| "He's one of those guys that's always around the play," said Quenneville. "Killing plays, blocking shots, scrappy, tenacious, competitive and very predictable. As a defenseman that's a very good compliment, you know he'll get the job done for you. " Quenneville will also be looking for consistency from players such as Kurt Sauer and Jeff Finger, who both saw their roles on the team increase toward the end of last season. Both proved to be more than capable NHL defenseman during their stints in the lineup. |
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| Jeff Finger will look to build upon his strong finish from last season |
| 'Kurt Sauer has had an outstanding camp. We saw down the stretch last year how important he was to our team, " said Quenneville. "Finger is another guy who was a very effective player at the end of last year. He's a competitive, hard-nosed and scrappy guy." The organization believes that from top to bottom, this year's defensive unit is deeper than in the recent past. The unit contains versatile and experienced defensemen that compliment the team's overall game and can be supportive on the offensive end, bringing an important balance. "I think we're on the right track. It always takes a little while for guys to fit in and find their niche, but Scotty's stepped in very well and we're all starting to click, " said Liles. " I think we showed we had a solid team toward the end of last year. As long as all five guys on the ice play together, I think we'll be in good shape. " |
| This year's group some tough and important questions....... such as who will play on any given night. "Everybody does something a little different but I think they're all capable of playing against anybody and playing our team game, " said Quenneville. "A lot of nights we'll have some tough decisions with who is going to be in or out of the lineup." Not a bad situation to be in. |