The problem for Staal is structural in the transition game. And heck, even Skjei has a bit of the same issues.
Having the puck is good, giving it away is costly. Staal and the Ds of his generation makes those area passes. Lifts it in to the right areas. You don’t look if someone is there, they should be there. But it’s possible to play other ways in today’s game.
And Skjei, like he got quick skates and can get to the redline for a dump in. There are some times when dumps the puck in that I — really — would love to get a chance to sit down with Skjei and the coaching stuff and question them about it. Like once per game at least he makes that play. We have the puck and both teams makes a change, Skjei rush up to the redline and sends a slapper around the boards to give the puck away. We have zero pressure on the puck. Skjei himself aren’t pressured.
It’s 2019, why are we giving the puck away? The young Ds are thought differently. That is why they are better. I’ve said this for years, and so often faced question like ‘should we have two rookies on the blueline’??? But the thing is, especially when I look at the draft rankings I made, even I underestimated just how fast and broad these kids are able to come in and contribute.
