Pretty much this, though I think Buium also plays the right side, so there are a whole lot of options to ease him into the lineup when that time comes.
It shouldn’t take long for Buium to surpass Middleton. In the same way that it wouldn’t have taken Faber long to surpass Bogosian (if he was on the team at that time).
Even if he does surpass him, all you really have to do is squeeze the Middleton/Spurgeon and Buium/Bogosian pairs closer together in minutes. Don't really have to change anything personnel-wise that first year.
I’m not entirely sure playing Bogosian more minutes is ideal. He’s been pretty injury prone aside from last year.
There is basically only one option available with Brodin-Buium-Middleton all locked in. Unfortunate.
I don't want to get ahead of anything on Chisholm. He had 3 ES points in 29 games; offensively-challenged Middleton had 24.
Don’t think we should be praising Middleton for his point totals. He sacrificed defense for offense constantly.
It is, but his point isn't wrong. Chisholm's play, while better than Merrill's, wasn't good enough to warrant worrying about locking him up beyond this year. This will be his first full year, and if he's good, then you worry about locking him up for more years and maybe trading someone in the off-season.
I agree with that, but I think to some level that also applies to Middleton. Chisholm can improve. Middleton is what he is. It’s the same argument as Rossi vs Hartman in the other thread, but a tier lower in terms of quality of play.
That's why I went from being neutral on the idea of re-signing Middleton to against it when Buium got drafted. By the time the new contract begins, Buium should be on the team if all goes well. But the other defensemen in the system? Maybe one or two of them pan out, someday.
Yeah, I'd be more than fine with bringing him back as a 3rd pairing guy, but I'm not more than fine with paying our 3rd pairing guys 4+ million. The real sticking point I have with Guerin is simply that he overpays bottom of the lineup talent, while often giving them trade protection.
It's really just a math problem. Does the trade protection cost less than the difference in taxes at a place you could be traded to? Better get that trade protection. Otherwise, you'd be better off signing for maximum dollars and just hoping not to get traded.
