Skinner’s best linemate was Cole. Seriously. They worked very well together. Then he played well with the Finns, but I thought it was a small step back. I think he creates his own problems most of the time. His puck management is somehow getting worse. It’s like his stick is slippery. You see him consistently lose the puck in places Nordstrom has no problem keeping it. I’ve said it a few times this year, but last years forechecking puck hound still hasn’t shown up. I would show him some video of himself outworking defenseman and stealing pucks they had full control of for an hour.
He’s the polar opposite of McGinn. That guy obsessively takes care of the puck, stays within his game and almost always makes the right choice. I also like how he always shoots as hard as he can, every chance he has to shoot. I call that being the anti-Lindy. TT and Lindy are the most frustrating to me. Skinner is Skinner, he’ll turn a corner and score 20 in 20. I can’t trade him without him seeing a playoff. TT and Lindy are so hot and cold, it drives me nuts. It’s hard to pick one to keep over the other at times, I usually think Lindy because I always favor our picks. TT shoots way better but is always a perimeter player whereas Lindy is capable of being pesky and physical.
I think part of the issue up front is the top six winger mix of Skinner/Aho/TT/Lindy. They are all similar players in style and size. I know they get mixed up on other lines but they are our top 4. Why do you think McGinn looks so good? He watches whatever these guys do and generally does the opposite. We needed an upgrade in skill, so I get why we did it but adding TT and then Aho showing up put it over the top. At least one, if not two of them needs to be a bigs who can score. We’re too small and weak.
Maybe the guys don’t listen to Peters anymore but he gave a minor league team a system that gave us some shape and were more fun to watch than the previous team. If he has to go fine, but I’m not sure there’s anyone else that can make these guys look good. Not enough makeup for that pig. As Peters says himself, if this group doesn’t play smart and give 100% all game they don’t stand a chance.
I would try Lindy at center again, he’s just not a winger to me. Give him someone stronger to fight all those battles and change the winger mix up some. It’s also time for Zykov to get 10-20 games. Wallmark deserves a longer look, though he looked pretty bad his last game or two. Foegele is fine with me, though maybe him playing top minutes down there will better for him. If JR will trade something decent for Ryan so be it (I hate selling this low on Rask) not to pin it on Ryan but giving someone else that spot would give us fresh blood and we have Lindy, Wallmark and arguably Aho to try. Mckeown deserves a shot too.
Ps. Like someone else said I found Luke’s article to be spot on, and painful.
