The "core" is getting thinner

[umdieecke*]

The Avs had 3 players who are better, or who will be better in the future than Stastny, that could instantly step in and take his place.

There is no one on the Avs, on the Monsters, or in Junior that is a threat to EJ's spot. There will undoubtedly be a new "structure" in place by the time MacKinnon and EJ's agents are chatting with the Avs.

You don't think Barrie can supplant EJ?

It seems like he's the better skater and has the better shot, even though EJ has the edge on physicality. While EJ has the edge on physicality, it seems like the NHL is more and more becoming a league where skating is at a premium and physicality is merely a nice side benefit.

To wit, in the playoffs (albeit in only two games), Barrie seemed less overwhelmed by the speed of the game than Johnson was. To be honest, I was a little shocked by this. But it really seems like it was a referendum on ones skating ability.

 

[bohlmeister]

You don't think Barrie can supplant EJ?

It seems like he's the better skater and has the better shot, even though EJ has the edge on physicality. While EJ has the edge on physicality, it seems like the NHL is more and more becoming a league where skating is at a premium and physicality is merely a nice side benefit.

To wit, in the playoffs (albeit in only two games), Barrie seemed less overwhelmed by the speed of the game than Johnson was. To be honest, I was a little shocked by this. But it really seems like it was a referendum on ones skating ability.

Barrie will never take EJ's spot. EJ did a lot of heavy lifting last year. He saw as tough of competition as you can in the NHL and he thrived.

 

[umdieecke*]

You don't think Barrie can supplant EJ?

It seems like he's the better skater and has the better shot, even though EJ has the edge on physicality. While EJ has the edge on physicality, it seems like the NHL is more and more becoming a league where skating is at a premium and physicality is merely a nice side benefit.

To wit, in the playoffs (albeit in only two games), Barrie seemed less overwhelmed by the speed of the game than Johnson was. To be honest, I was a little shocked by this. But it really seems like it was a referendum on ones skating ability.

Barrie will never take EJ's spot. EJ did a lot of heavy lifting last year. He saw as tough of competition as you can in the NHL and he thrived.

So the playoffs didn't happen? Is your point that EJ was so tired from the regular season that he finally wilted in the playoffs and his performance was not indicative? If so, you might be right. But without building in any such excuses for EJ, it really seemed like Barrie handled the increased speed and intensity better than EJ.

Its possible that EJ was just nervous since it was the playoffs and didn't handle the nerves as well, in which case it's less a referendum on ability. But I saw what I saw during the playoffs.

 

[bohlmeister]

So the playoffs didn't happen? Is your point that EJ was so tired from the regular season that he finally wilted in the playoffs and his performance was not indicative? If so, you might be right. But without building in any such excuses for EJ, it really seemed like Barrie handled the increased speed and intensity better than EJ.

Its possible that EJ was just nervous since it was the playoffs and didn't handle the nerves as well, in which case it's less a referendum on ability. But I saw what I saw during the playoffs.

It would seem that your planet earth, and my planet earth, are light years apart.

 

[Ivan13]

It would seem that your planet earth, and my planet earth, are light years apart.

To claim Barrie would/could replace EJ is foolish at best.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

To claim Barrie would/could replace EJ is foolish at best.

I don't even want to imagine Barrie trying to do what EJ did last season. EJ was on top of his game from the start of the season to the end. He had to overcompensate for Hejda's injuries which didn't help his play in the playoffs.

 

[InjuredChoker]

barrie also played only two full games, those home games we won. he was big loss but he would've looked even worse than EJ if they had switched places.

barrie will never be good enough defensively to do what EJ did last year.