I don’t think I would want nils running the PP as much as I would like him to just be a part of it. It’s most likely doubtful he’s a better passer/ distributer of the puck then fox. Fox’s no look passes are amazing and he does a good job of keeping the puck in the zone.
I would want nils in a more trigger man type of position so when fox or whoever draws a man to him, he can set up nils for that big heavy accurate shot.
The problem is, Zibby currently operates that spot on the PP and I don’t see him leaving it anytime soon either. I’m sure nils will get 2 PP time, but just like other teams, the first PP gets the lions share of the minutes and zone set up time.
It’s sucks because we are not really able to make the most out of one of, if not nils biggest attributes as much as possible.
Even know Jones plays the Left side, he’s going to run into similar problems.
That’s why I’m 99% sure 1 of them is going to be traded. It could be both depending on how Schneider’s offensive develops over the next year and a half/ 2 years. Same for miller
But that IS supposed to be what Nils is best at no? Isn't that what all the hype and constant proclamation that he's "untouchable" is about? That his offensive and PP ceiling is through the roof. As good as Fox is, Fox was never supposed to be this good. So if you doubt Lundqvist could be better than Fox at this, then I ask, what exactly is the need for Lundqvist and what makes him "untouchable"? Not that you specifically said he was "unctouchable", I just mean in general, that seems to be the opinion. And that people are so excited for him to achieve "greatness". Well how could he possibly achieve anything if he's being blocked by Fox? And if Nils does reach his ceiling, it seems as though it would be higher than Fox offensively. Not saying that's going to happen in the next 2 years, but that is the ultimate expectation with Lundqvist and why he's so "valued".
I can't say what Gallant will do. But IF, and this is all speculative, but IF Lundqvist is everything he's supposed to be, I don't see why Gallant wouldn't want to take advantage of that by giving him a whole chunk of PP time. And if he's ultimately relegated forever to PP2, just because we are paying Fox a lot of money, then what is the point of keeping Lunqvist around? IF Lundqvist is what he's supposed to be, I see no reason he couldn't replace Zibby or Fox on the PP1. And again, Fox is SO good at 5x5, SO good on the PK, that he would be better used in those situations when possible. Which he arguably is, so good at those other aspects of the game. Also, if you remember back to the first half of last season, Fox did not look so good on the PP. There were many people that thought he should be moved off the PP. Now a lot of that changed in the second half of the season. But I don't think we can say that Fox will forever be our PP1 RD nor should he necessarily if someone else proves worthy. If he moved down to PP2, and then played more 5x5 and PK, this team would be ultimately better for it in the long run. Vegas got Pietrangelo and did exactly that because they have Theodore. Without Theodore, Pietrangelo would probably still be getting the majority of the PP1 minutes, which he is completely capable of excelling at. Same with Nurse in Edmonton. He doesn't get the lions share of PP time yet he's arguably their best offensive Dman and puts up ridiculous points for a D in 5x5 and even strength. But instead they use Barrie, who's not quite a PP specialist but close to it, as the PP1 guy. Allowing Nurse to get extended minutes in all variety of other situations. Same for Heiskanen in Dalls where Klingberg is the PP1 guy. Tampa Bay splits their PP more evenly, so Sergachev on PP2 and Hedman on PP1 get more equivalent PP minutes. In Boston McAvoy is the PP2 guy while Grzelnyk gets the majority of PP1 minutes. The reason these teams do this is because even if that star Dman is as good or better than their PP1 option, they are also better in all other situations where they are more valuable.
Now I do agree that one of Lundqvist or Jones will be traded. Or even two of Lundqvist, Jones, Robertson or Miller. No clue which it will be, but for the above reasons I do lean towards Lundqvist.
Jones, is a bit different than Lundqvist, aside from being a natural LD. He's supposed to be very good defensively and he's most usually compared directly to Fox. In many ways he's supposed to be the LD version of Fox, and probably the best skater out of any of our Dmen. His skating is supposed to be THAT ridiculously good. In which case, he might end up being the perfect guy to have on PP1 to move the puck up ice. Which I think would pair well on a PP1 with either Fox or Lundqvist. It wouldn't at all be strange to see two defenders on a top PP if they are both so good at various offensive things.
But there is every possibility Lundqvist is ultimately a superior offensive player to Fox, as good as Fox is. Lundqvist IS supposed to be THAT good. That's just the reality of the situation and the entire high value placed on Lundqvist. And if he's NOT better than Fox, that's even more reason to trade him. However good Schneider will be at offense, offense isn't why people are so excited by him. It's his defense and physical play. So even if he ultimately is not better at offense than Lundqvist, which he probably won't be, he's still more likely to eventually take over that 2RD slot. And yea, if Lundqvist also reaches his potential, I can't see him being content with being a 3rd pair D AND a PP2 guy. The only way he would realistically want to stay, and really, the only reason we would have to keep him, is if he was better than Fox on the PP or at least good enough to replace Fox on the PP. Because he'd still likely be the 3RD, not getting a whole lot of minutes without being the primary PP1 RD. Even if that means shifting Zibby off that role. And I am not sure Zibby is even sticking around long term, so I don't think things will ultimately depend on Zibby at least.
For me, Miller is the guy we ultimately will need the least at LD. Having Lindgren, Jones and eventually Robertson. And Lundqvist is the guy who we will probably need the least at RD, having Fox and Trouba now and eventually Schneider. In reality, it's likely we only keep 2 of Lundqvist, Jones, Miller, Robertson and Lindgren. Unless Lindgren is ok with being a 3rd pair guy, in which case maybe he'd eventually take that role. But otherwise, those 5 guys are going to all be competing for 2 LD spots. With Fox obviously staying as our top RD and most likely Schneider moving into 2RD. I guess a chance that Lundqvist ends up 2RD and Schneider gets moved to LD also. But either way, those 5 guys are competing, long term, for 2 spots. Because we really won't be able to keep high value 3rd pair Dmen long term. They will demand more minutes and higher salaries as they progress. And if they ALL progress, that's not going to work keeping them as 3rd pair unless 1 or 2 of them are SO good on the PP they become 3rd pair PP specialists. But I still doubt we would be able to afford to pay for that in the long run.
Jones on the other hand is a natural LD and touted as being the BEST skater out of all our Dmen. His skating is supposed to be something close to mystifying. Which to me, along with his offensive potential, which is huge, would make for the perfect transition weapon on the PP and possibly elsewhere. There's no reason we couldn't roll out a PP1 with Jones AND Fox or Jones AND Lundqvist. Not necessarily this year, I just mean some time in the future. A lot of people love Robertson, and I agree he has the look of a very good player. But I think he's more a Lindgren replacement or a 3rd pair defensive guy ultimately. If we chose to replace Lindgren at some point that is.
