Only 7 should be more..
Archibald,Gaunce,Grandlund,Gagner,Leipsic,Motte,Goldobin.
I would add Hutton only because i dont think Green is a fan.
Eriksson just because,,and even Tanev,stay healthy or stay home...
I agree about Hutton, I like him a lot. Although he needs to improve and work harder I think he isn't that bad and he still has a lot of upside if he actually focuses on being a professional, assuming reports that he isn't are true.
However, I disagree with a few things here. On the topic of Gaunce though I don't think he's on thin ice at all. Not only do I think he's a very underrated player as the objective of hockey is to score more than your opponents, Gaunce is extremely effective defensively. If the team gets 20 goals for and 18 goals against with a player A and the team gets 5 goals for and 2 goals against with player B, player B is more valuable with a +3 rather than a +2. Obviously ice time comes into play, and something that is overlooked is the entertainment value for the fans that player A provides more of, but for a defensive player it's fine. Gaunce is not only effective defensively, but I think Green actually recognizes it. There is a reason Gaunce gets huge D-zone starts and it's not just because he doesn't score. Granlund isn't effective offensively either and he doesn't get the tough deployment Gaunce does. Green has identified Gaunce as an excellent defensive player so I do not think he's on thin ice. Even if you disagree that Gaunce is an effective player, based on the deployment I think Green disagrees so he still would not be on thin ice.
In regards to Eriksson he is an effective player. He isn't a 6.5m player but he does produce at 38 point pace over 50 games and I don't think he got the powerplay time or linemates Baertschi did. His first season here was absolutely brutal but last season he was an effective player. It's just a case of his contract being extremely inflated for what he provides, but he's not getting traded with that contract and he's not bad enough to be sitting in the press box. He can play safely in the middle 6.
Leipsic and Goldobin are interesting. They both ooze offensive talent but oh my god are they f***ing bad defensively. Especially Leipsic who doesn't even seem to make an effort defensively unlike Goldobin who tries and fails. I think they will get a full season as they'll be fun to watch and their defensive game can be improved and maybe they'll put up enough points to somewhat mask their shortcomings. I do think Leipsic has a higher chance of sitting in the box though as coaches aren't likely to tolerate him coasting. I'm actually very excited to watch Goldobin this year as it's his boom or bust year. If he plays with the right linemates, for example someone like Pettersson who has the offensive ability to match along with great defensive play, he could turn some heads. Obviously he may not but I think that's a pretty low bar to be considered on thin ice.
The issue with Leipsic is just roster space, but I would really like to give him a shot especially if Dahlen doesn't make the roster.
Virtanen should be on there. Only reason he isn't is because he was 6th overall pick and a local kid.
Honestly I really disagree with this. I absolutely hated the pick and I still do. However, Virtanen actually played well defensively last year and IIRC was one of our better defensive forwards. On top of that I think the last maybe 30 games of the season he turned some heads. He wasn't finishing like he needs to but he definitely took a step in the right direction and I'm very hopeful he'll come out of camp at least where he left off or even better. I think right now he's absolutely fine as a bottom 6 player, which obviously isn't where we want him to be based on his draft position and who we passed on, but again doesn't really qualify as thin ice. Given Sutter's unique "talent" to be a 10-15g guy literally no matter where in the lineup he plays whether he's with elite offensive guys on the top line or in a defensive role on the 3rd line, I think a 3rd line of Eriksson-Sutter-Virtanen could be a very solid, albeit extremely overpaid, 3rd line with a lot of potential to break out and get some odd man rushes while playing very sound defensively.
Gritty is not a word I would use to describe Granlund.
To his credit I think he tries to be, he just can't. The number of times I see him getting shoved around between whistles and at the end of periods is very interesting. Maybe he gets under people's skin though I'm not sure how. He is very weak on the puck though and doesn't seem to actually get anybody with anything.
Because he's nowhere near as bad as some like to make out on this forum?
Weak defensively, weak along the boards, and underwhelming offensively. Sure last season was bad for him but during his tenure here he has been gifted butter soft matchups and lots of power play time. Maybe he can put it together but I think he's definitely on thin ice because if he doesn't show some significant improvement he doesn't belong in the NHL.
