I think there's a very good chance he does. He seems much more capable in a bottom six role than Puempel does and I just don't see Puempel challenging for a top six role with Mac back.
Barring an outstanding camp, I think the team will cut ties with Puempel by October, solidifying Dzingel's spot on the team.
Dzingel seems a little more like the kind of player Boucher tends to like on his teams than Puempel is.
That being said, it might be worth trying one of those two guys on the RW to see how they take to playing their off-wing before we make decisions about cutting ties. I hope they both get a shot to audition for that last LW spot in camp, but I also hope we explore all of our options before making a decision.
If Dorion is trying to get ahead of this, he's maybe already working the phones and setting up a
"we have too many forwards, let us get to September and figure out which one we want, and we'll trade you the other one before camp ends for a pick / defenceman" kind of trade. Puempel might be the victim of a numbers game here in Ottawa because we have lots of depth on that side, but there's a pretty good chance he gets claimed on waivers, IMO. LW is traditionally the shallowest forward position, and there are a few teams with just absolute garbage depth on the left side who might see him as a free wallet and give him a year to see if he belongs in the league.
