Yes, I remember that. Do you think that our power play improved by adding that player? That our power play still hangs on Getzlaf is part of the problem. It doesn't have to be Selanne or Ryan, but we absolutely need someone that can provide goals and to a lesser extent make plays on that power play unit. What you say in that first paragraph ignores that we're currently having to break up our best forward tandem because we don't have anyone else that can, a problem that goes deeper than 'wouldn't it be nice if Lindholm could also play with Pronger's edge'. We have two centers and one winger left to drive our offense. Ritchie might provide some relief for that when he's ready, but it's been a major issue since Bobby and Teemu started fading. We have no shortage of players that can provide a guiding light in the defensive end, but we're repeatedly coming up short with leaders on offense.
The answer we've had since Ryan and Teemu departed was depth scoring. That's how we're in the place that we are now. It sure doesn't appear to be working out. Just making up a few goals here and there doesn't address the lack of drivers on the team. We have the best supporting cast in the league, already. We're running low on players for them to support. That's what a player in the vein of Selanne or a Ryan provide.
JVR doesn't have to be the answer, but he is an answer to that effect. I'm not talking about Ryan specifically, but what Ryan represented - or failed to represent in that final year.
I don't think that we're on entirely different pages, but I feel that some here mistake criticisms of what happened as a result of the Ryan trade for a condemnation of the trade itself. Ryan was failing at the task asked of him at the time of the trade, and seeing how he's performed in Ottawa, still would. In his absence we haven't anyone step up or added that was also up to the task, that is maybe the one thing that still makes this team feel incomplete.
