Yes. I've posted snarky argumentative stuff too. The issue is that the primary tone of an awful lot of days, threads, arguments, posters etc. are like that. People getting frustrated sometimes is fine and normal, but it's unfortunate when you find that there are huge chunks of the forum that have become primarily unhelpful and hostile.
My thoughts on the defense aren't necessarily at either end of the spectrum. I think they're good, but not top tier. Maybe in the bottom half of the top ten in the league. They have solid depth, they have no guys that are uncomfortable playing NHL D by any means. The main issue is that Girardi or Staal should be the shutdown half of a middle pair, neither should be top or bottom pair ideally. Because there are two of them there's a redundancy in that single position and really a void in the top right position that Girardi is doing his best to fill, but simply isn't cut out to do well. To become a top, top defense, they need to rid themselves of one of those players IMO, preferably in a trade for a player with more of a two way game, even if that means being less of a PK staple or being a slightly worse in zone defender. They need someone who can, at the very least, not hold McD back at all. From there, they can tinker with what they have in the NHL now, what they could hopefully get in return for Staal or G, and with prospects knocking on the door and make a really top defense.
