I thought hammer definetly lost a step last year, and his willingness to block shots, and his ability to get them, has diminished very much, which takes his game away.
He isn't that physical with bodies, or a great skater.
But basically our only defensive defenseman, and an underrated hero who brought us 3 cups, we don't win 1 without him, so Rutta needs to be a god like he was at one time or we likely won't be getting another without Keith/Seabs making a dramatic turnaround.
I guess when your entire team plays like a bunch of complacent pussies you have to make everyone feel unsafe, and destroy perfect partnerships like Panarin-Kane to show who is boss and what is expected. But I'm just not sure this message will resonate. Kane is probably crying into a beer somewhere.
And Toews isn't going to magically get better because of Saad. He needs to get himself better, or Saad won't be able to produce. I mean...that would be the biggest issue I think, is if Toews brings Saad down with him, and now Kane isn't on the best line in hockey.