Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
Quite a few voters will say Ekblad plays a tougher position. However, Johnny was kept off Monahan's line for a while because the thought was he couldn't handle the defensive responsibilities of the top line. But he did.
Ekblad was more sheltered, or so the analytics guys say.
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Backlund coming back had more to do with the lines being shuffled and the defensive responsibilities shifting to Backlund's and Stajan's line than Johnny's growth. Not that Johnny hasn't progressed in his defensive game but keeping his line away from the Sedin line has been a good idea.