I've been thinking about this the last few weeks, and I recognize that this may not happen/be worth trying this season. But this would be an idea I would like to try. Rationale:
-Sutter is a big body who, as a winger, would likely be a fair bit better than Kobasew or D'Aggostini. He could still take draws and be a responsible two-way player, but this would give us more size on the walls and could boost his offensive production
- It would allow Dustin Jeffrey to centre that 3rd line. DJ has looked surprisingly good on the wing, at times, but still often gets scratched and it's not his natural position. He is a better playmaker than Brandon Sutter, so if he was flanking 2 offensive players (Sutter + Bennett or Sutter + Jokinen), we could end up having a 3rd line that could product much more offense. We know Jeffrey is an excellent defensive forward, so I don't think we'd be losing anything on the defensive side by having him centre the 3rd line vs. Sutter. If nothing else, it would give DJ a chance to prove his ability and trade value rather than sitting in the pressbox most nights.
Now, this probably won't happen, and if it did, perhaps not until next season when, perhaps, a guy like Jokinen may not be here anymore. But Jeffrey is too good of a player to be a 13th/14th forward and will eventually ask for a trade if he's going to be a healthy scratch on this team. I think he could be a really good 2nd/3rd line C on a lot of other teams, and many teams are weak at that position, but it's not going to help his trade value if he's not playing most nights.
So I'm not saying this would happen or that it would even be a success, but hey: we tried playing Jordan Staal on the wing, why not try playing Sutter on the wing for a handful of games to see, as well? It seems like an experiment worth trying. And when I see Sutter going out there being flanked by Glass + Adams as our 3rd line, I just thing: sure, they may do some good grinding in the offensive zone, but they are really not a threat to score at all. I think while Neal and Bennett are out, it's a perfect opportunity to give it a shot for a couple of games.
Thoughts?
-Sutter is a big body who, as a winger, would likely be a fair bit better than Kobasew or D'Aggostini. He could still take draws and be a responsible two-way player, but this would give us more size on the walls and could boost his offensive production
- It would allow Dustin Jeffrey to centre that 3rd line. DJ has looked surprisingly good on the wing, at times, but still often gets scratched and it's not his natural position. He is a better playmaker than Brandon Sutter, so if he was flanking 2 offensive players (Sutter + Bennett or Sutter + Jokinen), we could end up having a 3rd line that could product much more offense. We know Jeffrey is an excellent defensive forward, so I don't think we'd be losing anything on the defensive side by having him centre the 3rd line vs. Sutter. If nothing else, it would give DJ a chance to prove his ability and trade value rather than sitting in the pressbox most nights.
Now, this probably won't happen, and if it did, perhaps not until next season when, perhaps, a guy like Jokinen may not be here anymore. But Jeffrey is too good of a player to be a 13th/14th forward and will eventually ask for a trade if he's going to be a healthy scratch on this team. I think he could be a really good 2nd/3rd line C on a lot of other teams, and many teams are weak at that position, but it's not going to help his trade value if he's not playing most nights.
So I'm not saying this would happen or that it would even be a success, but hey: we tried playing Jordan Staal on the wing, why not try playing Sutter on the wing for a handful of games to see, as well? It seems like an experiment worth trying. And when I see Sutter going out there being flanked by Glass + Adams as our 3rd line, I just thing: sure, they may do some good grinding in the offensive zone, but they are really not a threat to score at all. I think while Neal and Bennett are out, it's a perfect opportunity to give it a shot for a couple of games.
Thoughts?