Everyone has to be able to play 200 ft in today's NHL, forwards and defense. There are roles yes, but teams can't waste roster space on specialties. The basics for playing hockey in the NHL is being able to defend properly when you don't have the puck (ie, not just when the puck is below your blueline). If you can't do that, IMO, no matter how potent your offensive abilities are, you will never be part of a championship team.
I do think goaltending has been the biggest factor for our lack of success this season. Followed by slow starts for our best defense (Hamilton and Gio stumbled out of the gate, Brodie injured), and by regression of vets that played big roles in last season's success (Wideman, Russell, Hudler).
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