Gaunce and Archibald are good 4th liners.
Gaunce is a great 4th liner, Archibald is okay/fringe. I don't think he brings the toughness and intensity someone in his position should and I don't think he's anything special on either side of the puck although he's not downright bad. With the bizarre acquisitions of Beagle and Roussel he is made redundant by similar players with insane contracts we would probably have to pay to unload. He could easily be a 4th liner/13th forward somewhere in the NHL, but I doubt he fits on this roster.
Baertschi - Horvat - Boeser
Dahlen/Pettersson - Pettersson/Dahlen - Goldobin
Eriksson - Sutter - Virtanen
Roussel - Beagle - Gaunce
Boucher/Leipsic/Motte/whoever for 13th forward if we have to, though I'd like to keep 7 D but I would like to see what Leipsic can do. Boucher is probably done. He did score at a 40 pt pace 1 year but has sucked ever since and I would be absolutely shocked if he made it out of camp without a trip to Utica. I doubt he even gets claimed on waivers.
If we do run with with 7 D split time for Gaudette and Gadjovich or whatever waiver exempt player as needed could be good if they play well at camp and Utica, but I would definitely want to alternate them as it won't be healthy for them to be sitting out for any significant length. I'm very happy to give our young guys maintenance days from time to time to slot some other kids in the lineup who deserve some NHL time. We don't need Dahlen/Pettersson/Goldobin/Boeser/Horvat/Virtanen etc to play 82. 70 would be absolutely fine and probably very good for them and obviously we'll have injuries to fit them in. Especially if we dump a guy like Del Zotto, Gudbranson (lol) or Stetcher.
I'd like to see something like this, although Dahlen especially is a question mark for camp as he might spend some time in Utica. I really like Baertschi but he doesn't belong on a 1st line. If Dahlen really does impress at camp I'd like to see him with Horvat and Boeser instead. I don't think we should staple players to each other like Dahlen/Pettersson just because they've played together before, players can find chemistry with other players. It's a good thing we moved Burrows up the lineup instead of keeping him with Kesler/Hansen. If Dahlen and Leipsic show well I wouldn't mind trading him for an early 2nd or him + a 3rd or something for a late 1st. I suck at gauging the value of picks, but we did trade a 2nd for him before he solidified himself as a 2nd liner in the NHL so I would assume his value is higher.
Hutton - Tanev
Edler - Gudbranson
Del Zotto - Stetcher
Biega
Gudbranson doesn't deserve it but he's on the roster and he won't be playing 15 minutes on the 3rd pairing. Edler can cover for him while Hutton played his best hockey with Tanev. Realistically though we will see Hutton paired with Gudbranson and Hutton will take the heat for constantly having to cover for Gudbranson's ineptitude. It's a damn shame we will never trade him as his value around the league is still ridiculously high for what an, in my opinion, fringe NHL player provides. He's a #6/7 guy from what I've seen and is seen as a top 4 D around the league. I'd take McCann back for him in a heartbeat who's numbers are artificially low due to the C depth ahead of him leaving him to play with 3rd liners and no PP time. McCann's numbers are actually good considering his deployment IMO. Still though we have a lack of RD which makes it tough to fill the spot.
Del Zotto doesn't deserve it either but he's not going anywhere. Biega isn't waiver exempt and this guy doesn't deserve to ride the bus in Utica when we have someone like Gudbranson in the roster. If someone like Juolevi or even Pouliot/McEneny/Sautner look good I'd like to see if we could pump Del Zotto's stats with soft matchups and PP time and ship him out. He has a reputation around the league as a good offensive player and last year at the start of the season there were articles about him being our #1 guy. Does he have a NTC?
I really want to like Stetcher, but I don't know. He tries so hard, but he just isn't good. Towards the end of the season he started taking more chances with the puck and rushing it up the ice, which I really like as it's what he needs to do to make it in the NHL. Still though we have a depth problem on the right side and Biega isn't a full time #6 guy.