Al looks totally competent next to Edvinsson. It’s a night and day difference from how he looked on the bottom pairing under Lalonde to what he looks like on the 2nd pair with Ed. He’s not playing a ton of minutes, but he doesn’t see special teams time, so it’s all ES. I’d run with Al and Ed for now.
Slightly related, but this is exactly why I wanted Lalonde fired mid-season - to give us time THIS season to see how our players look under a different coach in a different system, so we can make better roster-building decisions at the deadline and in the off-season. Al’s case is a prime example of what I mean. Under Lalonde, he looked like a replacement level player. But under McLellan, it looks like there could be something solid there. If he keeps this up, then our approach to bolstering the defense looks different and ultimately less dire going into the deadline/off-season.
Side note: I was at the game last night, and both after Al scored his goal and at the end of the game, Ed was all over Al with excitement for him. They must have a great off-ice relationship because Ed was just beyond stoked for Al last night. You love to see it.