peace4u - i disagree
i'm glad clarke got rid of those previous pilons like mcgillis, therien, richardson, weinrich. these guys couldn't keep up w/ the fast forwards in the league. time and time again they would loose races to the puck, get skated around, get deked...it was all BAD. now all these guys all have wheels pitkanen, johnson, ragnarson, markov, malakov, timander to keep up w/ the fast paced games and they allow the big forwards to dole out punishment. these guys can make a mistake and recover whereas the previous defence were screwed if they ever made a mistake.
also hitchcock has brought a great system that everyone has bought into.
just hope esche hold up.
clarke was my alltime fav player but some of his mngmt decisions were brutal, like niinima f/ mcgillis...
go broad street! i say take out the instigator rule and we'll have better hockey. less stick incidents and those weasels who play dirty will finally pay for their actions. let the players correct the mistakes that happen during a game or a season...