Confirmed with Link: Flyers sign C Boyd Gordon

[Random Forest]

It's 20 faceoffs spread over 82 games (if he played 82 games). It's 1 more offensive faceoff every 4 games. Like I said, I don't think that drastically boosted his game. Adding another 10 faceoffs won't make a massive difference. Couturier can have the toughest usage imaginable, like Bergeron, and come out clean as a whistle as long as he has his caliber linemates. That's what makes those two pretty awesome. Obviously you want to keep it within reason.

Yeah, fair enough. It likely would have a very marginal impact on a player like Couturier who is going to have tough minutes regardless. I do want the team to get to a point where we can feed players like Voracek and Simmonds totally sheltered minutes (like Kane) with minimal DZ starts. I do think it would make a difference when we reach that point, and grabbing a guy like Gordon is a start in that direction if nothing else.

Fair point. But Kruger is also better all around and can see top competition too. So he gets the zone starts and the competition and can actually hold his own. It's why he's a good player. Personally, if I'm a coach it's still rather high. Your best players typically are your best players at getting it out of your own zone and maintaining possession too. I like a bit more balance. Those guys only see several more ES minutes a game than Kruger -- 11 minutes of ES time is enough to get shelled and cost games too. Kane and Panarin are also significantly worse than someone like Giroux as a two way player. They are legit sheltered. Toews sees more o zone faceoffs than G, but year to year it isn't a drastic percentage. Crosby doesn't see much better zone starts than G.

I'm not sure I trust Gordon to do that is what I'm saying. Really it's Rubtsov who can't get here soon enough. He's probably his golden ticket. And Coots's.

Totally fair points. Like I said, my goal is to get to the point where our fourth line allows us to deploy our top nine in ways that maximize each of their skill sets. I'm not looking to turn it into our shutdown line (that would be a waste of Couturier's skill set if he was anything but our shutdown center). If you can be confident throwing your fourth line out for a D zone draw against an opposing 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line, I do think it goes a long way toward creating lineup flexibility where you can give your two-way guys balanced minutes and your offensive players heavy offensive minutes. Would Gordon alone get us there? Probably not, but together with Read and Bellemarre on the fourth line, I'm optimistic that it could get us much closer than we were last year.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

The worst was when Hakstol would give the Hak line all these O-zone starts throughout the game then have them out there in the closing minutes of the game taking D-Zone faceoffs. The Flyers would hold on for dear life in their own zone the majority of their shifts.

At least that's one area where Gordon could potentially help given his faceoff ability.

 

[Striiker]

Hopefully they wake up and realize that playing against a team with their goalie pulled as if it were a PK is a great way to get scored on, especially if using a garbage 4th line.

 

[onlylordsvsmorebp]

Hopefully they wake up and realize that playing against a team with their goalie pulled as if it were a PK is a great way to get scored on, especially if using a garbage 4th line.

god that happened so often last year...ok 2 minutes left...lets lose our collective ****!!!!

 

[Juicy Pop]

god that happened so often last year...ok 2 minutes left...lets lose our collective ****!!!!

2 minutes left, deploy the Hak line!

 

[deadhead]

The bottom six just don't play that many minutes.
5x5 (4x5) [5x4]
Read 11.6 (1.6) [1.3]
Gagner 11.5 [1.9]
VV 11.1 (2.3)
PEB 10.6 (2.5)
White 10.5 (1.0) [1.0]
Cousins 10.0 [0.4]
Umberger 9.5
Laughton 9.4

So we're replacing White on the PK and Gagner on the 2nd PP unit
So Gordon will probably play 8-9 minutes ES and 2 minutes PK.
Weise will probably play White minutes. Maybe a little more.
It's not a drastic change, just an incremental upgrade.

I think real improvement requires players like Laughton and Cousins to step up their game and V to bounce back.
And the biggest improvement will be Provorov over whomever he replaces on the defense.

A 96 point team is probably now a 100+ point team.

 

[WastedTalent]

The bottom six just don't play that many minutes.
5x5 (4x5) [5x4]
Read 11.6 (1.6) [1.3]
Gagner 11.5 [1.9]
VV 11.1 (2.3)
PEB 10.6 (2.5)
White 10.5 (1.0) [1.0]
Cousins 10.0 [0.4]
Umberger 9.5
Laughton 9.4

So we're replacing White on the PK and Gagner on the 2nd PP unit
So Gordon will probably play 8-9 minutes ES and 2 minutes PK.
Weise will probably play White minutes. Maybe a little more.
It's not a drastic change, just an incremental upgrade.

