I'm all for being able to clamp down, and I agree. Having that ability is a big asset. Anaheim did it pretty successfully at times last season, but it always made me nervous for the reasons we discussed. Kesler is a bigtime addition for many reasons, but that's one of them. Fowler was our top dog last season, but he wasn't the one Boudreau wanted on the ice in a lot of those situations(and I'm not criticizing, because he had his reasons). It was Allen and Beauchemin he wanted on the ice. I'd really like us to have someone better than Allen, at a minimum. And of course, there's the goaltending. I actually agree with what Viper was saying when comparing Andersen and Gibson... I thought Andersen was good, but he wasn't asked to be great very much. He was just a solid presence in net, who made the saves he should have, which is fine, but when you clamp down sometimes you need those big saves. Gibson is the guy I have more faith in to make those saves right now, but he might not be ready yet for the big job.
Bottom line, I think, is that if we are going to use that tactic, I think we need another good defenseman, at the very minimum. I'd certainly prefer a guy like Robidas on the ice to Allen.