SupremeTeam16
5-14-6-1
I'd change it a little bit. And yes, Klefbom is a LD. He has enough talent that I think he'll be able to play both sides in a few years, but for now he should play on the left side. But I would go with:
1st pair:
Marincin - Petry -- Marincin really carried Petry in the NJ game. With Marincin on the ice, only 2 attempted shots against were allowed compared to 30 Oiler shots FOR. (Petry was 28 for, 5 against. It's very clear who carried whom). Pretty amazing stat. This is why we hold on to Marincin, Klefbom and Nurse for dear life. If anyone asks for one of these three as a throw in on a trade in the trade board, you tell them where to go. Those 3 are our future and only hope.
2nd pair:
Klefbom - Fayne -- Fayne has had a very quietly solid year, and is just the type of vet that would help Klefbom's game in the NHL. I still think Klefbom should play out the season in OKC, but if he is played, I hope it's with Fayne. I think they'll be a good shut-down pair and complement each other well.
3rd pair:
Ference - Schutlz -- Ference has actually had a pretty solid season defensively speaking. Not too many major gaffes or mistakes. He could help cover for Schultz, and Schultz really should be sheltered on the bottom pairing until he can develop his defensive game further. This should've happened from the start, instead of treating him like a #1/2 guy straight out of college. And people wonder why his game isn't well rounded. They completely ****ed his development. You don't develop a defenseman coming straight out of college by playing him against the top opposition and playing 22 minutes a night. He actually averaged over 23 minutes a game last season; his first full season in ANY pro league! Utter and complete insanity by the management and coaching staff. And again, people wonder why he has holes in his game. It's not hard to see why when you look. But I digress.
I'd actually prefer we send both Marincin and Klefbom down to OKC to stay for the season, and play them monster minutes and develop them as much as possible. Play Nikitin and Aulie for the rest of the year. This season is done, anyway. Is it better than we get a few more wins and finish 5th last, or stick with the terrible Nikitin and draft one of Eichel or McDavid. We're screwed either way. At the very least, let's not screw up Marincin and Klefbom's development.
This to me seems like the best blue line we could ice. I think their thinking is that limiting Marincin/klef's exposure to this team will actually help their development which is true. Also probably has something to do with contracts. Marincin needs a new one this year and Klefbom the following season if we put them in the lineup and they fair as good or better then the likes of Nikitin/Ferrence/schultz (let's face it not that hard) then their agents might try and hardball us, whereas if they spend most of their time in OKC and play say 25 games each with the big team then they don't really have a leg to stand on negotiations wise and maybe we can get them on some sweetheart 1 way deals since it's likely they will both be in the lineup full time as soon as next year barring any massive developmental fall offs.