Batherson and Norris get injured Brady, Formenton, Brown, Stutzle, Paul step up.
Zub gets injured who steps up? Who else do we have that can go toe to toe with guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, McDavid and actually be able to hold their own. Even Chabot is not suited to the role as it's not his game. Holden has been amazing but a big part of that is that he mostly has to worry about second tier competition. We saw what happened when he had to face Malkin.
Zub is a massive part of why this team has been competitive.