Edmundson return does it mean Chiarot is gone

I doubt it, more likely Montreal split up the Kulak-Niku pairing even though they are both playing well. We know how much Montreal likes their big, tough, slow, bruising D men.

Someone may take him at the deadline but got a feeling Mtl will be rid of him once he walks as a free agent.

Washington doesn't need him.. MF looks great Orlov is a stud and we have about 3 guys capable of playing 3rd pairing. if i trade Eller it would have to be worth our time like a late 1st or 2 2nd round picks. just the perfect 3c

"What do we do with the only other player besides Petry playing more then 20 minutes a night to add a 20 minutes a night player"
Does this add up Logistically?

Edmunston,Petry and Chiarot will be the only ones playing 20-25 minutes a night
Savard is 17-19 minutes at best and is quickly becoming Karl Alzner 2.0
Romanov is surpassing Kulak being trusted with 16-18 minutes and by next year might hit 20 minutes
Kulak and Wideman are good for 15 minutes with a reduced role for both as players return
Niku has been a pleasent surprise with 2 points in 3 games for with only 15 minutes on ice and seemingly replacing Wideman

To provide Context in our SCF were we were lacking a true #5 D as no one stepped up we avaeraged:
Weber Petry and Chiarot last year averaged 22-25 minutes
Edmundston 20-23 minutes on ice
Kulak and Romanov averaged 15-17 minutes
Merril,Gustafsson and Mete averaged 10-14 minutes


We needed to Add but we subtracted
We got Savard and Dvorak who would have put us over in the SCF last year
But we didnt replace Danault or Weber

Right now we can Survive with Petry,Chiarot and Edmunston Leading
As long as Romanov keeps Progressing steady and Savard doesnt Decline like Alzner
Then we should be alright but we're not Contending unless Romanov and Niku take major steps forward taking advantage of the Void's in PP unit and/or PK Unit
We will however stop losing so much

I think Eller comes close to replacing Danault's defense, although not quite his offense. If Dvorak and Suzuki keep improving on offense, and Eller leads the checking line and penalty kill, that could put Montreal's forwards back where they were last year.

I doubt anything happens until Backstrom and Dowd are back in the Caps' lineup. Current center depth in Washington is Kuznetsov, Eller, rookies. Not sure if the other centers will be back in one week or several.