Blue Line Buzz: The Replacements

Brent Seabrook's ice time in two games since Duncan Keith's injury: 26:00, 23:19
Previous season high: 23:17 in season opener
Season average: 21:36

Trevor van Riemsdyk in two games sans Keith: 22:34, 22:53
Previous season high: 19:49 on Oct. 15 vs. Washington
Season average: 18:29

Morgan Rielly in two games since Jake Gardiner's injury: 25:07, 25:00
Previous season high: 23:28 on Oct. 16 vs. Columbus
Season average: 22:51

So, in case you haven't noticed yet, Seabrook and van Riemsdyk are the two guys Joel Quenneville is relying on to take the majority of Keith's minutes, while Mike Babcock has tabbed Rielly for big minutes in Gardiner's absence. Both van Riemsdyk and Rielly are widely available in most leagues, making them intriguing waiver-wire options. Martin Marincin has drawn in for the Leafs and David Rundblad for the Blackhawks, but neither should make a huge impact; they continue to develop into more consistent performers.

Rielly owns more upside than TvR, but unfortunately plays for a much weaker team that will need him to play against the toughest competition. In Chicago, Quenneville can still use Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson to help shield van Riemsdyk, so he'll have the opportunity to draw heavy minutes against opposing teams' non-elite skaters.

After quite a few veteran defensemen (like Cody Franson) had to wait until September to find employment, a lot of teams are already looking for help on the back end following a crazy start to the season. So far, no solutions have really presented themselves; otherwise, Columbus would've made a trade already. It'll be interesting to monitor the situation as the season goes along, since teams out of playoff contention can start selling off their defensemen. Some of the names available may include Nikita Nikitin, John-Michael Liles, Luke Schenn and Niklas Grossmann.

They're not the most exciting group, but there's a chance one of them could step up and play better in the hopes of securing a better future.

Last week's top five performers:

P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, MON – The Habs' top pair makes their second appearance in four weeks, and it looks like they'll be a mainstay in this section for most of the year. Combined stats this past week: a goal and five assists each, including five points total on the power play, a combined plus-7, 14 shots on goal, seven hits and nine blocked shots. If you missed out on Subban this year, but managed to get Markov, you're probably doing quite well.

Brent Seabrook, CHI – He's as cool as a cucumber, and with Keith out thanks to knee surgery, Chicago's newest alternate captain is really stepping up. Three years ago, I predicted Seabrook would win his first Norris. Oops. He didn't come close, but he's often overlooked because of his star partner on defense, and in Keith's absence, Seabrook's showing everyone exactly how good he is. He has four points in his past three games, all of them wins. Remember when people argued whether it was Ryan Suter who carried Shea Weber or vice versa? Yup, same debate here.

John Carlson, WAS – The Caps have won five in a row, and Carlson is now a legitimate star. After a breakout season last year, Carlson has taken over a defensive corps that had previously lacked leadership. He's on a five-game point streak with two goals and eight points in that span. If the Caps take a huge step forward this year – i.e., make it past the second round of the playoffs – Carlson will be a big reason why.

Victor Hedman, TB – The best-kept secret in Tampa, Hedman helped the Lightning obtain five out of the possible six points this past week, the only loss coming in a 1-0 overtime loss against Chicago. Hedman should remind people a little bit of fellow Swede and retired superstar Nicklas Lidstrom, except with a bigger wingspan and a little more physicality. He makes good passes and good decisions all over the ice.

Jared Spurgeon, MIN – He's tallied two assists in his past two games, both of them wins. As far as offense from the blue line goes, Spurgeon is still the Wild's best choice until Matt Dumba really separates himself from the pack. When he scores, the team is usually playing well. Spurgeon's not as dynamic as Torey Krug, but there's some offense to be had and he regularly plays over 20 minutes for Mike Yeo.

Top five trending up:

Colton Parayko, STL – He made the list last week, which means that after two solid weeks, owners should be looking to pick him up. The Blues lost two tough games to the Habs and Islanders, but that team is quite banged up right now – these early season injuries could cost them a division title, home-ice advantage and maybe even Ken Hitchcock's job. But Parayko's stock is soaring, as he's logged more than 22 minutes in each of the last two games, scoring two points in the process. The Flames and Ducks get all the talk about the West's deepest defense, but the Blues should get some love, too.

