Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
Kris Russell is a top 4 defenceman in the NHL, period. Injuries to Gio caused him to play perhaps more then he was used to, but he filled in admirably when it mattered most. That ''recipe for disaster'' got us to the 2nd round.
We were supposed to be bottom feeders in contention for McDavid. We took a huge step forward and made it to round 2. Russell was a huge reason for that.
Having Russell on our bottom pairing (if that happened) would suddenly mean we have one of the deepest defences in the league. I agree with you there, I'm all for that. But that's hard as hell to do. In the perfect world we'll find that player that allows us to do that AND injuries won't play a factor. But #### happens. You make it seem like Russell is the new Anders Eriksson.
|
I agree. There are very few if any teams in the NHL in which Russell would not make their top 4. The fact that he had 7 points in 11 playoff games is pretty impressive. His goals were both huge.
Russell being on the first line may not have been great, but it definitely wasn't a disaster. The Flames did make the playoffs and win a round with him playing a lot of minutes.