detredWINgs
Registered User
We need a puck moving, offensive defenseman.
Alex Edler is 15th in relative corsi among all d-men 5v4.
He averages 3.14 points/60 mins 5v4 on an offensively inept Canucks team (24th goals per game, 26th power play goals).
He's already been more or less a 50 point d-man in the NHL. He just has the great misfortune of having to play for one of the most over-rated coaches in NHL history in John Tortorella. Hopefully Torts throws him under the bus which is a Torts trademark d-bag move and Edler demands a trade.
Dan Girardi? His career high point total is 31 points. He would definitely improve our lackluster defense however he doesn't fill the glaring need that Edler would fill.
I feel the same way about Tortorella and it wouldn't surprise me if Tortorella is a big reason for Edler's numbers. Edler is only 27 - up until this season, he'd spent his entire NHL tenure under Vigneault. Correlation isn't causation of course, but its as good a reason as any for this season being an aberration for Edler thus far.
With that said, I'm not huge on Edler. I worry about his back problems given the Wings' questionable training staff, but more importantly, I wonder if he could replicate his offensive success under Babcock. The only guy who has really seemed to take off (or rather keep pace) under Babcock has been Alfredsson.