Which defensive acquisition will be the most valuable?

[Shell]

Which defensive acquisition will prove to be the most valuable to the Carolina Hurricanes?

[MoBigRed]

Boughner's a big 10-4 IMO.

[guinevere]

I'd have to go with Boughner as well. Based upon what I've read and seen, he would have more of an impact on the team both in the locker room and on the ice. Good with open ice hits - not something we tend to do- and not afraid to crash the net.
http://websmileys.bei.t-online.de/div188.gif (I'm excited..)

[SouthernHockeyChick]

I think Markov will be huge for us....but I voted Boughner. I think his "say it in the locker room and then do it on the ice" attitude is gonna be great for this team. He'll hold everyone, himself first and foremost, to a very high standard. I think he'll fill a hole that's been a bit empty since Gelinas left, IMO. And watching him in practice has me excited as hell to see the guy on the ice for us. :spin:

[Lady J]

Boughner. :evil:

[Jeff O Rocks]

I voted for Bob as well...just from what I have seen in practice, he is very quick and very enthusiastic....I think he will be a great addition when the team is finally together! :spin:

[Alicia]

I went with Boughner...all the hype for Markov hasn't sold me on him yet.

[Stormbringer]

:eek2:

I went with Markov before I even saw the posts...but I do agree about Boughner too. :) From what I know and have heard, I think both Danny and Boogie will be great assets...

[nccanes]

I voted for Markov. I love what I hear about Boughner, but with guys like Wes, Hill, Hedican on the blue line already (along with a few guys up front) I think our team was character rich already. Markov (hopefully) has added something to our roster that wasn't necessarily there already.

[talkingcanes]

I voted for Markov too. I think he will bring a new level of toughness to the defense.

[Turbulence]

Markov will bring a dimension to this team that we've never seen before. He is a strong player who can be an anchor on the power play, but is not afraid to hit to win games. He's the type of guy who can play in any situation and still be good. Though Boogie will bring more of a leadership quality, on and off the ice, Markov will be the team's best all-around d-man for years to come.

[AbNormal27]

WOOOOO! This debate is as much fun as when Aunt Esther lost her wig on Sandford and Son! ;)

I voted for Markov simply based on his physical play. He has always been edgy and will be a big help in front of the net.

Aaryn

[cmw00]

Yesterday I voted for Boughner...
But today I'm thinking Markov. They will both be very important so its tough to say whos the most important.

They will both step up the defensive toughness and physicalness. Also they are both good all around defensemen.

One thing I don't know is why so many of you think Boughner will play on the last D-pairing? He was a captain in calgary, and their best defensemen they say. I'd think he should get alot more ice time than the 3rd pairing.

[tommy]

I voted for Markov, because I think he's got the combination we're looking for... he's a skilled d-man with a rough-and-tumble side. Boughner will be an excellent addition, but I think in terms of all-around-ness, Markov gets the nod.

[Turbulence]

Boughner definately won't play on the third pairing...
Boughner will be paired with Hedican on the second pairing...with Wes and Markov on the first. Ward/St. Jaques and Hill will make up the third. Boughner is too much of a presence on the ice to be pushed into the third pairing by Sean Hill.

[lvscolencanes]

Boogie....nuff said... :cool:

[nccanes]

Boughner definately won't play on the third pairing...
Boughner will be paired with Hedican on the second pairing...with Wes and Markov on the first. Ward/St. Jaques and Hill will make up the third. Boughner is too much of a presence on the ice to be pushed into the third pairing by Sean Hill.

Turby, you got a direct line to JR and Mo? ;)

Interesting that you'd split up Hill/Wesley. They both did quite well last season and spent most of it together. Hill also logged the greatest amount of ice time among dmen, so I wonder why you're thinking he'd drop to the 3rd pair.

[Turbulence]

Turby, you got a direct line to JR and Mo? ;)
If only...:D

Interesting that you'd split up Hill/Wesley. They both did quite well last season and spent most of it together. Hill also logged the greatest amount of ice time among dmen, so I wonder why you're thinking he'd drop to the 3rd pair.

