From The Silky Mitten State: When Jake Walman becomes available again, which Red Wings defenseman should sit?
From The Silky Mitten State: When Jake Walman becomes available again, which Red Wings defenseman should sit?
It's been 13 days since defenseman Jake Walman was available for the Detroit Red Wings, with the 28-year-old defenseman picking up an injury in the Red Wings' 6-3 loss in Pittsburgh on March 17th. Walman skated in Detroit's practiced Monday, an encouraging side, but he remained unavailable for Red Wing losses in Washington Tuesday and Carolina Thursday.
However, having resumed skating, Walman's return—while it is by no means a certainty for this afternoon's game in Florida—does appear imminent, from which a question begs: Which defenseman should sit upon Walman's return?
On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed this question. We named Moritz Seider and Ben Chiarot as the two certainties to remain in the lineup, leaving Jeff Petry, Simon Edvinsson, Olli Maatta, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Holl as healthy candidates.
Gostisbehere's power play role makes him another player with a strong claim to a nightly spot in the lineup, though of course Detroit has other candidates to assume that duty. Edvinsson has earned trust with the Red Wings coaching staff and played well during a difficult stretch, and Maatta has consistently done his job (play sound minutes in a limited role) throughout the season. Petry has not had an easy go of it lately, but he too clearly has Lalonde's trust.
In this video clip, you can see a sample of our conversation:
For full episodes of The Silky Mitten State, go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify:
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