Peeke is a mixed bag. He was playing way over his head in a bad system for a coach that couldn’t make adjustments, in front of goalies who mostly couldn’t stop a beach ball, with no competent centermen to dish the puck in the offensive zone, not to mention a rotating cast of AHL and ECHL-caliber D-partners. He’d be solid with a well-defined lower-pair role with a LHD partner, but don’t expect him to score much on his own or create chances. That’s not his game. He blocks shots like crazy and almost certainly is trying to emulate David Savard. He plays with an edge and is too reactive sometimes, leading to him taking bonehead penalties.
If Columbus trades Boqvist and keeps him, it’s imperative that Werenski stays healthy to lock down 1LD and Jarmo can find a veteran LD for the second pairing to partner with Peeke. It will be very interesting to see what the org does in terms of the defense this summer.