I don't think it was that bizarre. Greene/Larsson was reliable (and very good at what they were asked to do) and we all know every coach loves, and often times lean on, reliable players.
Not a single dman in the bottom 4 had an adequate partner last season. None of the 4 were capable of anchoring a pairing.
Merrill and Severson are young and inexperienced it is reasonable at this point that neither can anchor a pairing.
But this all stemmed from Larsson and Greene being inseparable.
I half wonder if Larsson(chained to Greene) was used the way he was soley to trade him...because it made no sense whatsoever. If he was truly a budding #1 shutdown guy why wouldn't you put him with Moore or Merrill allowing Greene to baby sit a a Severson or even Schlemko to create two better pairings and spread out minutes and situations? The usage was bizare.
I don't think it was that bizarre. Greene/Larsson was reliable (and very good at what they were asked to do) and we all know every coach loves, and often times lean on, reliable players.
25 minute pair vs 40 minute 2 pairs? The usage wasn't just bizare it was idiotic.
And here is the catch.. they weren't very good as a top pairing... in fact they were the worst top pairing in the entire league in terms of possession, shots and points.
They were the boxer that last 12 rounds winning no rounds, landing no punches and we are celebrating the fact they didn't get knocked out.
Their usage and output was what you'd expect from a good bottom pairing for 15 ES minutes ..except they did it for 22 most nights as our first pair.
The way our defense was managed last season was horrible.
There were asked to shutdown the opponents top lines and they did that.
If Greene were to be traded, what kind of value would you be looking to get for him? Or in a vacuum what kind of value would you say he holds? Thanks
I'm gonna be honest, and I don't know that this will be a popular opinion here, but Greene isn't a top pairing defenseman. He's a great #3 maybe a low end #2, but I think our goaltending has made our D look better than it is for a long time now. I don't think we've had any true top pairing guys since Niedermayer and Stevens. We certainly haven't had a #1 since then.
I also think Ben Lovejoy and Greene aren't that far apart, if there's any separation at all. Greene probably has more offense, and I think Shero wants to get that out of him more this year, so I doubt we see them paired up together unless it gets really grim with the young guys.
If we can pick up another top 4 type defender through trade I think we won't see too much backspin from last year.
cmon ….we had paul martin as a bonafide #1 D man, hitting nothing in sight for a few seasons
he was awesome
Was he that good? I didn't watch much back then. If anyone came close it'd be him for sure.
well presented post.
i feel that any trade for greene would be like a trade for zajac. he's worth more to the team at this stage of his career than any meager return, so the "value" would have to be intriguing (and be real, no team is lining up to get him and lose anything worth it to them)
as for vacuum trade? i have no clue ……but remember, he is the captain of this team at the moment
maybe others would be more helpful to your question on that front
sarcasm.
he was the defacto #1 ... soft like a pillow or butter or 3 ply toilet paper. had a decent career but never a player that would take the team to any level better. and wasnt a 'leader type'
i hated him as a devil
greene is what the team needs now……charmin was a
"ok….. sure, if thats the best we got left and go with it"
a vanilla game
Oh.
Sarcasm is hard to read through text sometimes, at least for me.
My brother really liked Paul Martin, so mostly I get my view into what he was like from him.
He was a puck mover, I know that. Seemed serviceable on the Pens his few years there.
There is no question that the defense has to be upgraded by October.