[bax]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

If you're asking me, Reimer in and Montoya out is pretty much a wash, maybe a slight edge to Reimer.



Campbell out and Yandle in is also kind of a wash, but Yandle is much younger and might actually throw a hit now and then. Campbell was soft as melted butter.



Losing Mitchell hurts a lot, not only for his on ice talent, but for his leadership and mentorship of the younger d-men. It's no coincidence that they weren't as effective defensively last year the minute he went down with injury. I'm pretty sure he's retiring, so there wasn't anything they could have done to keep him.



Gudbranson was exposed last playoffs by Tavares. Gudbranson was supposed to be a great shutdown d-man, but he ended up getting torched and it likely single-handedly lost the Panthers the series. I like him as a physical 3rd pairing guy, but he was going to get paid like a top 4 d-man, and he just couldn't handle it.



Kulikov was very solid over the last couple of seasons, which was a massive improvement. He still has moments of lackadaisical play which drive me nuts, but when he's on he's a very good 2nd pairing defenseman who can drive the play. However, it sounds like he was going to become too expensive, so they needed to move him.



However, they got back Pysyk to replace Gudbranson.



Signed Demers to effectively replace Kulikov.



And they have a young Mike Matheson (as well as Ian MacCoshen) ready to step into a top 4 role tomorrow.



Add in McCann as a skilled 3rd liner, and Sceviour and Marchessault to be veteran 4th line energy players, and all of a sudden that roster looks really complete and ready to make a run.



That's not even considering the young core that got a year older and more experienced, plus their first playoff experience.



So yeah, they got better, and younger. Just IMO.

Agree with all of this except for the Reimer part. He will help improve this team a ton simply because he can step in and play 35-40 games which will really help Luongo. He looked tired in the playoffs so more rest should allow him to play at a higher level late in the season