Both did exceptionally...when compared to the rest of the D last season. I just don't see how Hill can break into the top 4 when you have two great D-men like Boughner and Markov coming into the picture.
Wesley...Hedican...Markov...Boughner...Hill. All are capable NHL top tier defensemen. But I don't see how Hill can break through the talent levels of Boughner and Wesley. If he were to take a position in the top 4, I think it would be Boughner playing with Bruno/Ward, but from all I've read on Boughner, he plays a very steady, hard-hitting top-4-tier game. I just think that Hill and Boog's style of play are similar, but that Boogie takes it to another level. This is all based on what I've heard about Boughner...I have yet to see him in action.

I think it would be great to let Bruno play with Hill...to learn from him. It's a win/win for Bruno. He'll be playing with someone who has great leadership qualities this year. Who it will be, I don't know. :spin:

As far as splitting up Wes and Hill, I think the impact from that will be minimal. Both are very versitile players. Wes will thrive playing with either new guy, or Hedican. And Hill will do just fine mentoring Bruno.

[cmw00]

I agree with Turb on Hill vs. Boughner... But having never seen awhole lot of Boughner (we just don't get to see alot of Calgary down here). However when I read of the trade I knew who he was and was glad to have him on our team!

Markov has never played a full 82 games, so I'm sure that we will get to see Hill playing higher up than the third pairing, and we'll get a good dose of Ward and Wallin aswell. I'm suprised we've kept both Ward and Wallin. If we keep both of them I don't know how much of Bruno we'll get to see.

[Rodgloveswitcher]

I've gotta go with Markov mainly because if he stays healthy I think he will be on the ice more than Boughner. I really hope he can help our weak power play.

[nccanes]

If he were to take a position in the top 4, I think it would be Boughner playing with Bruno/Ward, but from all I've read on Boughner, he plays a very steady, hard-hitting top-4-tier game. I just think that Hill and Boog's style of play are similar, but that Boogie takes it to another level. This is all based on what I've heard about Boughner...I have yet to see him in action.

Glancing at stats, Hill played about 24 mins/game for the Canes, Boogie about 19:50 mins/game, basically tied for 4th (really 5th by 1 second) for average ice time per game for the Flames. I don't profess to know a lot about the Flames defense (other than they are young and promising, thus them trading Boogie and his salary), but I suspect the talent we've assembled in our defensive group might rival or exceed the Flames.

Having said all that, I think with the talent/experience our defensemen have, I'm not too worried about how they'll get paired up. :D

(BTW, it appears that nhl.com has overhauled their stats page. I was able to set up my query on "Calgary, 2002-2003, regular season, defensemen, total ice time" to get the list. Nice. Plenty of other ways to query and sort. :smoke: )

[Jillsdad]

I gotta go with Markov because of what he "hopefully" brings to the table offensively as well as defensively. Plus he was who we got by getting rid of Tanabe so that earns bonus points in my book. Look at it this way, the second person he hits will increase his total over Tanabe by 100%.

[Rodgloveswitcher]

he was who we got by getting rid of Tanabe so that earns bonus points in my book. Look at it this way, the second person he hits will increase his total over Tanabe by 100%.

So true. Hey...we should have a Tanabe bashing thread. Noone seems to care about ole Nobber. :vamp:

[HockeyPat]

I voted for Markov because I believe he is the type of player we need. I hear knowledgeable types complaining that Mo will not use him correctly. I hope this is not true. But we could desperately use a physical, great skating D-man who can pinch and gets us some goals. I haven't seen him play that much, but you can cool well believe I've been reading up on him. I think Boughner completes our defense. I'm looking forward to seeing Wesley and Hill as our first pairing and Hedican and Markov as number two and Ward and Boughner as our bruising third paring. We will not be taking a lot of crap this year.

But thank goodness we don't have to pick one over the other. We have added two great defensemen. We rule

[MoBigRed]

I voted for Markov simply based on his physical play.


Physical play is actually one of the reasons i went with Boughner. Granted i've seen more of Boughner than Markov, but from what i've seen i think he's definitely the more physical of the two.

But either way, the Canes are going to have a much tougher blue line this season, to be sure.