I wouldn’t be pigeonholing any line into a predetermined identity or forcing them to play a certain way. I’ve always been of the mindset where a coach should ask his players to play under his structure only in the defensive zone and without the puck, take the reigns off in the offensive zone and let the natural instincts of the players take over - no matter what line.I don’t know, I think if we get a different 3rd line Center, we have to put Janks on the wing. He’s got the skill to be a potential top 6 forward and I feel like putting him in a grinding role would do nothing but stunt his growth
I heard Elliotte Friedman say on the radio that Tavares was meeting with five teams, SJ and Toronto being two of them for sure. He speculated about the other three, but Calgary was not one of them.If Brad makes the right contract extensions, there is enough space to offer Tavares a one year max deal
The dream will never die
I'm weary of attaching ourselves to all of these Arizona and Carolina playersI really think that derek Ryan is going to be one of the first signings on July 1st. I think Peter's has already had some discussions with him.
I wouldn’t be pigeonholing any line into a predetermined identity or forcing them to play a certain way. I’ve always been of the mindset where a coach should ask his players to play under his structure only in the defensive zone and without the puck, take the reigns off in the offensive zone and let the natural instincts of the players take over - no matter what line.
Regardless, I think Jankowski has shown that being strong on the cycle (a cornerstone of a “grinding” line) is one of his biggest strengths anyways, so I’m not convinced asking him to play that role would hurt his development anyways. He’d still get PK time and 2nd PP time too.
I can understand that, but do you really think saddling him with Brouwer (who will be back on our 4th line) and xxx other relatively unskilled player is good for him? To me playing with a player as slow as Brouwer will only teach him to play overly cautious so he can get back and play defensively since Brouwer can’t go north/south fast enough. There’s a chance he can be the next backlund and learn to turn defense into offense, but I think it’s more likely it simply stunts his offensive potential.
Now if you told me our fourth line was Mangiapane - janks - shore/lazar
Well that’s a different story then, full of skill and scoring potential.
Well, a couple things can happen:
1) new coach, Brouwer may be able to rebound. Maybe not, never really sure with these situations.
2) Brouwer doesn’t have to be played, we have a ton of bottom six options, and may get another through FA.
3) hopefully peters truly plays his best players.
I should also add that I really only wrote the lineup that way so it didn’t become a bigger wall of text than it already was.I can understand that, but do you really think saddling him with Brouwer (who will be back on our 4th line) and xxx other relatively unskilled player is good for him? To me playing with a player as slow as Brouwer will only teach him to play overly cautious so he can get back and play defensively since Brouwer can’t go north/south fast enough. There’s a chance he can be the next backlund and learn to turn defense into offense, but I think it’s more likely it simply stunts his offensive potential.
Now if you told me our fourth line was Mangiapane - janks - shore/lazar
Well that’s a different story then, full of skill and scoring potential.
I should also add that I really only wrote the lineup that way so it didn’t become a bigger wall of text than it already was.
The only guys I see from my list that would actually push Jankowski down to 4C would be Bozak and playing Lindholm at C. In the case of both Nash and Ryan, I think it’s entirely possible (if not probable) that with the better part of a full NHL season under his belt Jankowski grabs the 3C spot in camp. I just think it could be a bad idea to go into the start of the season without having a backup plan if Jankowski struggles again.
I just think we need to get away from players like Lazar and Shore on the 4th line and actually try to have a 4th line capable of chipping in regularly as opposed to being just good enough. Both Nash, Ryan, and Jankowski would provide more offence from that spot than having either Shore or Lazar there.
I think it depends on what Treliving thinks of Frolik. If he still believes he is a top 6 forward, then I can see us getting only Derek Ryan as our top 6 will be full. If he doesn't think Frolik is 2nd line material I see him chasing a bigger fish to play with Tkachuk and Frolik will move down the lineup and then there won't be room for Ryan.One thing I haven’t seen a lot of chatter about yet is what BT is looking to moving into FA. One thing about our GM that nobody can really argue is that he seems to be very calculated roster wise.
First off, I 100% believe Derek Ryan will be signed for the bottom six. Outside of that, BT has certainly set himself up to go in big on a JVR, Neal, or Perron. Whether you agree with this move or not, I’m fully expecting a big name ufa push and Derek Ryan to be added for depth.
BT will be active come July 1st IMO.
You know what, I'm kind of on board with the idea of giving JVR a 6X7 deal or something similar to what Oshie & Okposo got. He's big, he's fast, and skilled. And there is cap space to do it.
Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
JVR - Backlund - Tkachuk
Bennett - Jankowski - Frolik
Hathaway - Shore - Brouwer/Lazar
I really like this line up, if we go into the season, just as it is now, we are not making the playoffs. If we can add some like JVR, we have two good lines(like we have right here.)
I am still not sold on our centers, when comparing center to other teams, we fall behind(yes Monahan should be able to get 60+ points but no other centre may hit 50 points, Backlund has a chance.)
I really like this line up, if we go into the season, just as it is now, we are not making the playoffs. If we can add some like JVR, we have two good lines(like we have right here.)
I am still not sold on our centers, when comparing center to other teams, we fall behind(yes Monahan should be able to get 60+ points but no other centre may hit 50 points, Backlund has a chance.)
3 reasons.Why are so many people on the JVR train? Does he possess something this team sorely needs over a guy like Neal, who could likely be had for less cap/term?
We need another goal scorer more than a playmaking center.I still wanna go after Thornton. 1yr, 7.5 mil. It's more than Gio but he's a legend and I think he's still got it despite the knee injuries
We could actually use both, ideally. A pure shooter for Tkachuk/Backlund and a playmaker for Bennett/JankowskiWe need another goal scorer more than a playmaking center.
Jankowski is very adept at distributing the puck, more so than scoring goals (although Janko has such a gorgeous wrister) had Bennett been able to bury even a fraction of his chances, Jankowski would have added a bunch of apples too.We could actually use both, ideally. A pure shooter for Tkachuk/Backlund and a playmaker for Bennett/Jankowski