Blues in 2006-2007

[Blues0307]

Prior to the injury, EJ probably had the mobility and physical skills to be in Brent Burns territory even without Petro's hockey sense. IMO at minimum I think he would have been Byfuglien caliber just on his size/speed/shot combination. Neither of those 2 are as good a defenseman as Petro(especially in terms of actually defending), but I think most of the League would have no problem with that type of player being their main weapon/building block on the Blueline.

The injury unquestionably hurt his mobility and that severely stunted his offensive ability.
I think it's very fair to question just how much the injury affected him and what his upside would have been without it.

I just disagree. Hockey sense is huge for a player to get in that tier, and EJ lacked that. He's never seen the ice like Burns or Petro have.

 

[Eldon Reid]

The problem is that his shot was never that accurate, and his passing while technically sound was not dynamic.

His passing was great if you are the other team. I'm trying to find the play when EJ (with Colorado at the time) passed the puck up the middle of the ice right to opposing players (I believe it was against the Flames). That is all I remember him for his passing.