islesfan3913
Registered User
As of right now our defense should look something like this:
de Haan-Hamonic
Reinhart/Hickey-Visnovsky
Hickey/Strait-Brennan
Now I'm fine with the first pairing. My problem is with what comes after that. I think Reinhart could be a solid defender but do we really want to throw a rookie into a big role like that and hope he plays solid? Let's say he does start the year with the Isles on the second pairing with Vis. That would knock Hickey down to the third pairing where he belongs in my opinion. I'd rather have Brennan than Strait so that fills out our defense. This is probably our best lineup we can put together with what we have and I wouldn't have a problem with it.
Things can and do go wrong and that is what I'm worried about. There are too many question marks on this team in terms of defense. What is Reinhart isn't ready for the NHL? What if Visnovky gets hurt? Can Hickey continue to play solid? Can Brennan put it together in the NHL? If the first two are true (which are the most likely and would have the biggest impact) we are left with this:
de Haan-Hamonic
Hickey-Brennan
Strait-Czuczman/Carkner/Donovan
That is a serious issue. Even if you limit Reinhart's playing time that would give Hickey top 4 minutes which I don't think is a good situation for him or the Isles. Even if Reinhart is fine and Visnovky is the only one out that forces us to play a mediocre 7th defenseman. It isn't a good situation to be in.
We have to win this season and make the playoffs. We can't afford to have problems this season that set us back. The offense is fine and goaltending is improved but this defensive situation scares me. One issue and the entire defense is in trouble. I know I'm talking about worst case scenarios here but we literally have no solid backup plan. We really need to add someone to play on the third pairing and can play on the second if needed. We can't afford to go into the regular season with these kind of issues.
de Haan-Hamonic
Reinhart/Hickey-Visnovsky
Hickey/Strait-Brennan
Now I'm fine with the first pairing. My problem is with what comes after that. I think Reinhart could be a solid defender but do we really want to throw a rookie into a big role like that and hope he plays solid? Let's say he does start the year with the Isles on the second pairing with Vis. That would knock Hickey down to the third pairing where he belongs in my opinion. I'd rather have Brennan than Strait so that fills out our defense. This is probably our best lineup we can put together with what we have and I wouldn't have a problem with it.
Things can and do go wrong and that is what I'm worried about. There are too many question marks on this team in terms of defense. What is Reinhart isn't ready for the NHL? What if Visnovky gets hurt? Can Hickey continue to play solid? Can Brennan put it together in the NHL? If the first two are true (which are the most likely and would have the biggest impact) we are left with this:
de Haan-Hamonic
Hickey-Brennan
Strait-Czuczman/Carkner/Donovan
That is a serious issue. Even if you limit Reinhart's playing time that would give Hickey top 4 minutes which I don't think is a good situation for him or the Isles. Even if Reinhart is fine and Visnovky is the only one out that forces us to play a mediocre 7th defenseman. It isn't a good situation to be in.
We have to win this season and make the playoffs. We can't afford to have problems this season that set us back. The offense is fine and goaltending is improved but this defensive situation scares me. One issue and the entire defense is in trouble. I know I'm talking about worst case scenarios here but we literally have no solid backup plan. We really need to add someone to play on the third pairing and can play on the second if needed. We can't afford to go into the regular season with these kind of issues.