UPDATE: As expected, Stephane Da Costa has signed in the KHL with CSKA on a one-year deal.
Quick post for a Saturday morning, but I think it's a topic that's going to get a lot of attention for the next twelve months.
I think most sensible people concede Ottawa's blue line, at least relatively speaking, isn't in great shape. They have one of the five best defensemen in the world -- after that, it's kind of a mindless void of third-pairing guys, projects, and a veteran that's tiptoeing pretty close to washing out.
The only guarantee heading into the year is that Erik Karlsson's going to be on the first-pairing. After that, it's a total guess as to what Paul MacLean will throw out there. He seemed to like Chris Phillips and Cody Ceci as a pairing last year, but I'm not totally convinced Phillips can stay in the lineup this season.
Marc Methot seems like a fairly sensible pairmate (again) for Erik Karlsson, but again, those two were split for stretches during last year. I think MacLean shied away from it because the two weren't clicking as much as they had in the past, but the alternative -- which, at times, was Erik Karlsson with Jared Cowen -- was woeful.
The real question mark is probably Patrick Wiercioch. He needs to be in the top-four to start the year, and barring nightmarish play, I think he has to stay. Finding a non-Karlsson pairmate that's going to play competently on his hip is another tough decision for MacLean.
Curious what the actual breakdown for last year looked like, I went ahead and compiled the percentages of total ice-time played together for last year. I think most of this isn't surprising, though I maybe didn't realize that Cowen/Gryba was as much of a thing as it was last year.
So, today's question: how would you assemble the six? Remember, Joe Corvo's out of the equation now, but Mark Borowiecki (one-way contract) is in. There's a very good chance the team will carry eight to start the season, barring some waivers or trade move.
Drop it in the comments. I'm interested to hear what you think on this.