Also to the poster suggesting 65 center a line - that experiment didn't work out that well. Other than Sanford, Mojo is the most natural center, and he's been playing so well on the wing it would be silly to risk jeopardising one of the few successful cogs in the machine.
90-19-77/65/43
8-20-77/65/43
10-92-77/65/43
82-83-14
...at least might enable scoring from the top two lines (plus Beagle).
The bigger issue is we're seemingly weaker in our top-9 than we were this time last year. Williams, Connolly and Sanford are playing like Stan Galiev - sometimes doing well by the eye test, but rarely marking the scoresheet. Eller, Burakovsky and Kuzy are just barely better. The team's been leaning a lot on Mojo, Backstrom, Ovi, Oshie and Beagle to provide offence up front, which is unsustainable in the regular season not to mention playoffs.
As it stands, Williams is essentially a strong 4th liner/mediocre 3rd liner - we've gone from 7 top-6 players to maybe 5 or 6. Instinctively we need to change up the locker room in order to at least bring that number up to 6 - a replacement winger for Williams would give us flexibility to move Mojo to 2/3C if need be, or more productively shuffle our wingers in slumps.
If we could get a good winger for Orlov and Winnik, maybe with a second class prospect or pick thrown in, would we be at a signficant disadvantage? In other words:
90-19-77
8-92-43
65-20-XX
10-83-14
27-2
88-74
44-4
Ness/Bowey
Our D corps would be weaker, at least offensively, but to me a proper scoring winger > Orlov right now, especially as we're going to have an Orlov expansion draft problem anyway.
