See, i didn't mind Hoffman playing with Pageau, it added a dimension to that like where the oppositions top lines that were matching up against them had to respect the quick transition or get burned themselves.
The difference i guess is Pageau is much better than Stepan, and Hoffman got time on the 1st PP.
It's a respectable position, just not my choice. He's being eased in and its fine for now. He's not Hoffman being stapled to the 3rd line almost permanently, this will obviously change as he's probably already the best offensive forward on the team already and he'll continue to get better.
I think that strategy works to some extent, but I think what you lose out on can outweigh the benefits. Hoff would have been a 35-40G, 70pt player imo if he'd played with players of similar skill level, and we could have used that more than the role he filled. Same with this team devoid of offensive talent. They have their best weapon atm on the 3rd line with two offensive black holes.
You are right in that Stepan is not Pageau and that playing with JGP was more ideal, but they're similar enough that the comparison applies, neither are world beaters offensively. Brown on the other side is compounding the problem here as it's not just a defensive center, it's two players that struggle offensively. Swap one of the two out and I'm on board while he learns the ropes.
