Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
No, you force Valimaki back to Stockton and call him up where there is an inevitible injury. The kid will be 21 and there is ZERO urgency to have him in the NHL in the midst of a cup window at the expense of a top pairing D. Or you have Valimaki and Kylington split duties 40 / 40.
You're creating an issue that really isn't an issue.
And either way, Valimaki and Kylington play the left side. Moving out a RD doesn't solve that issue. We have 4 left defensemen and only three left defensemen spots, someone will lose ice time. Our coach subscribes to lefty-righty pairings and only made an exception for Brodie.
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If you want to adhere to a strict L-R with only Brodie as an exception rule, then that means Hamonic is the one who goes. And given I personally think Hamonic is better than Brodie, I dislike that.
And no, I am not creating an issue that isn't there. But you are merely delaying one. Because you are not only blocking an NHL ready kid, but now you're putting yourself in a position where you're going to risk losing fully one half of your top four to free agency without any of their replacements being given the time and chance to learn the role beforehand.
One of Brodie or Hamonic is almost certainly gone by the end of 2019-20. That's just reality. The question is: when and how can you get the most value for the team? Both in terms of the guys on the ice, and in terms of the assets we can get in return for the one who has to leave? I say Brodie, and I say this summer.