Pick the Perfect LW for JT and KO!

[startainfection*]

im gonna have to say zach parise though

 

[startainfection*]

Hall. Would be ridiculous.

Surprised Benn has not been mentioned.

he elects to shoot first too much from what i have seen in the olympics

 

[duster19]

im gonna have to say zach parise though

That draft makes me sick. So many players came out of the draft and we missed. Huge opportunity lost not taking Parise...a guy semi tied to the Isles

 

[startainfection*]

That draft makes me sick. So many players came out of the draft and we missed. Huge opportunity lost not taking Parise...a guy semi tied to the Isles

we would be a completely different team now

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Isles had 3 2nd rounders too, could have had Parise/Getzlaf, Bergeron, AND Weber with a 2nd to spare.

 

[YearlyLottery]

I would like to see Bailey play on that line. I would LOVE to see him with TWO real linemates. This would also allow Nelson to play center still.

 

[CREW99AW]

Would love to see Evander Kane there; thought that for a long time. I've stopped wishing for such things to happen though, hehe.

Brock Nelson is a big kid that can skate who isn't afraid to shoot. Since he didn't seem out of place there, and our coach lacks imagination, I'll be surprised if he isn't back there. (Our coach doesn't seem to care about the lack of size down the middle for some reason.) If I could clone Brock Nelson, I would for this purpose.

If we're lucky enough that they think of Nelson as 2C in the future, then I'd hope we'd bring Strome up to play on Nelson's right side. I'd put Grabner on the left side of that. This eases Strome in as he's still filling out and lets him use his skill with less responsibility. (I've noticed some people not being impressed with Strome in other threads. Just remember how JT improved significantly over his first three seasons. The biggest reason was strength. Strome is still going to need that kind of time frame.)

Quite frankly, that leaves us with Bailey from our own team. He's been playing better of late. He's not bad along the boards. He's a good passer. He seems slightly more willing to shoot from the left side. He has high hockey IQ. If his issue is really confidence, and I'll suggest misuse is also a part of it, then why not put him in the best possible place to succeed for a change?

With Bailey signed longterm, it makes sense to try it out for the remainder of the season. He was signed to play a major role, let's see what he can do already. He's making $2.2 million this season. His salary gets bumped up each year of his contract. This is a playmaker who has never really been put with a goalscorer and has been thrown from center to RW to LW and back. The move allows us to get some size down the middle with Nelson staying where he is. I think it's a no-brainer.

After Vanek is gone, without knowing who is coming back in any trades, I'd roll with something like this:

Bailey-JT-KO
Grabner-Nelson-Strome
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Boulton-Sundstrom-McDonald

If we call more players up or bring someone back in a salary swap, then the above would change. Not a fan of Boulton as an every game player, but I don't want to gut Bridgeport even more for the sake of the players that stay there to develop. There's a reason why I'm hoping we'd bring a guy like Stoll back if it was possible as part of a trade. (Just to win faceoffs, add size, and to play 3rd/4th line center. That's it!)

The season is pretty much lost. Now is the time to see what you have for next year. This is the time to experiment. This way, you get a better idea of team needs for next season.

,
Mitch

I would not mind seeing Bailey take Vanek's spot after he is traded. At least for the rest of this season. See what a Bailey-JT-Okposo line can do.

With younger , cheaper and hungrier forward prospects making their way onto the roster, I would think Bailey would be feeling some heat.

 

[Hip Of Rick*]

I thought this was supposed to be a fantasy LW for the 1st line. Bailey would rank someplace from 60-90 for my fantasy LW for the 1st line

 

[YearlyLottery]

I thought this was supposed to be a fantasy LW for the 1st line. Bailey would rank someplace from 60-90 for my fantasy LW for the 1st line

Vanek

 

[mitchy22]

KO goes to the front of the net and he scored 4 goals in 48 games with Bailey

Like I said before...a great playmaker would aid guys like grabner and KO in scoring goals. Great playmakers don't need great goal scorers to produce. The only hope Bailey has at producing is if he plays with JT and gets carried and he can chip in here and there.

The guys got 100 A in 400 games. He can make a decent first pass, can simplify the game, but he certainly not a great play maker. In order to be a play maker...you make plays.

I haven't seen him playing much with Grabner. But if I'm missing something...and I watch 99% of their games...but Grabner is also having his worst goal scoring season.

Never seen so many guys back/defend/promote a guy who has done little to nothing in the way of production. Getting married to a guy like Bailey could be a disaster...just a tease always leaving you wanting more.

On a separate note more on topic...would love to see Evander kane. I still think there could be a deal with Nielsen +

We both agree on Evander Kane, so that's good at least.

Bailey has played some of his best hockey when on lines with KO. I'm talking over the course of Bailey's career here. "Grabner?" was a rhetorical question. How many goalscorers does this team have? Grabner also slots in the same spot that Bailey has shown the most promise at, though Bailey is a player that has played all three forward positions and often with not a guy who would go near the front of the net nor a goalscorer in sight.

Is last season so long ago for us to forget the production Bailey had towards the end of it? That was a good 15-20 game stretch of playing with better players that brought us into the postseason. I'm not married to Bailey being on the team, I'm simply suggesting that he hasn't been used correctly and it's idiotic that we haven't tried harder to get the most out of him when you consider the contract we gave him.

People were clamoring for KO to get traded like crazy around here. I've pretty much supported him his entire career here and my posting history even placed his ceiling in production right about where he's going to hit. I'm not giving up on Bailey, because he's more talented than he's been allowed to be here. Should he have found a way to be more productive? Yes. Have we placed him in a position where he should be productive? Rarely.

If Bailey plays next to JT or Nelson at center (without Clutterbuck on the other wing), he'll be fine. How much will he produce? I have no idea, but we'll at least answer that question. He's a complementary player, not a guy that needs to be carried, but someone who needs to be on a line where he can play to his strengths.

To finish on topic for a change, you can find posts of me hoping for Evander Kane for JT's LW back in 2012 (and I had KO listed on his right at that time.)

,
Mitch

 

[islesfan66]

I'm pretty sure if the isles had 1 more Loss they would've been able to pick landeskog, I'm a huge fan of his.
that said
landeskog
evander kane