He's still got the best {only?} open ice hit of the year for the team.....it was a beaut!
I love his work ethic and while I don't think he's quite the guy for line 1, bring in Strome to replace Vanek and I think he and Strome play a complimentary game.....and Strome might have a speedy winger to shield him from pressure.
Yes, I think Lee is a better fit with KO and JT......just no Bailey, PLEASE! {Bailey should be on the fourth line until he EARNS a promotion, and if Bailey gets his ***t together, I can envision he and Grabner with Strome}
Even with ****** line combos, Bailey has been better of late. It's a no-lose situation if you put him on JT's left side. This season is lost. This is when you try things out. Earn it? Like Bailey earned a spot with Regin and Nielsen in the ********* line we've created all year? What the **** did Regin do to deserve that spot other than being Danish?
Grabner, Strome and Bailey together is a rather poor line combo. Why do we keep building the smallest possible lines which force skill players to the front of the net? Not that the line wouldn't have some degree of talent and overall speed, but there's a reason why Grabner-Nielsen-Bailey wasn't anything but a counterattack line. It's poorly imagined. Bailey-Nielsen-KO still wasn't great against bigger lineups, but at least KO could play along the boards. However, even that line had a ton of its offense off of the rush. Bailey became the presence in front of the net on the Bailey-Nielsen-KO line. He had more goals than assists on that line. It's not exactly using the guy to his strength, but it does show that he can perform with more talented player regardless of line makeup.
Since our top line is always going to be a puck possession line with X-JT-KO hopefully a mainstay, it makes sense to build a secondary scoring line that has some chance of keeping possession. A lot of secondary offense in this league comes from teams putting forth shift-to-shift sustained offense. Defenders get tired; forwards get tired; mistakes happen; lesser players score. If we build a line that can retain possession
and rush the puck, even better. Believe it or not, we have the overall personnel. (They're just raw.)
I'd just like to see the team build a line that actually considers player strengths.
Bailey-JT-KO = This line can be effective. It's not like Vanek was shooting his little heart out. I can't count the number of times we had a former 40-goalscorer (Vanek) think pass first with JT and KO.
Grabner-Nelson-Strome = Stacks the remaining talent; gives us size down the middle; has straightaway speed and some possession skills.
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck = Almost a checking line, can play a possession game. Temporary until Nielsen gets back or a trade is made.
Boulton-Callup/Addition-McDonald = The 4th line = An obvious 4th line. Without adding NHLers, you end up with a 4th line that should see 8 minutes/night max. Sadly, Regin would've been serviceable in this capacity. Assuming we don't add a single player, this is where the crap falls or prospects trickle up. Personally, I'm hoping for a warm body coming back when we trade Vanek and AMac. I was all for Stoll because of the size and faceoff value. (Not asking for anything else, and some dollars may need to come back our way in a trade.)
The above isn't ideal, but the top-9 makes more sense than anything I've seen them put forth all year. If a guy like Lee who has skill and size makes his way up to JT's line, then Bailey is also a solid fit for Nelson's left side. In that case, Grabner then falls to the 3rd line and all of a sudden the team has depth. Pop an actual checking center with size on the 3rd line, and then you almost have a team with players starting to slot above their abilities for a change.
By that logic, what has Anders Lee done to EARN going straight from the AHL to our top line?
I really don't see what we have to lose by playing Bailey on that top line for the last 20 games or so. It seems like a no-lose situation, regardless of how you or anyone feels about him.
Scenario 1: He plays well, which wouldn't be a surprise. He's always had chemistry with KO; he's always played his best hockey on LW; and he meshed well with Tavares during their brief playoff stint together.
*If this happens, you can do one of two things. Either keep him, and decide to go with this line next year - or move him, since success on that line should up his value enough to get something of interest, instead of moving him purely as a cap dump.
Scenario 2: He doesn't play well, and it confirms that he indeed has no future on this team. You are essentially in the same position you are now, with a kid making $3M+ who holds little trade value, if any.
Either way, it gives you answers and/or options. Considering the games don't count much anymore, I don't see why this would be a bad idea.
I have no idea why this isn't the general line of thought around here. Maybe it is, who knows? Perhaps, a poll is in order? However, I don't want to jinx it. I'm going to remain quiet until we're back from the break and see what the coach actually does. Needless to say, I have zero faith in his ability to match player attributes to line combos. I've pretty much said this exact same thing that Blinkman mentions above.
You put Bailey on the top line because you paid him to be a top-6 forward and have consistently put him with small, playmaking, or offensively deficient forwards since last season.
Yeeeeah, I like to type early in the morning...
,
Mitch
