problems abound right now:
-PP is horrendous, if we don't figure this out and by some miracle make the playoffs, we won't get out of the 1st round.
-Third line production. Bennett and Janko are cold as hell lately. We need secondary scoring from them.
-We need to replace Brouwer and Hathaway in the top 9.
-A 4th line upgrade would honestly help too. Any combination of that line right now, provides zero offense.
We need a couple trades:
My targets would be Vanek and Stewart:
Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland
Tkachuk-Backlund-Vanek
Bennett-Janko-Frolik
Hathaway-Stajan-Stewart/Brouwer
This is a much better lineup. Vanek should take the Tkachuk-Backlund combo to another level, Frolik can only help the 3rd line, and nobody would find room to play against that 4th line. Only problem with Stewart seems to be motivation, I bet he'd look good on our PP, which may boost his moral given the playing time.
Good news:
-Some of the best goaltending we have seen since prime kipper from Smith, honourable mention to Rittich as a fantastic backup.
-Our defense has looked very strong the last number of games. Hamonic had a very solid game last night and is looking great in general. Stone is better than a bottom pairing dman. Kulak is a great fit as a #6, and he should only get better.
I honestly think if we want a chance to make the playoffs this year, and with how tight the west is, we need to upgrade our forwards. Because our goaltending and defense seems complete, I'd be willing to part with some of our futures to do it. To acquire guys like Vanek and Stewart, it shouldn't gut us, and seems worth the risk given our defensive talent...Oh and just launch Dave Cameron into outer space please.