Quoted this from the Santorelli thread, but figured it was more appropriate here.
You'd almost just like to see him slotted in with Booth and Hansen to create a speed line. But given that that's also why I was hoping Schroeder would win the 3C spot, it's not a huge step up, unless he really outplays JS. If so, it's a coup, because his cap hit is roughly half of what JS's will likely be.
IMO people need to re-imagine our line deployments.
Sedins: deployed as your typical first / scoring line, hopefully with less defensive responsibility than last year.
Kesler: deployed as a two-way checking line against other team's best players. If he plays them to a standstill, perfect, if he wins that battle, gravy.
3rd line: deployed like a 2nd scoring line whoever the centre is, this gets easier matchups. Hence I like Schroeder or Santorelli or a similar player here.
4th line: Your typical bottom 6 grind line. Dump and chase, waste minutes, maybe chip in a goal here and there.
Secondary scoring doesn't have to come from the de-facto second line and if deploying your second group helps you win by neutralizing the other team's scorers while leaving yours free, it's a recipe for success. This whole "not quite good enough for a top 6 role and not suited for 3rd line checking minutes" assessment of a whole slough of players creates significant market inefficiencies.
Very well said, and I completely agree. And as you said, a player like Booth would have to be on that third/speed line. Having Hansen on that line is intriguing as well. Maybe something like:
Sedins-Kassian: Top scoring line(Kassian needs to be in the top 9, doesn't fit the speed or Kesler line)
Higgins-Kesler-Burrows: Great line to go head to head against top lines and score as well.
Booth-Schroeder/Santorelli-Hansen: Speed line to help provide some secondary scoring
???-Richardson-???(whoever wins these two spots out of camp, I'd like to see Archibald, Blomstrand, etc be given a good look and fair chance to beat out Weise and Sestito). Some decent 4th line options still available as FA's plus there's always a decent bottom 6 player or two that gets waived after training camps that could also be made available. Give Horvat, Shinkaruk another year in the CHL, give Jensen some more time in the AHL as well
Defense looks solid to me, I really would like to see Corrado make the team(I feel really comfortable with a group of Edler, Garrison, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Tanev and Corrado, 3LHD, 3RHD and a good mix of youth and vets).
and pretty much ruined any chance Schroeder had to contribute offensively.
