Mete has been playing a lot better since his AHL stint. I'd still like him to produce more offense if he's going to stick around in our D for upcoming seasons, but it's not like he doesn't get chances. He's still young and still has the tools and the IQ to do this eventually, IMO, he just has to put them together moving forward.
Ryan Ellis, Torey Krug, Samuel Girard... If he can turn into one of these guys for us, I'll have no problem with him being a mainstay in the top 6.
If you're a 5'9 D in the NHL, you should be putting up at least some offense or be able to at least compete well defensively (ala Bouillon in his younger years). The problem is if you're in the middle of this spectrum at that size, then it's more of a "what do you bring to this team that a bigger guy can't?" kind of question. Skating and passing IS important, especially in today's game, but so are puck battles and grinding in corners when defending, especially in the playoffs.