What? Firstly I'm going to paraphrase Dr. McCoy from Star Trek II "WE...are not going to do anything".
The only thing they have in common is being from Minnesota. K'Andre is closer to prime McDonaugh than Skjei. He still has occasional gaffes, however he's the complete package. His board work, stick positioning, and strength are remarkable. As he continues to mature he'll continue to be more selective with pinching and rushing. BTW for those who don't remember, his correct decision to rush the puck in 2022 Round 1 Game 7 OT led to the penalty called against Pittsburgh and Panarin's GWG.
Skjei after getting like 30 secondary assists his first year literally stopped playing defense and tried to be Bobby Orr. It took him nearly five years to get that out of his system. He was never the same after Jeff Beukeboom stepped down as defensive coach following 2017.
I don't know who you watch on a nightly basis but I will bring you up to speed.
KAM and Skjei are similar in this respect. They bring every tool in the shop, but they ain't no carpenter.
Speed: check
Shot: got it
Size: got it, but doesn't use it.
Strength: has it, but doesn't realize it.
Hockey sense: Sorry we're closed. Call back during normal business hours.
People confuse Miller with being a good dman because they see these clips of him chasing down people and breaking up plays. Which he's awesome at. He's a huge giraffe with a 7 foot stick who skates like the wind. But that's not really what defensemen are supposed to do. His weakness is when he is in his own zone with his back to his own goal. He easily gets lost as to where he's supposed to be and we struggle whenever that pair gets caught in their own zone.
Offensively, I don't think he's much more that Skjei either. Neither one is the offensive conductor that Fox is. I realize that's a high bar, but this is what I mean. Fox makes other people better. Skjei or K are never gonna do that. They don't have vision. They can make the simple play as long as there is one, but you're not going to see anything you didn't expect. When they try it, you see that stupidity he tried in the Dallas game that led directly to a goal.
Their offensive contribution is going to be their point shot and based on how well the forwards down low capitalize on those rebounds created or the ability to block the Goalies vision.
To put KAM in a sentence that suggests he is close to McD defensively is laughable and an insult to McD and the game of hockey.
So you probably don't agree with me so time will have to prove who is right. I am standing on my position that if we have KAM with a Fox or above level contract, we are going to be in a world of shit. If I am wrong I will be more than happy to come back on here and tell everyone I was wrong.