How Will Brunette Work with Multiple Left-Handed Defensemen; Will Two LHD On One Pair Work This Time?
In times of desperation, Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette decided to put Nashville's two best defensemen on the first pairing together. Safe to say that it didn't end up as he expected. In most situations, it is a bad idea to have to defensemen of the same handiness on the same line. This makes it easier for players to score since there's more opening on one side of the crease for the puck to go through.
However, if it is done correctly, it could become one of the best pairings in the league. Take Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin for example. Both guys are left-handed but together they are one of the best pairings in the league stat-wise. Josi and Skjei couldn't work it out so maybe it's time to try out a new combination.
One of the biggest moves Trotz made this summer was trading away Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons for LHD Nicolas Hague. Hague has made it clear that he feels comfortable playing on any side of the ice. I predicted in the past that Josi and Hague will be on a line together and I still believe in that prediction.
Hague is getting paid over $5M a year and with those numbers, he does not deserve to be playing anything below the second pairing. Nick Perbix is meant to play a 2nd pairing role so Hague can't slot up next to Skjei. So that just leaves the first pairing alongside Josi. It just makes sense. Give him some time fill the mold, and he could potentially be a solid defensive defenseman for Nashville.
Management and their players need to figure something out. Putting someone of that much expense on the 3rd pairing isn't smart. They will need to eventually go back into running two LHD on the same pairing, they just need to figure out how to do it right.