Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
Hmm, there might be confusion on what I meant.
He's clearly more than a bottom pairing guy for Calgary, and he's a top 3 defender for Calgary in terms of his defense, but that says more about the situation the Flames are in than it does about his abilities. If Kris Russell is one of your top 4 guys, you are going to be leaking goals and chances. I don't think his offense is better than Wideman, Giordano or Brodie, which puts him as Calgary's 4th best defender at this point. He's also the smallest of that group which is already smallish in it's own right.
He provides the same thing the other three guys do offensively but to a less substantial degree and while he has shown a lot for Calgary this year, he's not tremendous defensively either. Thinks the game well but lacks physical attributes that would make him more reliable.
Is he more than a bottom pairing guy for a top 15 or top 10 team in the league? Not in any more than spot duty in my opinion, which is how Calgary was able to land him for what's looking like a relative bargain right now. I also don't think he really makes much of a difference to the offensive or defensive prowess of the team, he's just a better option than Butler.
It would be a mistake not to explore the trade potential of Russell, if moving him turns a 5th into a 3rd, I think you take that deal and suggest to Russell and his agent that you look forward to talking with them in the offseason.
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Wideman has a better shot but Russell is a much better skater and puck rusher IMO. Both are good at outlet passing.
Russell has a better shot than Brodie IMO and better offensive instincts when in the offensive zone. Both Brodie and Russell are awesome at rushing the puck and our offense clearly takes a hit when one of them is out because our transition game is at its best when Brodie and Russell are getting zone entries themself.
Giordano and Russell I'd say are pretty close in terms of PP ability. I think Russell is better at rushing the puck up the ice himself but Gio has improved in that area.
As for defense I think Russell is more solid than Wideman. I'm not sure he's that far behind Brodie in defense either.
It is problematic that we have a lot of the same type of defender. Brodie, Russell and Billins are all either small or slight. And the problem is that Wideman and Gio aren't giants either. Burke is right in that we need some beef in our top 4 to complement those guys.
It just seems to me that Russell is much more valuable to us moving forward than a 3rd rounder. We need depth at defense and look to be losing Smith and Butler this year. I think retaining Russell is important. Now if someone offered a 2nd rounder that I might consider. I doubt anyone would.
I think we'll be getting enough picks from dealing guys like Cammalleri, Stajan, Stempniak and Butler.