That's cool. I was replying to you. Nurse won't go in a deal for a winger. Even a supremely talented winger like patches. This year with this Oiler line up a winger really isn't on the agenda. Some Oiler fans might disagree but I would really like to see their rationale aside from "Pacioretty rules!"
All good though, things can happen at the draft. Should be some wheeling and dealing that day.
Anyway personally i don't see Patch getting traded for RNH. RNH doesn't change our center situation that much. He's not a 1st line center on a cup contending team unless the rest of the team is super strong. This means that even with RNH we still have a question mark at center. We still have to use AG as a 1st line center and hope he can improve his defensive game and faceoffs and this means we must now trade Plekanec or put Danault back on the wing. We also become kind of weak on the wing without Patch and with AG at center. Yeah if AG doesn't work at center RNH and Danalt/Plekanec is better than Plekanec and Danault but either way we're done anyway imo so what's the point? With, or without RNH, AG must work at center. The point of trading Patch would be to avoid that situation.
I don't think this lineup :
Lehkonen-AG-Drouin
Danault-RNH-Gallagher
Byron-Plekanec-Shaw
Is any better than this one :
Lehkonen-AG-Drouin
Patch-Danault-Gallagher
Byron-Plekanec-Shaw
It might even be worse actually.
RNH is a good two way 2nd line center but Patch has shown more ability to carry a line by himself than him in the past. Yeah Danault is far weaker than RNH as a 2nd line center but Patch is much much much better than Danault or Byron on the wing and it's not even remotely close. For this to work AG would need to replace Patch on the wing but RNH, Danault and Plekanec wont cut it as a center line. At least Danault at center can sort of challenge RNH defensively. Patch in the regular season can pretty much carry a line by himself. In the playoffs if AG and Drouin click together then Patch wont have the pressure to carry an entire 1st line by himself like had in the past since his line will be the 2nd one anyway.
I'm not the biggest fan of Patch. I prefer players with some grit. But the thing people who don't watch Mtl on a regular basis ignore is Patch for the most part played with crappy players all his career. He started his career playing with washed up and almost done Gomez and Gionta. He then played with DD and Gallagher/Weise. He played some games with an over 30 years old Plekanec and Gallagher. That's a very average group of players to play with.
I honestly think MB wont touch his offense. He'll wait to see how AG and Danault will fare. They are both young. It's risky but that's probably his best option. AG has 31G and 64P in his last 82 games played mostly at center. If he can do some progress defensively and at the faceoffs circle he's probably a slightly better option as a 1st line center than anyone MB could acquire. If Danault can keep the good work he did last year he's an okay 2nd line center. He's good defensively and good at the faceoffs circle. If he can put around 45 points with Patch and Gallagher that's perfectly fine.
