Quoting: MTLaveragefan
Debatable,
"injury history" Weber just got his first injury in a while... took him out for a year and he is back 100%, Karlsson was injured at the end of the season... not unusual.
CJ whole thing this season was the fast pace counter-attack and zone entry... offensive minded D is exactly what we need.
Karlsson is 28 chill, he will be good till 35, and Weber is like Chara,
Kulak was a stud last season... Mete has been playing on the top pair at fkn 19... can't score a goal but still has the best +/- in the team. Juulsen is up and coming... just can't catch a break... (got two pucks under the eye...)
I think MTL would be on par with most teams you named except a few. After this offseason when Tampa will be in cap hell (if they sign Point) with only so decent LHD but random RHD... MTL's defense might be better than theirs.
Weber is not like Chara. Chara did not have knee injury/surgery at 33 years old & they have much different body styles. Weber is much thicker. Both incredibly strong, but Chara is much leaner. I don't know Weber's off season workout, but I also doubt it involved doing the tour de france route for fun.
Claude wants to win 0-0. Yes, he was sort of forced to be a little more offensive because of the direction the game is going, but I agree it's what you need, I don't think he would utilize them properly.
I am not sure Karlsson will be "good". He has never been strong defensively and his game is almost all skating. and he effectively has one leg now. Even if he heals 100%, He'll still be good, but not 2015-16 ever again. He is 29, not 28, but when you are talking about signing to that term, a year can matter. I just think he changed the game and now there are a bunch of Karlsson's in the league.
again, I would warn about jumping on the Kulak train. Adam Mcquaid was top 5 in the NHL in +/- his rookie year under Claude. I love Mcquaid, but that was a red herring.