this article has more holes than our defense.
i do agree about nash though. he's only here because the rest of the league knows he blows. rick nash by default. gotta love it.
and i agree that this defense isn't very good. its too slow, too old and too un ...er....not talented.
first off, jt miller has shown that his best game is the power wing where he can roam up and down the wall with speed and without the defensive responsibilities that come with the center of the ice. when you have step, mika, khayes, lindy -when he's back healthy and a guy like jooris, theres no need to minimize miller and make him a pivot. let him play wing where he can use his speed and shot. dumb.
he's got dylan mcilrath (still waiting for this kid to be recognized by playing on any national team in any tournament or anything ala, jtmiller, skjei, kreider, zuc) playing with staal on the 2nd pair and brady skjei as the 7th guy. thats brutal for a few reasons. you cannot expect mcilrath to play with staal on the 2nd pair and keep up when he's having to cover for staals tired skating and allergic puck skills. a failing, frequently unhealthy veteran and a one dimensional 3rd pair guy on the 2nd pair. thats a tall order for mcilrath. plus you are exposing mcilrath to 2nd pair minutes and top lines which plays to his weaknesses. simply put, neither of these guys skate well enough nor handle the puck well enough to play full time 2nd pair TOGETHER. talk about not being able to skate pucks out of the zone..... geeez, other than tortorella, no one would like this pair together. talk about a skating in mud defense. these two together will be like sloths.
add to that brady skjei as the 7th- rather than along side marc staal where he belongs and its more silliness. skjei CAN play the right side and his skating is superb as is his ability to get back and cover for his partners mistakes (we are talking marc staal here) . he played RD last season in hartford and last year in the worlds. he did it very well. he was one of the lone BRIGHT SPOTS in last years dismal showing against the pens in the playoffs and showed he can handle major minute and play a reliable, consistent defensive game. certainly more so than mcilrath has shown- ask AV right ?. you simply cannot have brady skjei and those wheels sitting while mcilrath plays 2nd pair. dumb.
lastly, no mention at all of buchnevich. no article can be written and not mention this kid in any way and then be taken seriously. he's got brandon pirri- which i think was a smart signing, playing over him and not one mention that thats the slot buch would occupy and pirri would lose. nothing more needs to be said about that.