confrence finals loss thats max i feel due to the defence

2nd round exit the defense won't hold up and Saros can't save everything

I'm surprised people don't like the defense. Hanifin - Weegar would be a good 1st pair. Gavrikov and Zub are underrated. Edler is still a good player. And Hronek is continuing to develop and is still a top 4 defenseman. I don't see why this defense wouldn't hold up in the playoffs.

This team would win the cup imo

True, I was thinking that as well. They may not be too flashy, but they're defensively sound and still contribute significant offense with a good forward group in front of them. Some may scoff at the Hanifin-Weegar pairing because there's no truly elite talent there, but they'd match up quite well with any opponent's top line.