Rarely ever is there back to back Stanley cup winners. Did they hire Nate to replace Monty ? If so those are huge shoes to fill. A true 2 way defenceman is what it's going to take. What is Nates salary? Cheap ? He is an older player in his 30s so they got him at a bargain. Nothing bad about Nate and no disrespect to him. I am just curious.
He’s here more to replace OEL than Monty. Forsling has taken massive steps and imo, is the most underrated d-man in the league. Monty’s offense will have to be replaced by committee, between Forsling, Ekblad and Schmidt. Mikkola could take another step as well. They’ve got options as far as PP QB, but admittedly their D have taken a step back. I trust in Zito to find another great player off another teams trash heap. Hell, that’s how most of this team has been constructed. He’ll do it again.
Ekblad, Forsling, Mikkola, Kulikov, Schmidt is still a really good blue line. Maybe Balinkas or whatever his name is steps up as well. Or Zito might find the next gem during pre season when teams put a lot of guys on waivers. Losing Tarasenko, Stenlund and Cousins hurts though. Was really hoping Zito could re-sign Stenlund as he is the perfect 4C and can even play up the lineup. Nosek is pretty good though. But the core is still intact.
