E.L. wrote:
Adrian Dater of all people was on Montreal sports radio this morning. In addition to saying "you know" about 8 million times, he sounded less than enthused about going after Hall. Felt like the top two lines were settled and liked the newfound young defensive depth.
Made the locals happy and said a bunch of nice things about Girard. Sometimes it's hard to know the impact of a player based on statline, and Girard's point totals don't tell the whole story. Sounds like he's an integral puckmoving piece for the Lanche.
He is not the best live interview.
I think he remembers when the Avs went after Theo Fleury and gave the Flames their choice between the Avs' two best defensive prospects at the time: Martin Skoula and Robyn Regehr. Skoula had the flashier skill set but Regehr was the steadier stay-at-home guy. Most here know how that turned out. Of all Pierre Lacroix's trades that one was definitely the worst. Regehr would go on to play over 1,000 NHL games, while Skoula ended up being a massive disappointment. And of course, Fleury would only play 23 games for the Avs and cites that trade as the event in his life where his substance abuse issues spiraled out of control. All in all, I bet Pierre would like that one back, even though it was really awesome to have Theo frickin' Fleury in an Avs jersey playing alongside Joe Sakic.
Similar situation now. Bowen Byram is obviously the more hyped, flashier defensive prospect, while Conor Timmins is expected to be a workhorse-type who can play in all situations. Devils have been thoroughly scouting the Avs at all levels so a lot of people think Shero is targeting Timmins, who of course also missed over a year's worth of hockey due to concussion issues. I say no to moving EITHER of those guys for a friggin' rental, no matter how good. I want the Avs to aim for some lower-tier guys. They don't have to make the biggest splash, just find something the further bolster the depth, which has been a godsend thus far.
As for Sammy, yeah, he's one of those odd ducks--an elite-level puckmoving defenseman who probably won't wow people with his offensive totals. He's great at moving the puck up-ice, his passing is quite good, but his shot/finishing ability is not quite at the level of those other skills. But the Avs know his worth, which is why they gave him a hefty extension already. In a lot of ways he embodies the direction the NHL is going, moving away from slow shot-blockers and toward smaller, speedier puckmovers. He's a fan-favorite already and will be anchoring the blueline for a good, long time. It's super-fun when Bednar rolls both him and Makar out there as a pairing.