Is your team below-slot, well-slotted or above-slot at center? Well-slotted, in this sense, means having a 1C as the 1C, 2C as the 2C and 3C as the 3C.
Present: Below-Slot – Staal (2C) – Rask (3C) – Ryan(3C)
Staal is good for 45-50 points per season with good defensive ability. Rask has had a rough 12 months that have seen him go from 45-50 point caliber play to 30 point caliber play. Ryan has picked up the slack somewhat, but he’s only put ~35 points during that time frame in an offensive role.
Short-Term Outlook: Below-Slot
Staal is under contract for another 5+ seasons and is only 29. Even if he takes a step back offensively as he gets older, he brings enough to the table defensively to be a middle-six center. I’m not sure what’s going on with Rask; I’m not banking on him finding his 45-50 point form. The Canes have some solid middle-6 center prospects that could potentially take his place, if necessary, in Roy and Wallmark. Rask is under contract for another 4+ seasons, though.
The problem is that top offensive center. The Canes did use a relatively high 1st on Necas in June, but he’s far from a guarantee. The organization views Aho as having potential in the middle, but he is undersized for that spot. The solution to Carolina’s problem may not be in the organization presently.
Categorizing players is very subjective, but try to be as unbiased as possible. I don’t mean for this thread to compare teams against each other. I’m interested in figuring out why the center market is seemingly so barren right now. If they're being hoarded, who’s hoarding them?
Present: Below-Slot – Staal (2C) – Rask (3C) – Ryan(3C)
Staal is good for 45-50 points per season with good defensive ability. Rask has had a rough 12 months that have seen him go from 45-50 point caliber play to 30 point caliber play. Ryan has picked up the slack somewhat, but he’s only put ~35 points during that time frame in an offensive role.
Short-Term Outlook: Below-Slot
Staal is under contract for another 5+ seasons and is only 29. Even if he takes a step back offensively as he gets older, he brings enough to the table defensively to be a middle-six center. I’m not sure what’s going on with Rask; I’m not banking on him finding his 45-50 point form. The Canes have some solid middle-6 center prospects that could potentially take his place, if necessary, in Roy and Wallmark. Rask is under contract for another 4+ seasons, though.
The problem is that top offensive center. The Canes did use a relatively high 1st on Necas in June, but he’s far from a guarantee. The organization views Aho as having potential in the middle, but he is undersized for that spot. The solution to Carolina’s problem may not be in the organization presently.
Categorizing players is very subjective, but try to be as unbiased as possible. I don’t mean for this thread to compare teams against each other. I’m interested in figuring out why the center market is seemingly so barren right now. If they're being hoarded, who’s hoarding them?
