DrEasy
Out rumptackling
Methot - Karlsson
Cowen - FA
Wiercioch - Gryba
Phillips
PP1: Wiercioch - Karlsson
PP2: Cowen - FA
PK1: Methot - Gryba
PK2: Cowen - FA
With the scheme above, everybody plays to their strength. The Methot-Karlsson pairing was excellent before Karlsson's injury. Cowen is still young and should ideally be paired with an experienced D. This top 4 should get the bulk of the playing time. Wiercioch and Gryba aren't a great pairing, but they probably won't play that much together anyway: Wier will be used on the PP, and Gryba will be used on the PK. The rest of the time, we could see Wier sometimes paired up with that experienced FA, while Gryba could play a shutdown role paired with Cowen or Methot. The FA is really key - as we see pretty much every year, our D depth *will* be tested with injuries.
Phillips as the 7th guy is just in theory - in reality, we will probably always have at least one D injured, or Wiercioch will need the occasional benching for defensive lapses, and so Big Rig will play plenty of games. But it's not a bad thing to keep him fresh for the playoffs, since that's when he shines anyway.
The big flaw in my proposal: who is this mythical FA who can play alongside Cowen, and big minutes on the PP and the PK? We basically need someone as good as, or better than, Gonchar.
Cowen - FA
Wiercioch - Gryba
Phillips
PP1: Wiercioch - Karlsson
PP2: Cowen - FA
PK1: Methot - Gryba
PK2: Cowen - FA
With the scheme above, everybody plays to their strength. The Methot-Karlsson pairing was excellent before Karlsson's injury. Cowen is still young and should ideally be paired with an experienced D. This top 4 should get the bulk of the playing time. Wiercioch and Gryba aren't a great pairing, but they probably won't play that much together anyway: Wier will be used on the PP, and Gryba will be used on the PK. The rest of the time, we could see Wier sometimes paired up with that experienced FA, while Gryba could play a shutdown role paired with Cowen or Methot. The FA is really key - as we see pretty much every year, our D depth *will* be tested with injuries.
Phillips as the 7th guy is just in theory - in reality, we will probably always have at least one D injured, or Wiercioch will need the occasional benching for defensive lapses, and so Big Rig will play plenty of games. But it's not a bad thing to keep him fresh for the playoffs, since that's when he shines anyway.
The big flaw in my proposal: who is this mythical FA who can play alongside Cowen, and big minutes on the PP and the PK? We basically need someone as good as, or better than, Gonchar.