Seabrook is still a very good outlet passer. Good shot blocker too.
If Seabrook and Maata (at 25yrs old, lol)
are "too slow", how did PITT manage to win 2 cups with him? How did the Hawks win cups with Sopel or Rozsival?
The 'slow' thing is a poor argument when there are examples over examples of "slow players" hurting a team
- PatShart
Sopel and Rozy killed penalties and played 11 minutes/night. Leddy did a lot to cover the stuff dumped behind him and move the puck out of the zone.
Seabrook can make an outlet pass if no one is near him and he has a few seconds to make a decision. Not the player he was by a margin and that includes the stretch pass.
Campbell/Hammer and Seabrook/Keith played the important minutes in the playoffs and later Oduya replaced Soup. The plodders weren't playing major minutes just providing a spell.
The slow argument is a good one. Neither Matta or Seabrook can move away from a defender to make a pass or carry the puck themselves. Maybe paired with a quicker player who could keep teams honest (like matta had Letang maybe) those guys are serviceable i guess.
But not 2 extremely slow guys with 2 defensive defensemen who are average skaters a 36 year old who thinks he's 25 and whatever garbage Gus or CooCoo bring. Poor team building.
The horrid play starts at the blueline and until that is addressed or they start to pack it in they will continue to struggle against speed. Not to mention just about every competent coach has had his way with JC for the most part.