I think it's becoming apparent that those teams that are labeled contenders at this point all have solid defensive corps - on the defensive side of the puck.
Even teams with generational/superstar talent like McDavid, Draisaitl, Crosby and Matthews struggle compared to the truly elite teams because their D is not good enough. Goaltenders can help to hide it, but in general they end up looking exposed.
We have a talented defensive corps but they aren't quite physical/nasty enough and they aren't quite stable enough. They are also extremely gaffe prone.
Sanderson shouldn't be the #1 defenceman at his age and in the stage of his career when considering the combined salary of our defensive corps. But he is.
Zub should be a DeMelo-like afterthought as opposed to one of the key players on the team. He makes it look so easy that it really grates on you when his teammates appear to have issues with basic coverage.
Chabot's Jekyll and Hyde act is wearing thin. When I think of Chabot, I think of this:
The hope is still flickering for some reason but he's way behind his career trajectory at this point. It's hard to have a really hot/cold guy playing that many minutes.
I think the fear is that he suddenly becomes the guy he was trending to become for another team and we look like idiots. But Redden had problems and those problems followed him to New York.
Chychrun is an all tools no toolbox kind of player. He's a specimen, he can be physical, fast, he has a powerful shot. He reminds me a bit of Corvo in terms of his willingness to gamble on poke checks in the neutral zone as opposed to playing more conservatively. Often he looks completely lost out there in the defensive zone.
This past game showed what a weapon he can be - the way Norris was in his contract year. Special teams have really let us down this year in general.
I admire Brannstrom's tenacity and his determination to stick at this level. Unfortunately, he doesn't have quite enough speed to compensate for his lack of size. I have the anecdotal feeling that we can get pinned in our zone with him on the ice. I don't know if he'll ever really overcome that.
I don't have a lot of optimism about JBD as far as a reminding me of a Patrick Wiercioch type player who is sort of vanilla at everything. I think he can be a bit more physical than Wiercioch, but I suspect he's holding back a bit in order to try to stay defensively responsible. If he grows more comfortable, maybe he can add that aspect to his game with more frequency.
Kleven is a bit under the radar but I think he could be the kind of guy who could really have an impact and solidify that bottom-pairing. He's someone I'm low-key excited about.
Having Chabot and Chychrun not perform like top 4 defencemen for large portions of the season is a mortal wound on a team that doesn't have elite goaltending.