I think real improvement requires players like Laughton and Cousins to step up their game and V to bounce back.
And the biggest improvement will be Provorov over whomever he replaces on the defense.

A 96 point team is probably now a 100+ point team.

You can't look at just the minutes they play though, you have to factor in the type of minutes they're going to play. It is a drastic change because less DZone starts for Giroux and Couturier means more offensive potential

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Differing opinions are more than welcome as long as they're substantiated by more than the wet toilet-paper claims you've routinely made.

There is no problem with your opinion of Allison. But there is a problem when you substantiate that opinion with the statement that he "sucked" until midway through this year.

Allison had two points in his first 15 games in the USHL this season. For some reason you have a huge problem with me using the term "sucked" to describe two points in 15 games. Fine, but it's more than a "wet toilet paper" substantiation. Seems more like you just have a problem with my opinion.

There is no problem with your opinion of the strength of our top six. Only when you substantiate that opinion with the fact that "many people consider Couturier a third liner".

Is that all I used to back up my claim that the Flyers' have a thin top six? No. Because I also backed up my claim with:
- The Flyers only have 5 legitimate top 6 forwards at even strength
- Giroux is not a superstar ES scorer anymore; Voracek is coming off a down season where he was not an above average first liner, and only has one *full* season in his career where he was; Schenn has a half season of first-line scoring in his career; Simmonds is solid 2nd line winger, but his real strength is the PP not ES
- The Flyers at even strength struggled mightily to generate any offense at all in the playoffs, and their 4th line, including the now gone Ryan White, was arguably their most dangerous line in the playoffs at ES.
- Hextall himself said the Flyers need to upgrade their scoring and skill level in their top 6

Noting that Couturier (who I personally am a big fan) is still considered more of a third line type by many people was merely one consideration in support of my point, which I also backed with all of the above, that the Flyers have questionable top 6 depth.

Again, seems much more like you just have a problem with my opinion, because I sure backed it with a heck of a lot more than just "wet toilet paper."

There is no problem with your opinion of Tomek. Only when you substantiate that opinion with observations of his demeanor during a meaningless summer pickup game. See where I'm going?

WTF? I'm not allowed to observe Sandstrom and Tomek in prospect camp, see with my own two eyes that Sandstrom is clearly the more polished goaltender of the two, see that Tomek struggled and was very down on himself, and use that in forming an opinion on who is the better current prospect?

You keep exaggerating this into me making some kind of absolute statement that Sandstrom is great and Tomek is forever doomed based on a "pickup game." But all along I just said it was a personal report from prospect camp and Tomek could've just been having a bad week.

You just seem hell bent on getting pissed at me for even reporting that Tomek was outclassed and let it show in his body language. Serves me right for trying to share information from a camp.

Plenty of people have plenty of opinions around here. And they all get respected as long as they're coherent and well-reasoned. Yours have not been.

They sure don't seem that way when when you pick and choose, twist, exaggerate, and otherwise fail to accurately represent the full bases for my opinions. You can act like my opinions are incoherent and based on nothing more substantial than "wet toilet paper," but really it's just a case of you having a problem with my conclusions and then creating straw man reasons to bash them.

 

[tade]

You have your claims but you never want to see circumstances, which makes your claims really irrelevant and maybe you are doing it on purpose. It's not worth it to discuss with someone like you.

No, Couturier is not really considered as 3rd line C anymore, and he's not, try to run a poll on main board, you will see the results.

 

[Random Forest]

Allison had two points in his first 15 games in the USHL this season. For some reason you have a huge problem with me using the term "sucked" to describe two points in 15 games. Fine, but it's more than a "wet toilet paper" substantiation. Seems more like you just have a problem with my opinion.

Yeah, and Sanheim had 3 points in his first 22 games of his draft year. Yes, my problem is with you characterizing his performance as "sucked" on his statline alone. It's evidence of your egregiously simplistic view of the world which you've displayed time and time again here.

