I'm curious as to your objective evaluation of the team. Why can't they go all the way?
I think we have an okay crop of young d men and I'd be okay with selling on mueller. Even if I did think he could be a top 4 guy it'd still be a good season to do it. Meier is untouchable to me. As is goldobin.
This team is good. We'd likely be higher in the standings if couture was healthy and we had a halfway reliable back up. Pretty much every team stat we stack up well against Anaheim, Chicago, and LA. Defensively we are a bit behind but I point out again couture and some major stinkers this year. Even with that only 2.15 GA/60 at ES? Good ****.
Deboer has our d Corp scoring more than ever and at the same time leading the league in SA/60 at evens.
Powerplay is top 5. Pk is average but we also take less minor penalties than most of the league and are great at drawing them.
I think this team has a great chance.
I'd be OK with selling Mueller too, but nowhere near as I used to be. I will remind people of how good his physical tools all are. Insane speed, good size, etc. No, he's never going to be an offensive dynamo. Then again, neither has Braun or Vlasic for most of their careers, so that's hardly a complete disqualification. My biggest worry, apart from the lack of offensive ability, was whether or not he had the mental tools to match up with the physical ones. Given what Joakim Ryan here has posted, it sounds a lot like Mueller may finally be getting the mental part down, and is apparently playing well in the #1D role for the 'Cuda. So yeah, I'm a lot less down on him than I was before the year started.
I don't think he'll ever be a #1D akin to a Subban, or even a Burns. But if he gets his defensive game built up to be a match for those physical tools, he could be an outstanding shutdown defenseman who is the #2 D who allows the #1D to really drive the offense. I'd think him and Roy could be an insane first pairing if both develop close to best case, for example. Is that what I think the most likely outcome is? Probably not. More likely he'll end up as a #3 or #4D. Still, a 20 year old D with crazy physical tools that has a chance to end up as a top pairing guy is a much more valuable commodity than I think we've been giving him credit for. Certainly given his apparent improvements so far this year.
There's not many situations that would get me to trade one of Meier, Goldobin or Roy. I was only OK with that one deal because it got us a known at worst 2nd line LW who could be great paired with either the Joes or with Couture and Donskoi, plus got us a rental D that has been repeatedly reported as being a target of DW's, and it got us a replacement 1st to help refill the prospect pool after it taking the hit of losing Mueller and Meier. Plus, JVR is about the same age as Couture, so could continue to be part of our core going forward, even once Thornton and Marleau are gone.
I agree too that with the right trades at the deadline we really could be a serious contender up there with the Kings, Hawks, etc. I also happen to think that a deal that gets us JVR and a depth D without giving up a single roster player could certainly have the potential to do so. Other than backup goalie, what holes would be left on the roster? I can't really think of any glaring ones, though the Marleau line would still worry me some. It would easily be our best team from top to bottom that I can really remember. We certainly had better top lines in the past, when we had prime Thornton, but the bottom 6 on those teams was always iffy at best. I think we might have the best D core we've ever had right now. Needs more depth, but we have Vlasic playing some of the best hockey of his career, we have Burns as one of the top 3-5 offensive D-men in the game, and we don't have a single Hannan/Stuart/etc. type pylon, also for about the first time I can remember. rofl. I honestly think we could do some damage.
