Confirmed with Link: Avs Sign Nate Guenin,Guillaume Desbiens, JT Wyman and Nick Holden

[nanzenkills]

I thought Wilson was just fine after he replaced Barrie.

Wilson looked good at times, but I remember him having some issues with coverage in games 6 and 7. He seemed to have lost some of his confidence with the puck, I saw a couple of ghastly giveaways from him in those games.

 

[Nzap]

Wilson looked good at times, but I remember him having some issues with coverage in games 6 and 7. He seemed to have lost some of his confidence with the puck, I saw a couple of ghastly giveaways from him in those games.

Wilson played above my expectations, and played fine as a bottom pairing D.
Too bad we pay him to be 2nd pair.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I thought Wilson was just fine after he replaced Barrie.

Agreed Wilson looked fine filling in. Still want him off the team but he looked fine for those few games.

 

[R S]

Agreed Wilson looked fine filling in. Still want him off the team but he looked fine for those few games.

I still think there would be room for him. Ideally he's our 7th D and we don't have a guy like Guenin.

X - EJ
Hejda - Barrie
Holden - Elliott
Wilson

If Wilson does get traded, then we have Guenin as our 7th.

 

[Drury_Sakic]

Elliott could have a turn over the summer like Barrie did last year, but there is no way in his current form Elliott is an NHL D man. Plus your third D pair needs to be a unit you can send our to play a solid, if unspectacular, defense. Even more so when Barrie and the second unit will be asked to free-wheel a bit and take chances.

I am not saying the 3rd pair needs to be all shutdown, but Elliott is probably the worst 2 way D man the Avs have in the system. If he is expected to be on the third pair everyday after this summer, the Avs D will be taking a step backwards in the now.

There are a ton more viable 3rd pairing D men on the UFA and trade market that won't cost an arm and a leg rather then exposing the team like they would by putting Elliott out there.

 

[Avs For Life]

Elliott could have a turn over the summer like Barrie did last year, but there is no way in his current form Elliott is an NHL D man. Plus your third D pair needs to be a unit you can send our to play a solid, if unspectacular, defense. Even more so when Barrie and the second unit will be asked to free-wheel a bit and take chances.

I am not saying the 3rd pair needs to be all shutdown, but Elliott is probably the worst 2 way D man the Avs have in the system. If he is expected to be on the third pair everyday after this summer, the Avs D will be taking a step backwards in the now.

There are a ton more viable 3rd pairing D men on the UFA and trade market that won't cost an arm and a leg rather then exposing the team like they would by putting Elliott out there.

How do we know? He played, IIRC, one game. He also scored in that game. He has had a low amount of time with the team this year aside from the stint while we were in the POs. He hasn't been given a chance under the new staff.

IMO Elliott might just need a chance, similar to Barrie. Give him time to get acclimated to the NHL game. There is a reason Barrie exploded in Dec and after...it takes time and Elliott hasn't been given that with the new staff.

Just my 2 cents

Edit - I may have proven your point saying he needs to get acclimated lol

 

[tigervixxxen]

We already have too many 3rd pairing D, they are not going to go out and get more. I'm fine with giving Elliott a look there. If it doesn't work out they still have Guenin, Holden, Wilson.

 

[Drury_Sakic]

Edit - I may have proven your point saying he needs to get acclimated lol

Sort of.

Its not so much that Elliott may not still turn into a decent NHL PMD, its that the Avs have needs other than Elliott will provide in the now.

Playing two units with risk taking PMD like Barrie and Elliott is not a great idea, even more so given that they are young and lack D men that are good enough to cover them to play with. Also worth noting that Holden is also a bit of a risk taker, putting those 3 in the lineup at the same time is not a great idea in their current development path.

I would argue the Avs need different bottom pairing D men rather than just more of them, as it is the only real way the Avs can improve the D core without risking the future or spending money poorly. They need to add a player or two to the bottom pair that has experience AND still has some game left in him/them that allows the club to use its other D men more effectively. As I have said a few time in various places, I would love to see the Avs sign Boyle and Morris and play them as the 3rd unit, moving Boyle and Hejda around as games situationally demand to play with Johnson.

Hejda-Johnson
Holden-Barrie
Boyle-Morris

with Guenin and Wilson as the depth D men is a solid way to improve the bottom end of the D core while not expending valuable assets in the now. It does not address the top unit needs totally, but it will increase the minutes the 3rd unit can play, taking stress off of EJ and whomever he plays with on the top pair. Hejda gets less minutes to stay fresher. It also gives the Avs two very solid depth D men at the NHL level. Siemens, Bigras, and Elliott can get their cups of coffee with the club as the season goes along without rushing their development curve. Nothing lost if Morris eventually loses a spot to one of them. The PP and PK both get an upgrade on the back end.