Is that all I used to back up my claim that the Flyers' have a thin top six? No. Because I also backed up my claim with:
- The Flyers only have 5 legitimate top 6 forwards at even strength
- Giroux is not a superstar ES scorer anymore; Voracek is coming off a down season where he was not an above average first liner, and only has one *full* season in his career where he was; Schenn has a half season of first-line scoring in his career; Simmonds is solid 2nd line winger, but his real strength is the PP not ES
- The Flyers at even strength struggled mightily to generate any offense at all in the playoffs, and their 4th line, including the now gone Ryan White, was arguably their most dangerous line in the playoffs at ES.
- Hextall himself said the Flyers need to upgrade their scoring and skill level in their top 6

Cool. No one would argue that we don't have serious room for improvement. But when you even cite something like "some people think Couturier is a third liner" or "Voracek's only had one first line season", it pretty much fries your credibility (assuming it wasn't fried before you said those things).

Noting that Couturier (who I personally am a big fan) is still considered more of a third line type by many people was merely one consideration in support of my point, which I also backed with all of the above, that the Flyers have questionable top 6 depth.

It's not a consideration because it's clearly an irrelevant and erroneous observation.

WTF? I'm not allowed to observe Sandstrom and Tomek in prospect camp, see with my own two eyes that Sandstrom is clearly the more polished goaltender of the two, see that Tomek struggled and was very down on himself, and use that in forming an opinion on who is the better current prospect?

You keep exaggerating this into me making some kind of absolute statement that Sandstrom is great and Tomek is forever doomed based on a "pickup game." But all along I just said it was a personal report from prospect camp and Tomek could've just been having a bad week.

You just seem hell bent on getting pissed at me for even reporting that Tomek was outclassed and let it show in his body language. Serves me right for trying to share information from a camp.

Development camp. Literally one step removed from summer pickup hockey.

They sure don't seem that way when when you pick and choose, twist, exaggerate, and otherwise fail to accurately represent the full bases for my opinions. You can act like my opinions are incoherent and based on nothing more substantial than "wet toilet paper," but really it's just a case of you having a problem with my conclusions and then creating straw man reasons to bash them.

You've done nothing but spew utter nonsense and act offended when your arguments are dismissed for the swill that it is worth. Again, it's not your opinion I take issue with-- it's your complete inability to defend those positions with anything more than simple minded and misguided observations that I contend with. If you'll notice, Magua shared your opinion of the Gordon signing. Why did I respect his opinion? Because he defended it with reasoned and articulate claims that I was able to discuss with him. You've fallen woefully short of that bar nearly every time you post.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

You have your claims but you never want to see circumstances, which makes your claims really irrelevant and maybe you are doing it on purpose. It's not worth it to discuss with someone like you.

Where have I refused to see circumstances?
I said I wouldn't have signed any of the UFAs that could help in the top 6 because they are overpaid.
I said Gordon fills an area of need and will help the PK and 4th line on defensive zone draws.
I said Weise is a slight upgrade over White (I just don't like the term and $$).
I said even though I wouldn't have picked Allison at 52 there at least was the hope he's a late bloomer.

Just because I think some people are overestimating the impact of replacing Ryan White and Sam Gagner with Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise doesn't mean I refuse to see circumstances. I understand Giroux won't have to PK as much and will get a few less defensive zone starts. I just don't think it's going to make a gigantic difference.

No, Couturier is not really considered as 3rd line C anymore, and he's not, try to run a poll on main board, you will see the results.

I don't understand your need to see everything in black and white. There are plenty of people around the league who think Couturier is ideally a third line center. Now, I agree with you that he is fine as a second line center, but to not even consider the possibility that he's best as a third line center -- I'd call that refusing to see. Also, the Flyers' absolute need for Couturier to be a second line center, and how much it kills them when he's out of the lineup -- don't you think that is at least some evidence of a lack of depth?

Anyway, I know you'll completely and fully dismiss everything I say as irrelevant.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

You've done nothing but spew utter nonsense and act offended when your arguments are dismissed for the swill that it is worth. Again, it's not your opinion I take issue with-- it's your complete inability to defend those positions with anything more than simple minded and misguided observations that I contend with. If you'll notice, Magua shared your opinion of the Gordon signing. Why did I respect his opinion? Because he defended it with reasoned and articulate claims that I was able to discuss with him. You've fallen woefully short of that bar nearly every time you post.

"Simple minded and misguided" -- excellent choice of terms, and exactly how I would define your straw man, misrepresentative paraphrasing of my arguments.

