Puckatron 3000
Glitchy Prototype
I agree that Maurice wants a shutdown line. I would also say that Lowry's shutdown line was used to pretty good effect this year. So I have no problem with it.
Whether we call Lowry's shutdown line the 3rd or the 4th moving forward is kind of cosmetic to me. Maybe it plays more or less based on opponent, whether we have last change, or based on how effectively they are playing. What's more important is what we do with our (currently 4th) line.
The 4th didn't gel this year. That is partially on Maurice. And partially on circumstance, as players performing poorly were demoted to the 4th (as I seem to recall Stafford was), or promoted upward due to injury (e.g. Copp). I believe Maurice viewed it as more important to keep the top 9 rolling than optimize the 4th, and the 4th suffered as a result. Add to that the rotation of prospects he wanted to give a chance to play (without disrupting the other lines), and it just didn't have much stability.
Still, I think I can speak for most of us when I hope that skilled younger players like Petan, Connor, Roslovic, Dano, and maybe Armia or Copp can cobble together a bottom 6 scoring line. We don't need Tanev on that line if we already have a Lowry shutdown line.
Whether we call Lowry's shutdown line the 3rd or the 4th moving forward is kind of cosmetic to me. Maybe it plays more or less based on opponent, whether we have last change, or based on how effectively they are playing. What's more important is what we do with our (currently 4th) line.
The 4th didn't gel this year. That is partially on Maurice. And partially on circumstance, as players performing poorly were demoted to the 4th (as I seem to recall Stafford was), or promoted upward due to injury (e.g. Copp). I believe Maurice viewed it as more important to keep the top 9 rolling than optimize the 4th, and the 4th suffered as a result. Add to that the rotation of prospects he wanted to give a chance to play (without disrupting the other lines), and it just didn't have much stability.
Still, I think I can speak for most of us when I hope that skilled younger players like Petan, Connor, Roslovic, Dano, and maybe Armia or Copp can cobble together a bottom 6 scoring line. We don't need Tanev on that line if we already have a Lowry shutdown line.