I ignore posters who are constantly proposing trades as some sort of solution - that's how we got in this hole in the first place! Part of building a good team is continuity, yes, you need to make trades at times to shift assets or break a team out of its complacency, but not as the answer to every issue, patching one hole by creating two more is no way to keep a ship afloat.
Raffl is coming along like I expected, his added strength shows up along the boards, and he fits just fine with G and V, let them grow together.
Bellamare will improve as the season proceeds, he's new to NA hockey, and seems a half step behind in his timing, probably not used to how fast you have to make decisions in smaller rinks, but he has speed, can shoot and isn't afraid to go into dark places.
Umberger is starting to look respectable, he's not going to play up to his salary, but if he's a solid wing with Couts, that's still addition by subtraction with Hartnell gone.
They do miss Rinaldo (at least the non mind fart penalty version) - Jones was pretty bad, and the fourth line isn't creating pressure the way it did with Bellamare/Rinaldo paired with anyone.
Grossman and Schenn are tough but lack skating and passing skills, but would be fine if paired with a puck moving defenseman who can pass. Which is probably why Ghost, not Alt or Hagg, was brought up. Del Zotto is never going to be a good defensive defenseman, but has offensive skills, it's going to be tough the next month, but when Coburn and McDonald comes back, they just might have a good feel for pairings that work.
