Sustr is the second-coming of Cory Cross. If you don't remember Cory Cross, then there is a reason for that. Look him up.
I think Sustr is a bubble 7th defenseman at best. On a team with a deep defense, he would be 8th or 9th. He has one decent game every now and then, but the most part he is a Maypole planted in the ice.
Carle was never terrible. Look, I know the guy was carried by Pronger in Philly. I know his advanced stats are poop. But his value is his mobility and passing. He is a 4th defenseman on most teams. The problem is when we try to put him in top pairing situations (and his cap-hit is inflated).
With Gudas and Carle missing significant time, I think we need to make a move to shore up our defense. We don't need to get drastic, but we need a solid 2nd pairing type of defenseman.
Re: Bishop hot or cold? - Bishop will likely never be the same Bishop before his initial injury during that first season with us. Everyone must remember, he may be playing now at less than the 100% he was then. He had surgeries and played hurt last season. Sometimes a player is just never the same after a surgery. That said, he is not lights-out on most nights, but he is better than average and is getting the job done. He often makes the big saves when we need them (barring shoot outs).
I say we sign Jagr to mentor Drouin and the youngsters. We sign a 2nd pairing d-man, and we are good to go.
I am not quite comfortable with our goaltending depth (in the short term). Nabokov has lost our confidence. Bishop is fine and dandy when healthy, but unproven in the playoffs. If we go into the playoffs now, we are looking at Nabby as backup (not good) or Vasi as backup (very green). Not good.
