With the new changes to the blue-line, it'll be interesting to see how the minutes will be distributed, and what pairings will be used in what situations. I think Mac-T is going to try to designate individual players' ice times based on situation rather than try to set up pairings. That being said, here are my predictions, with each player's average times in those situations from last season in brackets:
In terms of PP time:
1) Visnovsky (4:35)
2) Souray (4:15)
3) Gilbert (2:15)
4) Grebeshkov (2:05)
5) Smid (0:18)
6) Staios (0:10)
In terms of the PK:
1) Staios (3:58)
2) Souray (3:59)
3) Gilbert (2:31)
4) Smid (2:24)
5) Visnovsky (1:24)
6) Grebeshkov (1:09)
In terms of ES:
1) Gilbert (17:24)
2) Staios (17:52)
3) Visnovsky (16:59)
4) Grebeshkov (13:37)
5) Smid (15:08)
6) Souray (16:04)
Minimizing Souray's 5-on-5 time will be key to eliminating whatever liabilities he creates in the defensive zone. He's always been a strong PP/PK presence.
Visnovsky is going to have to play the main PP minutes, and will be relied upon for big minutes on ES. I think it's best to limit his PK-time, both to help preserve his minutes, but because he is a smaller, less defensive-minded player at that.
Gilbert is an amazing 5-on-5 player, and along with Grebeshkov should eat up a lot of the ES minutes. It's going to be a big step for Grebeshkov to take on 2-3 more ES minutes a night, but I think he showed us late in the season that he was ready. Those 2 will also make up our 2nd unit PP, and get a lot of time there as well.
Staios is going to have to eat a lot of 5-on-5 time, as well as the brunt of the PK time, as he is essentially our only defensive defenseman. With a rise in his minutes comes a general rise in Smid's.
Overall, I see the minutes breaking down like this:
Visnovsky: 24
Gilbert: 23
Souray: 18
Grebeshkov: 19
Staios: 20
Smid: 16
(No one get on my back for that not adding up to 120)
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