It quite simple. We don't have many high end young defensemen in our organization. We have Ekblad and Matheson, and that's it. We have some potential 2s and 3s, but no top end ones after EK and Matheson. We certainly can't trade Matheson for a 34 year old Kovy, and most of us really don't want to.
We're in a weird situation because we have a ton of youth on defense. Demers and Yandle being the only guys around 30 years old but I agree with the bolded and think this year with more familiarity and a different defensive scheme, we will be fine.
Ideally I'd like to see a UFA defenseman signed/traded for to take some pressure off the potential bottom pairing guys like Weegar or McCoshen who could use one more year in Springfield, build more chemistry and then come up full time the year after as a bottom pairing.
I'd like both of our teams to make playoffs and start building a winning culture in Florida and Springfield. Both could still be the first options when we have injuries and we know we will have them
I'd try:
Matheson - Ekblad
Yandle - Petro/Pysyk
UFA D-man - Demers/Pysyk/Petro
UFA left handed D-man available this upcoming year who would all be mostly 2 yr deals under a $4 million cap:
Matt Hunwick - 32yrs old---19pts in 72 games
Johnny Oduya - 36yrs old in October----9pts in 52 games *he would be a last resort for me, feel his injuries have really taken a toll on him*
Trevor Daley - 34 yrs old in October----19pts in 56 games
Ron Hainsey - 36 years old----17pts in 72 games
Fedor Tyutin - 34 yrs old in July----13pts in 69 games.
Most of these guys are able to play a shutdown role, block shots and have some playoff experience. They're not the fastest but I don't see us making a move to bring in some speed on the backend. We have to believe in Yandle, Ekblad and Matheson for the offense, Pysyk/Petrovic and this UFA defenseman for some extra grit which Tallon has alluded to acquiring. McCoshen is on his way up within the next year or two and should bring some of it as well.
