Former Maple Leafs Top Four Defenseman Finds Himself On The Outside Looking In
It appears that Justin Holl isn't having the greatest of career beginnings outside of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he is considered the extra defenseman in the Detroit Red Wings' expected line up.
Holl is stuck behind a collection of veteran defenseman
Despite signing a three-year deal at a $3.4 million dollar cap hit, Holl is already the odd-man out when it comes to the Red Wings' defensive corps. Unfortunately, Detroit is loaded with veterans on the blue-line and Holl is the main casualty of having a deep roster.
As per the expected lines at practice, the Red Wings are running defense pairings consisting of Walman and Seider on the first pair, followed by Chiarot and Petry with Määttä and Gostisbehere on the third pair. Walman and Seider showed great chemistry last year, whereas Chiarot and Petry both played together for the Montreal Canadiens during their recent playoff run. Määttä is a large body that has excellent defensive abilities, while Gostisbehere has elite offensive skills.
Stuck in No Mans Land
Unfortunately, Justin Holl still has the same warts that he had while playing on the Leafs. He doesn't provide exceptional offense and he still has his mental lapses on the defensive side of the puck. He is a reliable work horse on the back-end, but definitely didn't expect to run into early issues cracking a Detroit Red Wings line up that is not expected to become a playoff contender this season.
It will be interesting to see when Justin Holl will get a chance to enter the line up and what he can do on this rebuilding Detroit team. Based on the contract he earned, he should be regularly starting in the line up, but clearly Detroit has another plan for Justin Holl at least in the early days.
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| POLL | ||
How many games will Justin Holl play this season? | ||
| Under 40 | 352 | 63.9 % |
| Over 40 | 199 | 36.1 % |
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