Agreed. Nuge seems to have been the glue that held that line together to an extent. The right 2nd cog on that line. Rattie could be a cheap solution while Jesse and Kailer develop.
Well, Connor is obviously the Glue, Nuge is a very competent 2nd that compliments the play of the Star, and Rattie is a player with appreciable enough talent that he can benefit from being on the line. Talent being the kind of thing you can't replace unless you want someone muffing most of the chances in there.
That said Maroon would have been better going forward with players like McD, and Nuge, which would have been interesting to see. But that probably costs a lot more.
The trouble with McD playing a lot with Nuge and Rattie is it means he's going to be eating a lot of lumber. That and can Nuge or Rattie sustain results with him, sustain health and pace. Those are the bigger questions and none of them were answered by the short term.
I like Rattie, liked him in junior, but its hard to know what we got here longer term. He's done enough for a bridge type contract. 2yrs. Ty Rattie is never going to be any cog here, he's just a fill s you state.