BRUINS since 1995
Registered User
Depends on how they use the group.
Look at TB. They don't roll out some double-threat rock solid top pair as their top pairing all game long. Jan Ruuta who is often out there with Hedman, is averaging just 14 mins in this year's playoffs.
Their 3 LD (Hedman, McDonagh, Sergachev) average more ice-time in the playoffs than their 3 RD (Cernak, Ruuta, and Savard). They coughed up a 1st round pick so David Savard could play under 15 mins. per game.
In 2020 they often rolled 7 D and everyone played with Hedman at times.
Do I want Gryz out there with C-Mac in the final minutes defending a lead? No, but with a well-rounded group they don't need to.
Can you do what some teams did and lean heavily on two pairs while ignoring your 3rd pair with Gryz as part of the top 4? Probably not because of Gryz's limitations in some situations.
But if you insulate your current D-men by adding better and more complimentary players, they can use Gryz fairly similar to last year (although him on PP 1 needs to stop, that's spot is C-Mac's now or at least it should be). That's what TB has done.
Meanwhile, that Big 4 in Montreal looks just about toast. Getting through 4 rounds leaning that heavily on 4 guys is challenging. The wear and tear takes it's toll whether it be small or large D-men. Fatigue is fatigue, doesn't matter the height or weight. Where the difference lies is the amount of energy the smaller D-man has to exert to win those net-front battles and battles in the corner. You would be amazed at how much energy and exertion even a quick corner battle takes out of you.
This comes down to Sweeney's ability to add to the group to support the current groups weaknesses. And the coaching staffs ability to think outside the box a bit and be creative with their utilization.
MG is a better Marc-André Bergeron type of player. IMO hm playing top 4 in the PO won't be sustainable for him. Let alone this year, I think his performance speaks very well in the last games. . As for fatigue, being big, strong sure help to resist PO games. Bruins D core was fatigue, overwhelm and physically abuse after one round. That said, front net battle and D zone battle especially without the puck is a challenge I did not see him respond well. MG was sheltered but when exposed by D injuries, we saw what happen. No problem with a 5'9'' D, but MG is a 3 rd pairing and PP specialist. I like MG, but if I'm a GM, I don't want him on my top 4 going in the PO.