Why was Jumbo sooo much better last year? Has his skating fallen off that much in the past year?
He's actually still pretty good in the offensive zone, but he's a total mess in the defensive and neutral zone. If Thornton were playing at last year's level (decent 2nd line C), I think SJ is in a divisional playoff spot. His drop and the loss of three top 9 players is awfully tough to overcome. I'd love to bump down Meier to play with Jumbo and Goodrow/Sorensen, as I think they could cover Jumbo's weaknesses defensively, and that would be a match-up problem for third lines/pairings. The problem is your top 6 would then be Kane, Hertl, Couture, Labanc, Marleau, and Sorensen/Goodrow? Yikes. Add Hall, and maybe I am comfortable, but yikes.
Burns, Karlsson, Simek, Vlasic, Dillon, Ferraro is the best d in the league even with poor play from the stars, but the goaltending is awful and the forwards are mediocre.