LightningStrikes
Champa Bay Lightning
- Nov 24, 2009
- 26,063
- 9,772
I think it's time for a separate thread. Let's discuss your impressions of Brayden Coburn, his play and performance here and everything trade related here.
It's going to be funny 5.5 million a year for a 3rd pairing defenseman.Excellent acquisition. Just what the team needed along the blue line. He still has to figure out the system - this is quite obvious. Our system seems to be extremely different than the Flyers system...he looked quite lost from an assignment standpoint. But when he had to go 1v1, board battles, clearing/blocking crease, defending the front of the net, etc. he looked great. From a talent standpoint - he is what I thought he was. A large, great skating defensive defenseman that we can throw out there against the NHLs biggest lines and do really well while still being mobile enough to be deployed against smaller and faster lines. We now have an excellent second pair and a top notch firs pair with Hedman/Stralman.
I expect the return of Carle to settle Cooper a bit. Noticed last night, for example, Cooper got the lead and immediately put Hedman/Sustr and Stralman/Nesterov to babysit the youngens' and just ride out the win. I expect Carle to take on that role on the third pair and just watch our top two pairs to go to work from then out.
It's going to be funny 5.5 million a year for a 3rd pairing defenseman.
"Funny" isn't the word I'd use...
I came by to see how he was doing. Has been struggling? Trying to get a read on the comments.
I came by to see how he was doing. Has been struggling? Trying to get a read on the comments.
Assist on the GWG in OT last night. Has another assist since coming over at TDL. He's been a rock with Garrison. That pairing has made us much more difficult to play against. Stralman being able to take shifts with Hedman allows Hedman to not babysit a defensive partner as much.
Coburn makes a lot of easy, simple plays that make us better. You really don't see him get beat one-on-one very often. He's going to make mistakes. That's why he's a $4.5m defenseman and not a $6.5m defenseman. I couldn't really be happier with the way he's fit in so far. Seems like the quality of opposition scoring chances has gone down now that guys are more properly slotted.