I feel like I didn't articulate myself well in the other thread, so I'll try again here...
I have NO issues whatsoever with incorporating speed and skill into the fourth line. This is the new NHL, and you gotta roll with the punches one way or another. That 2011 cup team had the Merlot Line, but that group is long gone now. How do you go about replacing that, is the question? I don't think it's as simple as throwing together the best of the skilled or talented bunch, nor just throwing a couple of heavy hitters on a line.
What is essential for a fourth line, to me, is that they are able to achieve exactly what the Merlot Line achieved; they weren't a bunch of goons playing. They were excellent forecheckers, guys who could pin another team's D in their own zone for increased amounts of time. They didn't always score (in fact, MOST of the time they didn't, obviously) but when the process was working, it was a thing of beauty. The Merlot Line was considered by more than a few people and pundits as one of the very best in the league.
So to me, with the small allotment of time eac one of these three players on the fourth line are given every game, it is vital to have three guys who can maximize their input and influence in the game in such a short few minutes. That doesn't mean throwing guys like Belesky on the fourth line with Acciari and hope they just go out and hit everything in sight. You have to make sure the fourth can play a full game. So, assuming Nash is the fourth line center (I'd rather he wasn't, but at least he can play D fairly well and handle PK duties), who do you put with him? Who can work best with him to get out of their own zone, and really keep the other team running backward?
I'm not saying I have the answer to that question. I'm just not sure who should be on the fourth line. I trust Cassidy's decision over mine any day of the week. I worry that a mixed bag fourth line - with acciari, nash, and heinen, for example - might not gel well enough together. But who should get those spots then? I'm all for developing young talent, but this is a team that will once again be fighting for a playoff spot. You have to put together the best roster that can win NOW. I would think that's a bit more important than worrying about a player's development through rising up line by line.
But I could be very wrong.