Looking for a new center

[surixon]

Roslovic will be given a chance and I think he will do a good job after he gets a bit acclimatized. He will be playing in a sheltered role with Perrault and another solid player so he will fine imo.

If Maurice isn't stubborn with line combinations in the top 6 we can build two really strong and balanced lines.

Ehlers/Conner - Chef - Laine

Ehlers/Conner - Little - Wheeler

The shut down line stays the same.

 

[Deedog99]

With Little as the 2C last year the Jets went 37-16-9 and were in 4th place in the NHL.

Greatest post I've seen all weekend. Feeling better now. Thanks

 

[Theorex]

Roslovic is plan A
Petan is plan B

Neither thus far has shown the required skill to be a 2nd line centre. Especially for the likes of Laine and Ehlers

 

[Theorex]

Greatest post I've seen all weekend. Feeling better now. Thanks

We maybe able to play through the season with no legitimate 2nd line centre like we did for most of the season last season (keep in mind Laine and Ehlers both struggled mightily for prolonged periods during this past season..primarily due to unsatisfactory centering aka Little)

However we cannot and will not make a serious playoff push without a legitimate 2nd line centre...playoff success requires depth..of which we are seriously lacking in the centre position (amongst others).

Don't get me wrong signing Statsny for the money he wanted would have been wrong..but the sad reality is we have zero in house solution..that doesn't require a few steps backwards.

 

[surixon]

We maybe able to play through the season with no legitimate 2nd line centre like we did for most of the season last season (keep in mind Laine and Ehlers both struggled mightily for prolonged periods during this past season..primarily due to unsatisfactory centering aka Little)

However we cannot and will not make a serious playoff push without a legitimate 2nd line centre...playoff success requires depth..of which we are seriously lacking in the centre position (amongst others).

Don't get me wrong signing Statsny for the money he wanted would have been wrong..but the sad reality is we have zero in house solution.

Brian Little put up 43 points in a bad year. Those are second line numbers, also Laine and Ehlers poor play impacted how that line did. It isn't all on Little.

 

[Theorex]

Brian Little put up 43 points in a bad year. Those are second line numbers, also Laine and Ehlers poor play impacted how that line did. It isn't all on Little.

It was beyond apparent last season that there is zero chemistry between Little, Laine, Ehlers..post all the points you want when you can't click worth a poop with your line mates your value is extremely diminished on that line.

I'd be curious to know his point displacement between centreing the 2nd line and the bottom 6 he was on for portions as well.

 

[Fire Chevy]

I’m calling it right now and you can quote me on it once Roslovic gets a chance at centre I think he will excel especially if he’s on with Kyle Connor those 2 have great chemistry together

 

[Guffman]

There are a lot of options without having to go outside the team. I think we’re fine with Little at 2C.

Other players may step up (Roslovic, Petan) later in the year. How about the Wheeler experiment at C again? If it truly is an issue later on in the year, use the TDL.

 

[Dr Amazing204]

Since Armia is gone Dano and Petan chance is now lol

 

[folix]

Brian Little put up 43 points in a bad year. Those are second line numbers, also Laine and Ehlers poor play impacted how that line did. It isn't all on Little.

My bigger issue is Little's lack of chemistry with well anyone really. Also 43 points is not worth the 6million.

 

[Duke749]

It was beyond apparent last season that there is zero chemistry between Little, Laine, Ehlers..post all the points you want when you can't click worth a poop with your line mates your value is extremely diminished on that line.

I'd be curious to know his point displacement between centreing the 2nd line and the bottom 6 he was on for portions as well.

If it wasn’t on Laine or Ehlers then they would have shown up more in the playoffs. Fact is they still have plenty to learn. Benefit is they have high ceilings and haven’t gotten close to them yet.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

We don't need one. Roslovic/Lowry will fill that empty void, but I'd choose Roslovic out of the two.

 

[surixon]

It was beyond apparent last season that there is zero chemistry between Little, Laine, Ehlers..post all the points you want when you can't click worth a poop with your line mates your value is extremely diminished on that line.

I'd be curious to know his point displacement between centreing the 2nd line and the bottom 6 he was on for portions as well.

Little had 22 in the first 38 games playing mostly with Laine and Ehlers. They had 30 and 29 points each.

Little then had 10 in 16 playing with Perrault and Ehlers during the Scheifele injury. The line also crushed it in terms of shot metrics.

Scored 4 in 8 between Chef coming back and the trade deadline

He had 7 in 20 during the stretch when he was on the third line after the Stastny pick up.

So he scored at a 48 point pace while on the second line getting number 2 PP minutes. That is actually pretty respectable.

He scored at a 29 point pace while on the third line with less minutes and teammates.

Nothing surprising about that really. Imo he bounces back to a 55 point player. The kids will be better for one and hopefully Maurice balances his line up a bit better.