But go ahead creating your straw men to knock down and nitpicking and seeming offended by things like saying 2 points in 15 games "sucked" and making a huge deal out of something as simple as not liking Tomek in development camp (which I *ALWAYS* conceded was just development camp; were you a huge Tomek proponent or something? It's utterly weird how fixated you are on this non-issue).

 

[Striiker]

I'm so glad we were able to perform a successful argument transplant from the Allison thread over to this one.

It truly is the offseason.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I'm so glad we were able to perform a successful argument transplant from the Allison thread over to this one.

It truly is the offseason.

LOL. Don't you know that all sports related surgeries are successful, even message board related ones?

 

[tade]

Where have I refused to see circumstances?
I said I wouldn't have signed any of the UFAs that could help in the top 6 because they are overpaid.
I said Gordon fills an area of need and will help the PK and 4th line on defensive zone draws.
I said Weise is a slight upgrade over White (I just don't like the term and $$).
I said even though I wouldn't have picked Allison at 52 there at least was the hope he's a late bloomer.

Just because I think some people are overestimating the impact of replacing Ryan White and Sam Gagner with Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise doesn't mean I refuse to see circumstances. I understand Giroux won't have to PK as much and will get a few less defensive zone starts. I just don't think it's going to make a gigantic difference.



I don't understand your need to see everything in black and white. There are plenty of people around the league who think Couturier is ideally a third line center. Now, I agree with you that he is fine as a second line center, but to not even consider the possibility that he's best as a third line center -- I'd call that refusing to see. Also, the Flyers' absolute need for Couturier to be a second line center, and how much it kills them when he's out of the lineup -- don't you think that is at least some evidence of a lack of depth?

Anyway, I know you'll completely and fully dismiss everything I say as irrelevant.

We all know that center depth is atrocious behind Giroux and Couturier and that's why Rubtsov is here. But G and Couts are great 1-2 punch, down the middle. You will see it in the next season why it was ridiculous to call Couts 3rd line C at this point. You could have seen it in this season before he got injured... He's slightly developing into different player in regards to his offensive upside.

I believe that those 'plenty of people' who think that he's 3rd line C haven't paid any attention to Couturier this season... and as I said majority of hockey folks believe he's now ideal 2nd line C.

Why did I say that you don't want to see circumstances? Look at how you always point out that our offense was terrible against WSH. Although we still took them to 6 games, and the last game was 1-0 campaing. Yes our offense was really bad, but maybe you should look and see what was the real reason for it?

If you look a little bit closely, we were missing Couturier and basically were 1-line team due to that (yes, we have awful center depth behind G and Couts, so if one is missing it's gonna have major impact). Giroux was playing through injury, Voracek came from leg injury and admitted that he was far from 100% and also missed WHC because of that. What do you expect when 2 of your top forwards are playing through injuries, and your 2nd line C is injured? What do you expect when you play with these circumstances against the best team in the NHL?
Nearly every team in the NHL is going to see major change in their game, when their 2 best forwards are playing through injuries and their 2nd line C is out indefinitely.

4th line came to play against WSH, correct, but it was probably the only games they really came to play... + a few games in reg. season.

Now I am nitpicking a little bit, you think that Weise is only slight upgrade over White. Well, that's okay, but what's your thought behind it? Why do you think it's only slight upgrade? I mean, there's nothing wrong if you think this way, I am just curious.

Dale Weise just had 2 seasons in terms of offensive impact that White can only dream of. 26 & 29 point seasons (one of these seasons with only 56 games). White's best season is 16 points... White is your typical, fine 4th line player, Weise is your ideal 3rd line player. I fail to see how he's only slight upgrade over White.

And before you point out that Weise played with top 6 players in Montreal... think about this. Why do you think that he played with them? Why did he play with them for so long? Do you think that there was no reason why he played with them? Sure there was. He was given a chance and he succeded in that situation, he was able to keep up with them and be productive player, that's something White can only dream of, therefore I think he's major upgrade over White, I will say it once more... major upgrade over White.

In terms of your usual 3rd line players, I would say he's a fine player to add into your line-up and when looking at our last year's bottom 6, I'd say that he's pretty significant addition. And I didn't even mention couple of Weise' huge play-off series. What was the last time when White was one of the deciding factors in play-off series? Well, never.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

We all know that center depth is atrocious behind Giroux and Couturier and that's why Rubtsov is here. But G and Couts are great 1-2 punch, down the middle. You will see it in the next season why it was ridiculous to call Couts 3rd line C at this point. You could have seen it in this season before he got injured... He's slightly developing into different player in regards to his offensive upside.

