Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Wideman was fantastic this year.
But the Flames would be a far better team if they could utilize him for specialized, offensive minutes and reduce his defensive responsibilities.
Also, Russell is awesome - one of the most under-rated players in the league - but if you could pair him with a big, physical puck mover, he would be that much better.
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I think it would be the exact opposite. Wideman and Engelland both have said its easier to play when you get more minutes and you can engage into the game well. I'm not so sure Wideman will be as effective if he is below 18 minutes, I think he likes the 22-25 minutes. He's also been great defensively as pointed out above... not sure why you would want to turn him into a PP specialist of sorts. Our game was built upon activating the D and getting chances off the rush.
Also I think his game compliments Russell because they both cover for each other. I don't think we need to get one away from the other.
What we need is a bottom pairing guy that can play up the roster in case of an injury - Schlemko fits the bill perfectly for that. Engelland ends up in that spot too out of depth. I see the minutes breakdown down something like :
Gio - Brodie .... 24 min
Russell - Wideman ... 22 min
Engelland - Schlemko ... 14 minutes
I wish the bottom pairing could get more minutes (closer to 18 min) but there just aren't enough minutes to get everyone in.