Mikkola is 6'5" and played in the NHL for 4 years before joining the Panthers
can't compare him to the green, or small acquisitions the Oilers brought in
I didn't ask how tall he was, or how many years he played in the league. Asked if anyone would have had him as a sure thing middle pair D man on a Cup team prior to this season.
We almost did it with a combination of Ceci, Desharnais, and Broberg rotating through the position this year. One isn't a Top 4 by any definition, one played all of about 30 NHL games before this season, and the other couldn't beat the other two out for a roster position and is the definition of tweener.
Wouldn't have had any of those guys labeled as Top 4 d men on even a SCF Game 7 finalist, but lo and behold it happened, and that was with a platoon of all of them rotating in and playing before they sucked to much and got forced out. The bar for this position isn't incredibly high.