It's one of the reasons. They simply were unable to move the puck efficiently to the forwards or keep any cycle going in the offensive zone. Asking Holl to replace injured Barrie offensively wasn't realistic.
Holl has very good possession zone exit % stats.
Holl’s role isn’t offense. His role is to play with Muzzin and keep the puck out of our net against top competition, and that pairing was able to do so. I really don’t get the hate for Justin Holl. Is Muzzin the leader of that pairing? Yes. Does Holl compliment Muzzin very well? Also yes.
As for Dermott, he does a good job in a third pairing role. I’m not sure what role we have for him moving forward. Seems like someone that makes sense to use in a trade.
Trying to say Dermott and Holl are AHL players is very silly. If you have the opinion that they are bottom pairing players, that’s fine.
Trying to say they aren’t NHL players is objectively wrong.