Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCharles
The thing of it for me, and I’m sure most of us, is Valimaki can’t be sent to the minors without waivers and would get claimed 100% so he needs to play regularly in order to continue to develop.
It’s two games so I’m not going to assume anything and it’s likely Sutter pushing Valimaki to be the best he can be but I will not be happy if he continues to scratch him.
I don’t see Zadorov as a guy that re-signs here so I hope the focus is on the development of Valimaki. With all the time he has missed due to injuries the last thing he needs is to be continually shunned to the press box.
Only reason I comment on this is because the other 5 seemingly have solidified their spots so to me Zadorov should be our #7.
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I think it's a bit crazy that Erik Gudbranson has "solidifed a spot".
On paper, Gudbranson should be our #7D. He's been better, but that's moreso a knock on Zadorov and Valimaki not playing to their potential.
Getting to that point by mid-season should be the goal.
It requires Zadorov and Valimaki to play better and steal that role from him.
But it requires flexibility and meritocracy in the roster.
I want Gudbranson to be strong depth, not our #5 defenseman.
That should 100% be Valimaki, because he is the guy closest to the skillset of a top four defenseman.
It's on him to to steal Gudbranson's spot as #5 by really playing like this:
That anticipation, timing, and recognition... it's gamechanging.
It shouldn't be a matter of "who plays with Gudbranson"
It should be a matter of "who gets to play with Valimaki".
Even now, Valimaki's impact on Gudbranson is highly evident - and Valimaki hasn't been at his best. I expect Valimaki to have a similar impact on Zadodov.
But Zadorov has to play better and steal Gudbranson's spot too.
Roster competition is a great thing to have when it's actual conpetition.