2024/2025 Around the League

[Pokecheque]

Guenin was just an AHLer who was playing bottom pairing minutes because the Avs just had no NHL caliber dman... Jan Hedja was playing top pair..

The guy you're thinking about is Nick Holden. Roy was so pissed when Sakic traded him that he said publicly that he (Sakic) traded their best dman for a 3rd round pick...and it was the beginning of the end for Roy in Colorado.

No, I remember Holden. Barrie logged a bunch of minutes with Guenin too. Holden was surprisingly productive that first year he was called up, then they handed him that contract one year too early and he faltered. That 2014 offseason was probably the worst one in franchise history, it set the stage for the disaster that was to come two years later.

It’s clear Roy is still way too enamored with big, slow guys, especially on defense.

 

[Balthazar]

No, I remember Holden. Barrie logged a bunch of minutes with Guenin too. Holden was surprisingly productive that first year he was called up, then they handed him that contract one year too early and he faltered. That 2014 offseason was probably the worst one in franchise history, it set the stage for the disaster that was to come two years later.

It’s clear Roy is still way too enamored with big, slow guys, especially on defense.

But he was enamored with Holden, not Guenin, and Holden wasn't slow. I don't think Roy liked Guenin, he just didn't have anyone else. It's insane how poor the defense was in those years.

 

[dahrougem2]

But he was enamored with Holden, not Guenin, and Holden wasn't slow. I don't think Roy liked Guenin, he just didn't have anyone else. It's insane how poor the defense was in those years.

Roy had a say in personnel until Sakic slowly started taking it away from him. To say Roy didn't have anyone else is like absolving MacFarland for Georgiev pre-Blackwood trade.

Also, Holden very much was a slow defenseman. He used to get exposed for his lack of speed all the time.

 

[Balthazar]

Roy had a say in personnel until Sakic slowly started taking it away from him. To say Roy didn't have anyone else is like absolving MacFarland for Georgiev pre-Blackwood trade.

Also, Holden very much was a slow defenseman. He used to get exposed for his lack of speed all the time.

No, not at all. He was a big defenseman who was skating extremely well...he just had 0 IQ.

 

[Pokecheque]

Roy had a say in personnel until Sakic slowly started taking it away from him. To say Roy didn't have anyone else is like absolving MacFarland for Georgiev pre-Blackwood trade.

Also, Holden very much was a slow defenseman. He used to get exposed for his lack of speed all the time.

No, not at all. He was a big defenseman who was skating extremely well...he just had 0 IQ.

Yeah I’m inclined to agree here. I always assumed because he got caught up ice that Holden was slow AF but that wasn’t the case, he just had absolutely abhorrent positional sense and gawdawful gap control. When he wasn’t making a bad pinch he was trying way too hard to stand guys up at the blue line or neutral zone and he’d get burned.

I don’t think Holden was an elite skater but for a guy that big he could move really well on the ice.

But back to Guenin—Roy DID have better options. Not a ton better but better than that. He just refused to use them.

 

[Murzu]

Why would had Roy used other options than Guenin? He was The General of the Defense after all.