Dubas isnt a genius
Joined: Apr. 2020
Posts: 2,824
Likes: 681
Unpopular opinion time:
I honestly think we don't need to add on defence:
Sandin is ready to have a breakout year after a dominant AHL performance last year and a productive call-up. He has also shown he can play right-side and would not be surprised if he ended up with Rielly. Muzzin and Holl are already a great pairing and don't need to be touched. That leaves us with Dermott and Lehtonen who I'm fine with playing together. So basically, we have a solid second pairing, a wildcard bottom pairing with two guys set to explode this year, and a mediocre top pairing.
People often overlook the fact that an elite defencemen like Rielly doesn't need another elite defencemen, they need someone who plays a complimentary game, like Hainsey. People also overlook the fact that Dermott is already a solid 2nd pairing defensemen at the ripe age of 23. He was a year younger then DeMelo was when he was part of the Karlsson trade, and Dermott is significantly better then DeMelo was at that time. It's ridiculous to think people want to ship Dermott of for scraps just to go sign him.