Quoting: Db1899
Lmao yeah Trotz was trying to deflect when asked about Chara. Staples article in the Athletic today was probably trash, once again.
Some quotes from Staple's article:
"Dobson has probably struggled the second most among the six defensemen, and his ice time was even more limited than Chara’s on Sunday, with Dobson playing just 14:00."
"Now the Isles forwards are stabilizing and Chara is still struggling, posting a 39.6 expected goals percentage so far, per Natural Stat Trick. And there aren’t any readily available solutions." - Solutions in the sense of other options? Or how to get Chára to play better... I'm not sure. But for once Staple is pretty harsh in his article several times against Chára actually. But no dig at Trotz for playing him, ofc. Though he mentions a couple of time how hard the system is to adapt.
"The evidence continues to pile up that Trotz doesn’t see Sebastian Aho as a regular substitute on defense. Saturday or Sunday would have been ideal times to work him in and give Chara a rest, but Trotz doesn’t seem to believe Aho can stand up to a heavier opponent." - I agree on this, I don't know why Trotz has even bothered to suggest that Aho will get his chances. I think these last two games are evidence for that not to be true.
"Robin Salo is continuing his solid play from training camp, posting a goal and four points in his first five games with Bridgeport. But to replace Chara, one would think Trotz needs not just an emerging young talent but a defenseman who can handle the things he feels Aho cannot — and Salo, though a young guy with an extremely bright future, is probably not entrenched in the Isles’ front-office minds as a player who can handle heavy forwards right now."
"The Isles committed to Chara, and he’s been subpar. They are still committed."
He actually gives praise to Parise and Wahlstrom as a pairing. Even if he's implying that it is Parise who makes Wahlstrom look good, not the other way around or that they complement each other to look good.