Ryan Murray, CLB – Has he arrived, finally? The second overall pick from the 2012 draft, the kid who Charles Wang the Islanders wanted so badly they were willing to trade all seven of their draft picks for him? The Jackets pulled off their first win Saturday, so maybe things are looking up, and with Murray registering three points in his last two games, maybe the biggest change between the Todd Richards era and John Tortorella era will be the emergence of a legitimate No. 1 defenseman.

Brayden McNabb, LA – When Slava Voynov packed up his bags and left, I gave my buddy a nudge and said this guy could step in and make a difference. Having watched him play a fair bit, I knew he had something to offer because of his booming shot (regularly over 100 mph), size and style. During the Kings' four-game winning streak, his ice time has creeped to over 20 minutes a night, as he's carving out a top-four role in Hollywood. McNabb never quite cracked the Sabres roster because he either didn't have enough experience or they didn't have space for him, but he certainly has the ability to play.

Damon Severson, NJ –It's no coincidence that the Devils have rattled off four straight wins with Severson playing well. He was on his way to a breakout season last year before injuries derailed it, but already has three points in six games to start the new campaign. The Devils are looking like a streaky team that could go on a hot run, mostly thanks to Cory Schneider, late in the season.

Mark Giordano, CGY – Not like he's ever really bad, but with four points in his last two games, the Flames' captain is scoring again after a slow start. You probably expected something like that, though, with a player who missed a chunk of time due to injury and a long summer. The Flames' defense and goaltending (no surprises there) are in some flux, but Giordano is a mainstay in the No. 1 role.

Top five trending down:

Christian Ehrhoff, LA – The thing about playing for old, crusty coaches is that, a lot of times, they feel less is more. Since Darryl Sutter cut Ehrhoff's ice time by five minutes, the Kings have gone on a four-game winning streak; meanwhile, Ehrhoff's collected his first two points of the season. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe there's just been a little too much mileage, or maybe he excels only in certain styles, but clearly Ehrhoff won't be a dependable top-four guy this season. He will, however, provide a lot of value on the power play. At this point in his career, he's clearly a specialist.

Dougie Hamilton, CGY – Yikes, maybe Boston knew something about Dougie that no one else really did. The Flames' biggest new addition saw his ice time get cut over his past two games, and he's been inconsistent to start the season. The Flames came out flat in the season opener and clawed back with a narrow win the next game, but then proceeded to lose four straight. Maybe they're in for a regression.

Marek Zidlicky, NYI – The offense is there, but the defense isn't, which is why Jack Capuano sat him after a 5-3 loss to Boston. He's averaged about 15 minutes a game, but a lot of that time is on the power play, which means he's usually not dependable on even strength and is outmatched on the penalty kill. Zidlicky certainly won't play 82 games now, and may end up being part of a rotation.

Ben Hutton, VAN – There's still a ton of hope left for this kid because, more often than not, he's making the right play. He's more explosive than Chris Tanev, but has the same kind of patience and poise with the puck. Despite notching an assist, Hutton played just 14:46 on Saturday while the Canucks blew a 2-0 lead; they're still in search of their first home win of the season. This is his rookie season and NCAA players don't play as many games, so maybe he needs a little rest.

Ryan McDonagh, NYR – He's still invaluable to the Rangers defense, but McDonagh has yet to record a point. He's not an elite scorer in the first place, but it's bad enough that Alain Vigneault has separated him from long-time defensive partner Dan Girardi. McDonagh does good things on both sides of the puck, but the Rangers have been streaky to start the season and need a little more consistency from their captain.

This week's top five picks:

P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, MTL – Duh. All-Canadian matchups this week with all three teams in Western Canada and then a date with the Jets at home. What's the combined over-under? 10 points?

Victor Hedman, TB – Four games this week against a banged-up Blues squad and the porous defenses of Colorado, Boston and Carolina. He'll rake.

John Klingberg, DAL – An explosive offense with home dates against a Ducks team that looks really ugly, a Canucks team that can't come close to matching the Stars' speed, and a Sharks team with Martin Jones looking human.

Tyson Barrie, COL – He returns from his suspension against Florida and then plays Tampa, but has a juicy matchup with Carolina afterward. After a long rest, he should come out flying.

Kris Letang, PIT – He's been really underwhelming so far, as has the entire team, but other than a tough match against Washington (just 10 points in 23 games), Letang's got Buffalo and Toronto the next two games. The Sabres just got pumped for 11 goals in their past two games, while the Leafs are, well, the Leafs.