We still have a lot of question marks on defense.
Will Greene be as effective as he was prior to his injury?
Will Mitchell play? What will LA do if he doesn't?
Will Doughty be effective on offense? We need more from him. Same goes for Voynov. Will he be the same now that he's signed his deal?
What will we do with Muzzin if he can't solidify his game?
Will Martinez be dealt? Same goes for Ellerby.
Regehr is the only solid piece of the puzzle we have at the moment.
From where I'm sitting our defense needs to be under the scope because there are far too many variables going into next season.
- Ersberg
Greene looked pretty solid throughout the playoffs. He did was Greene does best, punish the opposing team in the defensive zone. If he can stay healthy this year -- I don't see why he can't -- I think he'll be just as good as he was in 2011-12.
If Mitchell can't play, I think we'll see Ellerby on the bottom line pairing with Muzzin. He wasn't terrible for us this year. He's not going to make the highlight real or anything, but he's better than a lot of the bottom pairing D-men from other teams around the league. All we need from him is someone that can play 10-12 mins per game, and someone that can play opposite Voynov/Doughty on the 2nd pairing PK, since Greene/Regehr will be our 1st pair. That will keep Doughty and Voynov off the PK for extended periods of time, and available for more shifts on the PP and even strength play.
I think the Doughty question ties in with the Ellerby question. When Greene & Mitchell were both injured, and we hadn't yet acquired Ellerby, Doughty was the top pairing PK defenseman along with Scuderi. He also had to be the responsible defensive player when he lined with Muzzin, as Muzzin isn't really known for his play in his own zone. Once Ellerby came along, that lightened the load a little for Doughty on the PK, but still required him to play alongside Muzzin at even strength. Once we traded for Regehr, Doughty no longer had to be the defensive-minded D-man of the pair, and then he started to produce. If our three defensive-minded defensemen this year are Regehr, Mitchell, & Greene, Doughty will have a Norris-worthy season. If it is Regehr, Greene, & Ellerby, it will be a good season, but maybe no Norris nomination. If we lose two of Regehr, Greene, & Mitchell to injury, then Doughty will have another season like last season -- strong defensively, but struggling offensively.
Voynov is a beast. They will use Doughty as a defensive defenseman before they throw VV back there, so I think he will have his best season to date.
I don't really have high expectations for Muzzin. I actually hope he turns out to be a decent 3rd pairing offensive defenseman, but not much more. If he turns into the next Slava Voynov, either our defensive salary costs are going to spiral out of control quickly, or we're going to lose him to trade/free agency. All I want from him is 5-10 goals and 15-25 points, most of which come on the 2nd power play unit, and responsible (not stellar) defensive zone play. In other words, a 3rd unit defenseman.
Martinez will be dealt, and not soon enough. Muzzin is a better option since he has more size. I think Ellerby is the new Davis Drewiske, and he will stick around until Forbort is ready for primetime.
I agree that defense is a question mark at this point of the preseason, but I wouldn't sign Scuderi to a 4-year, $4 million contract when the status of WM is still unknown. We can always do what we did with Regehr last year and trade for a rental D-man if we need the help. There's some good options out there this year.
http://www.capgeek.com/fr...osition_id=D&fa_type_id=2 
