He’s familiar with the general concepts of the system they play, so Sweeney knows he’d fit in well. It’s not as strict as Cassidy’s but same basic concepts and expectations for their dmen.
The changes Montgomery made, were more tweaking how their forwards play within the same system, to open things up more, but in the d-zone, little has changed. Still the same basics, only a few teams play.
So it would make some sense in that regard. Especially since some Dmen just can’t adjust to playing less 1 on 1, types of systems. Just look how horrible Nurse and Bouchard looked early this season, as the Oilers tried changing to a similar system.
As good as Orlov looked offensively in Boston, he had a tough time not over committing and leaving his lane (after the trade) last year too. All it takes is one dman not being true to the system, and the whole thing can breakdown. It’s why only teams with very structured type of dmen can play it. For example, Carolina could never play it. Obviously neither could Edmonton.
So it’s tough, when you’re looking for dmen who’d fit. That’s why this does make some sense.