Are Russell and Wideman overrated?

[Glo Boyz]

These two players are just unsatisfactory at suppressing shots against. It's not because they're individually bad players - both are decent #4-5s but as a duo you've got Wideman who's slow and has mediocre positioning, and Russell whose positioning and speed are good but whose size limits his effectiveness (but you can see from his fenwick against that his shotblocking makes him an NHL-calibur defender). As a pairing they lose one-on-one battles to pucks and end up spending way more time than they need to hemmed into the opponent's zone. They're good enough to not be a liability, but not good enough to be the strength people assume they are.

They had a strong year, and somehow the Flames kept on chugging even when they got upgraded to top pairing competition, but don't let that confuse you into thinking they're a top-shelf middle pairing. They should be upgraded if the Flames have championship aspirations. Giving Russell a partner who is better at shot suppression has shown good results, like when he's been paired with Brodie. But finding a good RHD to pair with him isn't easy or cheap.

From OKG at HF, really makes you think

[TSXCman]

Gtfo

[GranteedEV]

Nice HFBoards plagarism.

[Looch City]

Rarely is the question asked, are is our children learning?

[Glo Boyz]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

Gtfo

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Nice HFBoards plagarism.

Two posts in and no feasible rebuttal.

[dieHARDflameZ]

Oh here we go...

[mikephoen]

The Flames don't play a game that generates good possession stats. Only a complete idiot wouldn't understand that by now.

[Glo Boyz]

No wonder CP has the reputation that it does. Still no sensical rebuttal. Just insults.

[mile]

I wouldn't say underrated. Both Wideman and Russell have had small rough patches this season and I don't know about stats but I think they did exactly what most fans wanted out of them this season, maybe surpassing even a few people's expectations. From watching them they were very steady during the regular season but struggled a lot in the playoffs.

I agree that they should be upgraded in order for the Flames to be championship caliber. That takes time though, upgrades will likely have to come from good drafting and development and right now Russell and Wideman are the best possible options for the #3/4 role - you probably won't find a good upgrade this offseason in free agency or without overpaying in a trade. Ideally on a contender Russell would be a #4/5 defenseman.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Glo Boyz

No wonder CP has the reputation that it does. Still no sensical rebuttal. Just insults.

Why would you even ask this then? Did you not watch the playoffs, did they look ''overrated'' to you? Wideman was 4th is D points overall this season, yet he is a ''decent 4-5''? Eff the advanced stats. I watched them with both my eyeballs and they were damn good. In over their heads? Perhaps a bit, but if they really were as weak as you suggest, we wouldn't have made round 2. They more then held their own and if anything they are an underrated pairing league-wide.

Sure the team could use an upgrade on the back end, but we're not going for championship aspirations yet. We just finished year 2 of the rebuild. I don't know how any couldn't could be anything but impressed with them, given how they BOTH stepped up when it mattered.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Glo Boyz

No wonder CP has the reputation that it does. Still no sensical rebuttal. Just insults.

If you don't care for this board, you are more than welcome to find somewhere else to post.