Jeff Gorton: You Don’t Need a HUGE Defensive Lineup to Win the Stanley Cup

Marc-Olivier Cook
Jeff Gorton: You Don’t Need a HUGE Defensive Lineup to Win the Stanley Cup
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

It's often been said in recent years that you need a strong defense to win the Stanley Cup.

The Panthers did it back-to-back with a pretty formidable blue line. In 2023, the Golden Knights hoisted the trophy with a monstrous defense.

But even though it wasn't that long ago, we saw last spring that it isn't necessarily a must.

After all, we saw the Hurricanes go all the way with a defense that was… average in terms of size. K'Andre Miller and Jaccob Slavin are imposing in their own way, but the Canes have relied more on mobility for their blue line.

And clearly, the Canadiens took note… because on Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin's podcast, Jeff Gorton addressed the situation, saying that the Habs can't just have physical players in their lineup.

That also aligns with what Kent Hughes said last night on “L'Anthichambre.”

The Canadiens' GM mentioned that management likes competitive players: guys who always give it their all on the ice, even if they aren't the biggest players.

That's interesting… because we know that this aspect has hurt the Habs in recent years. We've all seen the team get dominated in the playoffs, and yet… the rhetoric remains the same.

We'll have to wait and see if that mindset is the right one.

The Canadiens will try new things in the coming years, but they have to do it the right way because the team's window of opportunity will open up pretty quickly. And the Canadiens simply CANNOT afford to waste those years…


In a Nutshell

– Interesting!

– Um…

– Yeah. Things aren't getting any better for EP40 in Vancouver.

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