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