Amy Johnson

There is a young defenseman that we're going to focus on who's really...

coming along and could be a blue liner to really watch.

And the defense from up front, particularly with the addition of forward Phil Deneau coming back into the fold.

Because honestly, if the team is going to stabilize like they have started to a little bit this week, if they're going to crawl back into the standings in a way that they're not sitting 50-50, according to MoneyPuck, that they might make the playoffs or not,

They can't just fix one thing.

They have to fix multiple things.

And it's going to be how they fix multiple things and how those layers all work together.

It's not a question of just who is defending well.

It's a question of where is the team succeeding in actually protecting and where are they actually still vulnerable?

So that's what we want to dig into today.

Do we start with the forward?

Let's start with the forwards and go back towards the crease.

Absolutely.

And adding Phil Deneau this week certainly points in that direction because they absolutely didn't acquire Phil Deneau for his offensive prowess.

That's not on the table.

Not for Phil Deneau so far this year.

Maybe a change of scenery can help reignite that a little bit.

But right now, Phil Deneau is going to be a key factor in helping to shore up the defensive side of Montreal's game.

Okay.

Jake Evans also had some comments about the addition of Phil Deneau saying, quote, he's a complete player.