '88 Devils made their big run with 7 left-handed defensemen (though my memory could be hazy and it was a different Devils team so aligned)
That's not ideal. Xhekaj / Struble on the right side is detrimental to the team and to the development of these LHD. Harris is the only one that can play the RHD side but is bottom pairing or worse when placed in that role.
Hughes is building for the future but more importantly developing players to excel in their natural positions and not in their off positions.
Savard is needed for another year.
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26Mats
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If you don't think we have 2 players who can or should play LD for the remainder of this year or next that's a valid perspective. I still disagree with it though.
Guhle amd Harris can play the left side. I think they'll be fine doing so until at least the end of this year:
Matheson-Guhle
Struble - Barron
Xhekaj - Harris
Then, if we don't want to go with that top six next year, we can always sign a vet RD in the summer. I'm just not passing up on a 1st for Savard if it's offered now.
I had to correct my response. Other than Savard / Kovacevic, the rest of our righties are not competent NHLers as of yet. (Barron, Mailloux or Harris playing the right side).
On the left side we have a glut of competent LHDs with mid to high potential. Some will need to be traded.
I don't advocate Guhle on the right side at all.
Struble-Barrron would get destroyed. Same way Guhle-Barron was a tire fire.
26Mats
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Yes, we see things differently.
I'm ok if the dcore doesn't excel for the remainder of the season. If we need a vet RD, we can sign one in the season.
If Hughes was so concerned about the remainder of the season, why would he trade Monahan and go with a center line of Suzuki - Newhook - Evan's- Condotta/Stephens? You don't consider that a tire fire? Is that a good center line to develop our young wingers with? Is Newhook's ideal position at center?
For which side they play, especially defense, the issue is quite simple. The North american style has significant board play (more on that later). Imagine you are a d man and you go into the boards. If you are a Rightie on the right side, when you extend your stick forward your body is open up the ice, your forehand shot is up the ice, your eyesight is up the ice. To move the puck forward you have a significant advantage.
Not take a leftie on the same side. His body is open to behind his net. His eyes are looking towards his own end/net. His forehand shot is back towards his end. He can try and shoot it around the back of his own net, or try a somewhat blind backhand to get it out of his own zone or to hold it in in the offensive end. A disdavantage.
Now you often hear its opposite in Europe, and that is quite true. Why? The much larger space on the european ice means the boards are a lot further away, and there is a lot less chasing of players by defensive players along the boards. European end play often looks more like an NHL power play (where a lot of players also turn to their offsides) where the defense looks more like a zone and they are quite willing to let a player hang out around the boards rather than get drawn out of position, especially with so much ice and a lot more/larger potential passing lanes.
Of course the opposite is true for offense, having the puck towards the middle has distinct advantages too. But in the more crowded NHL sized rink the middle generally gets pretty crowded, so the advantage is limited.
Not take a leftie on the same side. His body is open to behind his net. His eyes are looking towards his own end/net. His forehand shot is back towards his end. He can try and shoot it around the back of his own net, or try a somewhat blind backhand to get it out of his own zone or to hold it in in the offensive end. A disdavantage.
Now you often hear its opposite in Europe, and that is quite true. Why? The much larger space on the european ice means the boards are a lot further away, and there is a lot less chasing of players by defensive players along the boards. European end play often looks more like an NHL power play (where a lot of players also turn to their offsides) where the defense looks more like a zone and they are quite willing to let a player hang out around the boards rather than get drawn out of position, especially with so much ice and a lot more/larger potential passing lanes.
Of course the opposite is true for offense, having the puck towards the middle has distinct advantages too. But in the more crowded NHL sized rink the middle generally gets pretty crowded, so the advantage is limited.
I think Americans skew righty probably because most kids probably pick up a baseball bat first - and that becomes their "side" when it comes to when they get other equipment. In Canada (and Europe) they would pick up the stick first and left blade thus is more natural. That is interesting about the dominant hand - hadn't heard about that one.
Regardless of which hand they use I hope my Devils can add a defenseman before the deadline! Which is why I am reading this thread in the first place
Regardless of which hand they use I hope my Devils can add a defenseman before the deadline! Which is why I am reading this thread in the first place
Defensive development is more important to the overall development of the young D and young forwards. IF you can't get the puck out of your zone, you are effectively neutering the young forwards into a defensive shell / chase game which is not good for development.
The Habs have enough veterans at forward (Gallagher / Pearson / Evans / Armia / Anderson) and currently few young top-6 forward prospects playing (Josh Roy). Forward development is not an issue.
The Habs will only become competitive once their D becomes competent. Development is key. Removing Savard and not replacing with a suitable veteran RHD would be detrimental.
26Mats
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Centers are also important for the development of youth, both defensively, offensively, and the goaltenders.
I think a dcore of say:
Matheson - Harris
Struble - Guhle
Xhekaj - Kovacevic/Barron
is better than a C line of Suzuki - Newhook - Evans - Condotta.
Not as important as D pairings. You don't put two young / rookie dmen as a pairing. We saw it with Guhle / Barron. No bueno.
26Mats
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I think the issue there is more that Barron is behind Struble in his developmental trajectory.
Last year we saw the huge strides Guhle took whilst paired with Savard. That stability and guidance Savard provided was a huge factor in Guhle's development. Savard is needed.
26Mats
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Really, every analytics report I saw said how much better Guhle was without Savard last year, and that's why they weren't paired together this year.
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