Patrick Roy’s tenure as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche has taught us that he has a specific combination of attributes he wants in his defensive pairings.
The most obvious combination is a bigger, “stay-at-home” defenseman combined with a faster “puck-moving” defenseman. He also wants both a left-handed shooting and right-handed shooting defensive pairing on the ice as much as possible. The Avs have the personnel to fulfill both these combinations, and I’ve pieced together several combinations that we could see next year.
1st Pair: LD Nikita Zadorov and RD Erik Johnson
When the current Chicago Blackhawks “dynasty” won their first of three Stanley Cups in 2010, they had a top defensive combination that the ‘Hawks called “Thunder” and “Lightning,” namely, Brian Campbell and Duncan Keith.