The staff clearly sees a lot of potential in him. His name is on the Stanley Cup and we’ve got posters insinuating that he’s not NHL or AHL level.
I get where you're coming from and I like him too, but you're skipping a lot of context.
Djoos was clearly our 6D -- the best we had for that spot -- when what we needed was someone to play 3RD with Orpik. Playing sheltered minutes on his weak side pretty much strangled his strengths. It was 100% a lesser of evils situation. He wasn't an ideal fit; he was just the best we had in a pinch.
Kinda like a donut spare when you have a flat -- fine for as long as you absolutely need it, but don't push it. He held up admirably under those circumstances.
In a world where your RD spots are filled more ideally with Jensen in the mix, Djoos is just another depth LD. With our starting 6 healthy, there's no question he's our 7D -- a good insurance guy should you need that donut spare.
But let's be real, Djoos' current standing as a full-time NHL prospect is situational at best. His lack of size, physicality, and straight defensive prowess are glaring issues. He gets out-muscled by everyone, always. He knows this and works to minimize it, but gets exposed pretty routinely. Despite having valuable NHL experience, most of it is on his weak side. He hasn't had a chance to develop his game on the left, and a potential pairing with Jensen, on paper, isn't one you'd want to count on to eat minutes.
Right now he's a defender that needs sheltering and situational deployments. Probably more likely to lose you a game than win you one.
Hive's right. More time on his strong side where he can get back to the things that make him special -- he has some truly next-level abilities that're almost entirely stifled playing on the right -- maybe he makes it and can become more of an all-situations guy. But we have some serious LD talent in the pipe, too. Some may not have his skill, but none are hampered by his natural limitations.
Not sure why trading him is worth discussing. He likely wouldn't fetch much in return, and he's a no-brainer, low-cost 7D the way Chorney was. If someone keen to make him a starter offers us something worthy of a starting D, sure, I'd trade him.
The bigger issue is how likely he'd be to earn 3LD when Orpik walks. I think the smart money is on someone else. Maybe he gets it for next year if he has any chemistry with Jensen, but others in the system figure to be better fits. Your mileage may vary.