I'm also not down on Hughes like some others seem to be, I recognize his weaknesses, but people need to consider how flawed/outdated Green's "system" is. Willingly giving up controlled zone entries to collapse to the slot/net is going to make a lot of dmen look bad, especially smaller/weaker dmen.
I'd still bridge Hughes and pray that Shaw will get Green to re-consider/adjust his strategy.
EP I'd lock up long-term before he becomes even more expensive. He and Demko are the two best players on the team right now(barring a Hughes bounce back).
Size matters especially for defence men. Hughes is playing like a rover and not a good defensive rover at that.
Watch some games and see how often Tanner, Miller, Horat or what ever forward is back checking because Hughes is not playing defence,
The team is searching for a defence man that can play......with Hughes, not for the team.
His weakness is his size and that leads to his inability to handle larger players. Hughes first responsibility should be defence.
Hughes is only 21, thus improvement is highly probable. And it depends on his demands; if he's willing to take a team-friendly AAV on a longer contract, it's worth the risk.
21 or 17, he has been the same size and had the same issues. That will not change.
Playoff teams need BIG defence men, over 6'2" and over 210 lbs.
Size and reach to play defence in the playoffs.
If the team wants a franchise defence man then trade for Jones.
Build from the back out.
If a contract is offered then have it with bonuses, 3 years with no clauses at 3.5 avg that he could achieve up to 4.5 mil with clauses like being a neutral plus-minus player, 50/50 zone starts, PK time. Bonuses for better defensive play not points.
