I like the bottom six groups being put together. I really want to see Kunitz on a 3rd line and going back to playing a simple - physical - effective game for a player his age speed and skill. Wouldn't mind seeing him go at all, but that is at the core of what i like about the overall group now.
Sounds cheesy, and even JR said it to the press, so the opposite is probably true...but now guys need to compete and stay hungry for slots. What do you think Perron, Kunitz, Duper etc are thinking right now compared to past years? Same thing for 4th line guys? There are theoretically spots open all over the lineup and far more uncertainty than recent years - where it seemed everyone was a bit too comfortable with their spot. No one needed to go the extra mile because there were no good options.
Most of the new guys aren't great, but they could outplay some recent underperformers. In a nutshell i love that we have that now.
My only hope is the coaching staff embraces the opportunity to thrive on competition and doesn't just make it a battle for the bottom 6, with the tried and untrue comfortable in the top 6.
I would still like to see some guys with a naturally more surly and aggressive game to be spark plugs and lead the charge when we have games that aren't going to be "played nice". Caps, islanders, jackets come to mind.
Perhaps a team needing D help for a younger unit would flip the right kind of role player for Scuderi?