I believe that those 'plenty of people' who think that he's 3rd line C haven't paid any attention to Couturier this season... and as I said majority of hockey folks believe he's now ideal 2nd line C.

Why did I say that you don't want to see circumstances? Look at how you always point out that our offense was terrible against WSH. Although we still took them to 6 games, and the last game was 1-0 campaing. Yes our offense was really bad, but maybe you should look and see what was the real reason for it?

If you look a little bit closely, we were missing Couturier and basically were 1-line team due to that (yes, we have awful center depth behind G and Couts, so if one is missing it's gonna have major impact). Giroux was playing through injury, Voracek came from leg injury and admitted that he was far from 100% and also missed WHC because of that. What do you expect when 2 of your top forwards are playing through injuries, and your 2nd line C is injured? What do you expect when you play with these circumstances against the best team in the NHL?
Nearly every team in the NHL is going to see major change in their game, when their 2 best forwards are playing through injuries and their 2nd line C is out indefinitely.

4th line came to play against WSH, correct, but it was probably the only games they really came to play... + a few games in reg. season.

Now I am nitpicking a little bit, you think that Weise is only slight upgrade over White. Well, that's okay, but what's your thought behind it? Why do you think it's only slight upgrade? I mean, there's nothing wrong if you think this way, I am just curious.

Dale Weise just had 2 seasons in terms of offensive impact that White can only dream of. 26 & 29 point seasons (one of these seasons with only 56 games). White's best season is 16 points... White is your typical, fine 4th line player, Weise is your ideal 3rd line player. I fail to see how he's only slight upgrade over White.

And before you point out that Weise played with top 6 players in Montreal... think about this. Why do you think that he played with them? Why did he play with them for so long? Do you think that there was no reason why he played with them? Sure there was. He was given a chance and he succeded in that situation, he was able to keep up with them and be productive player, that's something White can only dream of, therefore I think he's major upgrade over White, I will say it once more... major upgrade over White.

In terms of your usual 3rd line players, I would say he's a fine player to add into your line-up and when looking at our last year's bottom 6, I'd say that he's pretty significant addition. And I didn't even mention couple of Weise' huge play-off series. What was the last time when White was one of the deciding factors in play-off series? Well, never.

Good post.

I just think the Flyers' scoring lines' struggles at ES to generate any offense at all, especially without Couturier, highlighted their lack of depth with regards to skill, speed, and scoring in the top six. And Hextall himself has said this is an area they need to upgrade. So I don't get the vehement objection some have to my comment that the Flyers are "thin" in the top 6.

I think Konecny would be a major help in this gaping need, and I think he's absolutely ready and able to play in the NHL, just as Fabbri was in St. Louis. So I get worried about the thought of him being blocked by a team full of bottom six veterans. My worries could be completely misplaced, and I hope they do give him a real chance to earn a spot.

I termed Weise a "slight" upgrade over White because I don't want to overstate the difference in two guys who have been fourth line players. Weise, everywhere but Montreal, was a 4th liner, including his last 15 games in Chicago where he even was a healthy scratch. I also want to give White due credit for his 11 goals and being one of the Flyers' best players in the playoffs.

But I will grant you that Weise seems the more capable of the two in playing a third line role due to his superior skating and forechecking. In fact, I kind of like the idea of Weise playing alongside Couturier on a two-way line, if Konecny makes the team and plays center.

 

[tade]

Good post.

I just think the Flyers' scoring lines' struggles at ES to generate any offense at all, especially without Couturier, highlighted their lack of depth with regards to skill, speed, and scoring in the top six. And Hextall himself has said this is an area they need to upgrade. So I don't get the vehement objection some have to my comment that the Flyers are "thin" in the top 6.

I think Konecny would be a major help in this gaping need, and I think he's absolutely ready and able to play in the NHL, just as Fabbri was in St. Louis. So I get worried about the thought of him being blocked by a team full of bottom six veterans. My worries could be completely misplaced, and I hope they do give him a real chance to earn a spot.

I termed Weise a "slight" upgrade over White because I don't want to overstate the difference in two guys who have been fourth line players. Weise, everywhere but Montreal, was a 4th liner, including his last 15 games in Chicago where he even was a healthy scratch. I also want to give White due credit for his 11 goals and being one of the Flyers' best players in the playoffs.

