People try to convince themselves that the league is moving away from physicality when it couldn't be further from the truth. Blues were a nasty team, Tampa went and got depth that would make them tougher, Washington has always been a team that have a physical element to their game. Those are the last 3 cup champs, if being a team of good little boys who skate fast and play pure hockey is what got you success in the league then Toronto might actually win a playoff series.
Definitely. You need some physical guys to win the Cup. As I said a week or two ago in why I thought the Bs should bring Z back, this season is going to rely more on coaching than during a normal season. Depth is going to play a big role. With things so compacted, coaches will need to figure out a good system of rotating players in and out of the lineup when need be, and do it in a manner that responds effectively to matchups. I wouldn't be shocked at all to see more than a couple coaches rolling with 7 D more than normal. My argument for keeping Z is that the Bs will need his stability and strength. I love the young guys, no question, but are they ready to handle the physicality of the compacted schedule this season? These are not big mature strong guys for the most part. Additionally, this D as a whole is not a very big and strong D. I felt that having a big strong dude like Z would be important this season on a young D without much size. There would be ways to use him effectively, and still allow him to get meaningful minutes. So the Bs have lost their PP quarterback and a core guy, as well as their best PK D and biggest physical presence and a core guy. I was fine with Krug going since I assumed his production could be made up for by signing a legit scoring 2RW, which did not happen. I am not fine with Z going because this team already lacked physical presence needed to win a Cup as it stood with Z on the team, and now they have even less of that. Injuries are going to happen. This is not a video game where you compile a roster that looks good on paper, then everything goes swimmingly because you have the injury setting turned to "off." There will need to be depth. The Bs have some great players and a good enough roster to be in the upper half of the NHL, but there are at least several teams that will eat the Bs for lunch in the playoffs. It would be nice if they could play Carolina in all 4 rounds, but they can't.
