Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I am aware of his play. He is an NHLer that can log minutes.
Miromanov should be a #5 who gets paired with a defensive guy, and who gets PP time (much like Zadorov, except for the PP)
Pachal, Okhutiuk, Hanley, along with auditions from Poirier, Grushnikov, Solovyov, Kuznetsov, and possibly Brzustewicz, will/should be all on the bottom pairing.
Again, not looking for Dumba to improve the defense, just take some minutes, to reduce the burden on the young guys.
edit: and not married at all to Dumba specifically, just someone like that.
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Dumba should be the target if he's available as he would likely improve the defense and he'd probably be a solid mentor and a defensively and physically sound second/third pairing guy that would take the pressure off a younger or newer defender. He's been through a lot of ups and downs and seems to have remade himself as a reliable defense-first team guy.
Yes, he isn't the same two-way beast of a player he was five years ago, but he's shifted from trying to regain his offensive form and settled into a steadier, physical defender. He was decent over the last number of months on Arizona and he seems to have helped steady a floundering, but now much improved Tampa Bay team (yeah, smallish sample size there)...
If TB keeps playing like they have, he may not make it to free agency though, as TB will probably lock him down on a decent three to four year contract (Hanifin is the wildcard there). He just seems to be a guy at the right age that would help stabilize the ups and downs of a youngish and inexperienced Calgary defense -- as long as he's not put on the first pairing and expected to carry the team.
Him paired with Kylington or Miromanov or Poirier could be dynamic.