To be fair, I dont think he's being given a fair shot at the moment, I would imagine by design. Before the all star break and him being scratched, he was getting significant ice time, but wasn't doing a lot with it. He was subsequently scratched, told to work on things, and now has less ice time, yet better performances. I'd wager that he is really starting to learn the defensive side of the game, at least enough to be serviceable. Sure, Thomas was nhl ready when he came in, but his offense wasn't. Kyrou is the opposite, he is more than ready offensively, just not up to par on the defensive side. He will be just fine though by the time the playoffs are here. As for the left side, I think you have to put a bigger, more physical body on that line, someone like a Blais or Steen (despite what you may think of Steen's output offensively). I think once you solidify that third line with another linemate for Bozak and Kyrou, they'll flourish.
Also, let's not forget Maroon's deficiencies as a defensive forward. He was slow, held on to the puck too long quite a bit of the time, and didn't make great plays most of the time directly in front of the net. I think if you give that line someone like Blais or Sanford, and to a lesser extent Steen, they'll end up controlling the play more, giving Bozak and Kyrou opportunities to get open and make plays. Steen and Sanford are both enigmas because Steen is still talented defensively, which to me personally I would expect him to have better possession numbers because of that, but that isn't the case (sitting at 48% for both corsi and fenwick). Sanford has better possession numbers, but he is so inconsistent offensively, that it affects his line's production too often. Blais has possession numbers that are very close relative to Maroon, is physical like Maroon, is faster than Maroon, and is arguably a better player offensively despite not scoring near Maroon. I say he's better offensively because his stick handling and shot (from what I've seen) are better than Maroon's, especially in tight.
Overall I think we have enough pieces offensively to be pretty effective in the playoffs, god willing no one is severely injured. I think there is plenty of depth to warrant no more trades, but this is just my opinion and how I think the lines would work. No one does anything unless there's chemistry developed, and that's the most important thing in my mind.