 

[CorgisPer60]

Oh, that was to be AHL, not NHL. I was busy and made a mistake. I don't think he was over a PPG in the NHL last year. >_>

_____________________________________________________

Very good and insightful post here by Corgis-- I have no doubt that Roslovic will be the answer--both short and long term--and the financials fit right.

This guy is fast--has soft hands, and can score, and is a great playmaker. People should be happy that Stastny went to Vegas. Roslovic should fill in that spot, and as the quoted post says-- he was over a point per game. I really like his style.

I can see Roslovic putting up a least 50 points, but likely around 60--"very good."

 

[surixon]

My bigger issue is Little's lack of chemistry with well anyone really. Also 43 points is not worth the 6million.

He is only making 5.3 million not 6 and given some of the contracts the other day it doesn't look so bad now. Also he most certainly has chemistry with players on the team. He played excellent hockey with Ehlers and Perrault during the Scheifele injury. He also had significant chemistry with a number of players the year before last when he produced 47 points in 59 games.

There is too much focus on really one bad stretch with Ehlers and Laine.

 

[ulf]

Really liked the 2nd place team last year with all its injuries before Stats.
Goaltending was excellent but starting to wear down....less Hellybuck and more qualified back-up.
Top 3 d match up with the best. With Niku Poolman and Morrow in the wings and Charoit Kulikov and Myers our d can afford one loss before season.
Fourteen quality forwards needed.
Schiefele Wheeler Ehlers Connor Roslo Little Perreault Laine Copp Lowry Tanev .
That's 11....jury is still out on Appleton Vesa Lemiuex Petan and Dano plus.
Good job keeping this group together so far , nice job signing some quality for the Moose.
I'm okay with yesterday's results and know that next time it's Helly not Fluery for the win.

 

[Mud Turtle]

The fact of the matter is that Little had a bad year. All the players he played with performed better without him than with him, except for Perreault I believe it was.
But it’s only one year. We can’t write him off yet. Maybe he had a nagging injury that we don’t know about. But he was noticeably not the same player.
Laine and Ehlers need a great playmaking/fast/dynamic center to play with and I think Roslovic will be that guy. Maybe not right away, but soon.
Little meshes better with the cycle players like Wheeler and Scheifele.

 

[Imcanadianeh]

This little has zero chemistry with Ehlers/Laine meme is getting out of control.

They produced well at the start of the season together. Little and Ehlers produced well when they played with MP.

Its just that stretch of games before the trade deadline that they weren’t producing together and that’s what people really remember.

 

[jetsfaneh]

This Center talk is exaggerated. We have Scheifele, Little, Roslovic and Lowry as our centermen. That looks pretty sweet!

Roslovic was the best player in the AHL at the time of call up last year.

Our top 9 wingers are Wheeler, Laine, Ehlers, Connor, Perreault with either Vesalainen (excelled last year in an adult league), Appleton (AHL rookie of the year) or Petan (ended up being a point per game player last year in the AHL).

Mix and match how you like. That is a pretty stacked top 9! With potential to grow. Look at Connor last year.

Plus we have guys like Copp, Wheeler and Perreault who can play center in a pinch.

 

[DRW204]

Just avoid (H)ELL and we are good

Laine-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Little-Ehlers
Perreault-Roslovic-Vealainen
CLT

I want to see Connor-Roslovic on the same line though, but I don't know if Mo goes 3 U22 guys on one line

 

[nobody imp0rtant]

Since Armia is gone Dano and Petan chance is now they can't waist it

Freudian slip?

 

[scelaton]

This little has zero chemistry with Ehlers/Laine meme is getting out of control.

They produced well at the start of the season together. Little and Ehlers produced well when they played with MP.

Its just that stretch of games before the trade deadline that they weren’t producing together and that’s what people really remember.

It's all a bunch of hooey as far as I am concerned, less about Little/Maurice and more about the obsession with everything Laine.
Of note, Little and Stastny have almost exactly the same PPG since the lockout, Little is 2 years younger, making more than a million less than Stastny for the next 3 years. It is highly likely that Little plays better (ie to his average PPG) this season and that Stastny regresses in line with his mean and age.

"Looking for a new (ie, expensive) center", who will make it that much harder to sign our young stars, INCLUDING LAINE, is the least of Chevy' worries.

 

[Dr Amazing204]

Freudian slip?

haha

 

[Ippenator]

Who the heck is VesaLAINEn? And how does he make the team when 23 other teams didn't pick him and he's not even signed?

Might as well ask that who are Niklas Lidström, Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg? Or who the hell is Sebastian Aho? If you want a more recent example...

 

[Asiantuntija]

No, I'm sorry but, no. Copp is not even remotely as good as Little with Laine or with anyone else. The only way Laine plays beside Copp is if Laine is on the 4th line.

We were top 4 in the league before we got Stastny. Little had an off year but still had 2C production.

Laine had significantly better PPG with Copp than Little.