Go Habs Go
Joined: Mar. 2017
Posts: 10,668
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I think Struble is here to stay. Not only because of his performance, but how he plays. He keeps it simple with smart puck movement out of pressure, he plays physical, reads the play well, and doesn't take penalties.
He could very well end up anchoring the 2nd pairing before too long.
Hutson will likely be better used as a 3rd pairing PP specialist. I'm hoping we get at least that from him. If he ends up being more, great.
Some people are down on Barron but there's no reason to be. He's 22 with less than 100 NHL games. By 200 games he should have worked the noticeable errors from his game and be able to contribute more offensively. He's still showing progression and no need to panic until that progression halts.
Guhle is obviously a lock for #1. He's in a good place the team just needs to catch up around him.
That leaves Xhekaj, Engstrom, Mailloux, and Reinbacher.
I think the final decision comes between Mailloux and Engstrom.
Harris, Kovacevic, and Konyushkov, are likely pushed out and traded if everything else goes as expected. Perhaps one of Mailloux or Engstrom as well.
Only because we don't have room for everyone and we should get value for those we can't keep.
I also think we should keep Savard until next year's TDL (and beyond if we are in a playoff position).
Matheson is our main offensive defenseman right now, but moving him will give the others opportunity to contribute more and grow that side of their game.
Our defense is doing well enough with offensive contributions by committee and we should be getting more looks at them with tough decisions coming up.
My depth chart (L/R) would be:
Guhle - Struble - Hutson - Xhekaj - Engstrom
Barron - Reinbacher - Savard - Mailloux
(Savard sticks around until Mailloux or another is ready)