Tippett shouldn't be on the team next year. We are no longer in a position to rush our prospects, there is nothing wrong with playing another year in the AHL to let him adjust before jumping to the big league. Give him a few call ups through the year if he does well in camp and AHL, but he absolutely should not be on the starting roster. We don't need more scoring on this team right now, we need more experienced and disciplined players.
I get that adding a top-4 dman may be difficult, but it should be a priority right after bringing in a goalie. Coach Q should get these guys playing better and new goalie will help, but is anyone comfortable going into next year with Ek, Yandle, Math, Weeg/Pysyk as our top 4? If you are comfortable with that, I suggest going back to watch our games this year. Sure Math may bounce back, but if he doesn't then we are up **** creek without a paddle. All our dmen are playing 1 slot higher than where they should be (Ek is a #2, Yands a #3, Math a #4, etc.). We obviously won't be adding a #1 guy, but we have to add a top-4 guy if we want to be serious next year.
I don't want to lose hoff, but I don't see how we keep him if we sign panarin and want to add a dman which is more important than having more scoring. Packaging the 1st + hoff makes the most sense, it could even be a 3-way deal with someone like wpg since they don't need hoff, but could be looking to replace trouba.
