Did you say fastest skater? At 6'5"? If that's true...wow.
I was thinking the same thing. Hopefully Gonchar can work on his defensive game... Because guys that size who can skate and actually play are guys everyone loves to have.
Did you say fastest skater? At 6'5"? If that's true...wow.
Let's be honest, a huge percentage of undrafted defensemen don't pan out. Maybe it's just confirmation bias with how the Penguins have developed players, but it seems like there are a lot more undrafted forwards who become regulars than undrafted defensemen. That might just be the way it is with the Penguins, though.
For every Lovejoy, it seems like there are 4 guys like Letestu, Dupuis and Sheary.
So true. Wingers systems are literally mostly just "skate really fast up the board and pass the puck to your nearest teammate if you can't drive to the net"Because you have a lot more options up front to hide guys and to give them a chance. I mean it's not like it's a big deal to put ZAR (or Rowney) or whomever on the 4th line and then double shift Crosby/Malkin/Kessel to limit their minutes if they're struggling. Which means its really easy to insert someone into the lineup when they're a forward and then just kind of play it by ear based on how they do. When they're a blueliner... unless you're going to play your other 5D 22+ minutes each... it's a lot harder to hide/shelter someone when they're a D.
There's also the fact that the systems for the D are likely a lot harder/more complex then that of the wingers.
I made a proposal on the main boards and I'm curious to see what people think, would you do Maatta and Sprong for Klefbom? I'd have to think really hard about that deal, adding a #2 who's a borderline #1 at his best in Klefbom would be a gamechanger for this defense.
Is Klefbom demonstrably better than Maatta? Why am I adding Sprong?
I'd say he is, yeah. Klefbom's a #2 who's a borderline #1 on his best day. Maatta's a #3 at absolute best, and you need to limit his minutes or he starts to struggle.
What makes you think that? I suppose I haven't watched him as closely as you have, but I don't see any stats that scream surefire top pairing dman.
Good possession stats when playing 23 minutes a night (that TOI is a big deal, since Maatta loses effectiveness when he plays too much). Very good production last year, his production this year isn't at good. Good shot suppression and shot generation numbers. The big difference between the two is that Klefbom can handle 23 minutes a night when Maatta appears to not be able to handle 20.
The Penguins need another minute eater, I've been pretty adamant about that recently. Even if Klefbom isn't much better than Maatta, he can definitely handle more minutes than Maatta. That has a lot of value, especially if you want to limit Letang's minutes. A Klefbom-Letang pair would be one of the best top pairs in all of hockey.
I'd rather just play Sprong next year. He's got too good a chance of becoming a productive winger to use him as sweetener for a marginal LD upgrade.
Where does Sprong realistically fit in, though? I mean... if you are the Penguins and Sullivan.
There is a spot he fits in, Sullivan keeps talking about him with respect to being Sid's long term RWer. The issue is that they have quite a few options for that spot, so they don't "need" Sprong.
I'll believe that when I see it. There has been little to no indication that that's the direction they wish to go in, despite the nice words. And your overall point is what I was alluding to. Sprong's chances of having much real success here decreased exponentially about a month ago.
I made a proposal on the main boards and I'm curious to see what people think, would you do Maatta and Sprong for Klefbom? I'd have to think really hard about that deal, adding a #2 who's a borderline #1 at his best in Klefbom would be a gamechanger for this defense.
I made a proposal on the main boards and I'm curious to see what people think, would you do Maatta and Sprong for Klefbom? I'd have to think really hard about that deal, adding a #2 who's a borderline #1 at his best in Klefbom would be a gamechanger for this defense.
What makes you think that? I suppose I haven't watched him as closely as you have, but I don't see any stats that scream surefire top pairing dman.
I'd do it in a heartbeat, I don't know why Edmonton would do that. They're already lacking in high end defenseman, so why would they trade their best one for a downgrade and a good prospect?
From what I've seen, he's more of a good #2/great #3 when he's on his game then anything close to being a #1. That said... if there was a way to swap Maatta+ for Klefbom I'd easily do it. Klef suits this team soo much better. He's basically a better version of Dumoulin and comes with an amazing contract.
I never said he would. But I like his skillset and wish him success. I'd rather it be here than elsewhere. If not... world will still go round. I'm a fan but you are right that he hasn't proven much at the NHL level, yet.
I think a better way to put it is Klefbom is Dumoulin if Dumoulin was actually good offensively.
I'd do it in a heartbeat, I don't know why Edmonton would do that. They're already lacking in high end defenseman, so why would they trade their best one for a downgrade and a good prospect?