Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Russell and Wideman were bad as a pair last year, no question.
But I think the fact that the forwards were typically 100 ft up the ice most of the time contributed to that.
I would prefer we move on, but if Russell is signed at a decent price, that's fine. He is a serviceable NHL defenseman.
And I think one of his biggest shortcomings is gap control, which is interesting because Gulutzan talks extensively about that and I am hoping that gap control is going to be a big focus and a source of improvement this year.
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Russell and Wideman were bad last year, yes. It started early when they were put in a position playing roles they were not suited for due to Brodie's injury, Giordano still bouncing back from his injury and Hamilton becoming acclimated with the team. By the time they were put back into normal roles the goalies had lost confidence in the team in front of them and in turn the team in front of them had lost confident in the goaltending and everything had snowballed.
I point this out because every bit as bad as Russell & Wideman had been last year, they were every bit as good together the year before and were a huge reason we made the playoffs after Giordano's injury. They were also not nearly as bad as last season when they played together in 2013-14 either, so it leads me to believe that they are not as bad as they showed this past season and also probably not as good as they showed in 2014-15.
Now we enter a new era of coaching and goaltending. As you pointed out gap control is a big thing Gulutzan preaches and if the team as a whole buys into that system it will make both our defense and goaltending look better and with who I believe is a legitimate #1 goaltender in Elliott I think he will make the defense feel more confident which will make them and the system look even better.
That said, I am not sure Gulutzan will keep our defense pairings what they were before. Hell for all we know he will dress 7 defensemen and use Wideman exclusively on the PP and when trailing, or play Engelland as the #4 RW. There is also the matter of Jokipakka's off-season procedure, his hip IIRC. Will he skate as well when he returns? Will he even be ready for opening day? There is also the matter of the expansion draft, a 2+ year deal from Russell will absolutely guarantee that one (or both) of he or Jokipakka will be back for the 2017-18 season. The fact he could have a back-up plan for both Jokipakka's injury and the expansion draft in a single player is nothing but a good thing if you ask me.