Habs4ever
Joined: Jan. 2017
Posts: 2,728
Likes: 1,195
I know you did not do this on purpose but your statement "because the Coach and GM value vets over skill" is misleading and here is why. On a "normal" team, you have 2 offensive D, 2 defensive D, 1 heavy hitter and the last guy is either a specialist or an up and comer.
With Weber slowing down and going cold, the teams focused on Petry and therefore shut down the offense from the back end. Right now the Habs have too many similar D-men. Big strong, defensive D. Edmundson, Chiarot, Weber, Romanov and Kulak. I put Kulak in there because, yes he skates really well but he rarely provides any offense. He knew players were coming and look how he played the last 3 games! very well. Why didn't he play like that all season?
Also, Kulak and Romanov often have a hard time stopping the cycle and if you notice they spend a lot of time in their zone. Merrill is a defensive D, with a history of being good at stopping the cycle. But now you add another defensive D-man to the group, which puts even more pressure on Petry to perform. For this reason, Gustafsson will probably play because his strength is offense. His weakness is D-zone. But Habs really need some offense from the back end. So knowing that, who do you take out of the lineup? Edmundson, who has played well and leads the NHL in +/-? nope!
Petry who was having a stellar year and leads the D in scoring? nope! Weber who is still the Captain and still does well on the PK? nope! Chiarot, that has been on the 1st pairing for two years, hits and does well on the PK? nope! So, unfortunately it will probably be Romanov, not because he is playing poorly, but because he is the easiest to take out as a rookie without causing too many ripples with the veteran D mentioned.
Gustafsson and Merrill could potentially form a very good tandem because one is Offensive and the other Defensive. With this said, I think Chiarot may be moved in the offseason, to make sure Romanov stays in the line up next season.