Do the Montreal Canadiens have the best defensive pairing in the North Division?
I’m starting to think the answer to that question is yes. When general manager Marc Bergevin signed Joel Edmundson to a four-year, $14 million-dollar contract this past off-season, it seemed likely he would be slotted into the team’s second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. Behind the Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot pairing, it gave Montreal a very stable top four on the blueline.
But the second pairing has been much better than stable. In fact, stable feels like a bit of an insult, as does calling them the second pairing.