But I will grant you that Weise seems the more capable of the two in playing a third line role due to his superior skating and forechecking. In fact, I kind of like the idea of Weise playing alongside Couturier on a two-way line, if Konecny makes the team and plays center.

Thanks. I think that our forward depth on the big club is thin, yes, that's what I would say. The overall forward depth is not ideal at the moment. But I wouldn't say that specifically top 6 forward group is thin, nope. We could use 1 true top 6 forward for sure (Konecny should be the guy) but even now I think it's strong group of forwards. As long as, Giroux and Couturier are in the line-up, it's all good, we can replace one of our winger for limited time. If either Giroux or Couturier is down, then we have big problem. The ES scoring was not good, agreed, it probably has a lot of common with usage of our top 2 lines and our bottom 2 lines and also defense (not sure where we would be without Ghost, lol). It's all connected, you know. I am sure we will see improvements as Provorov and other defensemen will join the team.

It probably looks like I am little bit overrating the impact which Weise will likely provide here, we will definitely see highs and downs with Weise in this season. And I agree with you about the term. I am not fan of 4 years, would be great for 2 or 3 years, the cap hit is okay for me, exactly what Raffl got, 2M would be the best but that's only difference of 350k, not going to be upset over that. All in all, I think it's fair deal for 3rd line winger on the July 1st. Not best, not worst, just solid abd smart move to make our team better.

But I stand with my opinion that if we are comparing White and Weise, then I think he's major upgrade over White. Yeah, skating is also big difference when looking on them. I have to give credit to White, he definitely had his moments with Flyers and he finished the season on a high note with pretty good play-off series, but there was also a lot of falls during his tenure here which started with stupid penalties and hits.

 

[tade]

And also let's not forget how stacked offense Chicago had for the play-offs. They acquired Ladd, Weise and Fleischmann solely for the play-off run, combined with already Kane, Panarin, Toews, Shaw, Hossa, Anisimov, Teravainen... I can definitely see why he was stuck on 4th line. I mean, it was not an easy transition for him, I think he even said it was pretty weird and not ideal tenure for him. That's how often deadline additions ends up... I would not make any conclusions out of these 19 games.

 

[Tripod]

We had 4 guys who produced as 1st liners, then Couts who was on a 65 point pace from Nov 28 onward. Then we had a top offensive Dman. Yet we were 22nd in GF.

Our issue was that we got very little from our bottom D and other D.

To say out top 6 is "thin" implies, to me, that our top 6 was not good enough and that is far from the truth. Why not just say that our 3rd and 4th lines produces as 4th lines. We are "thin" at getting secondary scoring to SUPPORT the top 6.

And this coming year, expect more of the same unless we get growth from within from Cousins and Laughton. Konecny making it is a long shot IMO.

 

[tade]

We had 4 guys who produced as 1st liners, then Couts who was on a 65 point pace from Nov 28 onward. Then we had a top offensive Dman. Yet we were 22nd in GF.

Our issue was that we got very little from our bottom D and other D.

To say out top 6 is "thin" implies, to me, that our top 6 was not good enough and that is far from the truth. Why not just say that our 3rd and 4th lines produces as 4th lines. We are "thin" at getting secondary scoring to SUPPORT the top 6.

And this coming year, expect more of the same unless we get growth from within from Cousins and Laughton. Konecny making it is a long shot IMO.

Yes, that's also what I meant to say when I stated that our forward depth is thin, top 6 was more than okay (except for Voracek and even he found his scoring touch before he got injured), bottom 6 was dumpster fire.

 

[deadhead]

I think the forwards will look better this year simply because they'll have MDZ, Ghost and Provorov for a whole season, and Streit was a shadow of himself with the pelvic injury. You could see the difference Ghost made on offense, having a mobile puck moving defenseman on each pair will make a big difference. And I'm hoping Gudas can build on his second half when he showed big time scoring potential from the point.

With Sanheim and Morin in the AHL, the only weak defensemen from an offensive point of view will be Schultz and MacDonald, and both are speedsters and Coffey clones compared to L Schenn and Grossman.

The top two lines are fine, yes, it would be nice to upgrade over Raffl, but they need more than a scorer to do that, they need a complete two way player and those are expensive, so it'll probably take another year for Konecny to arrive and grow into the role.

The real key is Laughton and Cousins taking a step up, I think playing with Weise rather than say Umberger or Read will help.