The 4th line

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Our 4th line is an absolute mess. 100% our biggest liability.

Maroon has been "meh" It's a small sample size but IMO Cirelli has been better on the PP and will overtake him on the 1st unit.
I doubt Maroon is going anywhere, but for him to be at all effective we need the right players for him to play with. This current combo is so far from working. Obviously Ceddy coming back will help things.

What other options do we have to improve it?

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[JoVel]

Paquette coming back could* help.

*could instead of should because we all know how good he tends to be when coming back after an injury......

 

[Boltswin]

Witkowski looked motivated in the preseason. I don’t know if he’s backed off now that he made the team, if now that the competition is better he is not as effective, or if there is a lack of chemistry currently. I like the idea of him as a forward but if he isn’t playing physical (not necessarily fighting) then we don’t really need him.

Paquette injury kind of worries me. He played great (relatively) last season. Hopefully he comes back, and stays, healthy.

As far as suggestions, I don’t know. What do we need (not necessarily want) from our 4th line? I agree we need to find a place for Maroon. We can’t have him dragging his line down, but I think he can be effective if we give him (and Coop) time to find his role.

Maybe it’s still too early to call this iteration of the 4th line a bust.

 

[The Macho King]

I liked Verhaeges speed. Drew a penalty and had some looks. Paquette on the line and moving CV to the wing might make it effective.

Witkowski is useless but that's not shocking.

 

[Sky04]

Considering we ran a 4th line of Miller-Paquette-Callahan last year, it was pretty clear we were going to see a serious downgrade there. Looks like a traditional 4th line to me, lots of energy, some offensive chances but absolutely no cycle or possession game compared to last years 4th line. Maroon is kind of just a shooter/front net guy, CV is very north-south and Witkowski's just there to bang bodies and drive the net.

I'd like to see Martel called up playing with Paquette and maybe try CV on the other wing.

Verhaege-Paquette-Martel

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Witkowski looked motivated in the preseason. I don’t know if he’s backed off now that he made the team, if now that the competition is better he is not as effective, or if there is a lack of chemistry currently. I like the idea of him as a forward but if he isn’t playing physical (not necessarily fighting) then we don’t really need him.

Paquette injury kind of worries me. He played great (relatively) last season. Hopefully he comes back, and stays, healthy.

As far as suggestions, I don’t know. What do we need (not necessarily want) from our 4th line? I agree we need to find a place for Maroon. We can’t have him dragging his line down, but I think he can be effective if we give him (and Coop) time to find his role.

Maybe it’s still too early to call this iteration of the 4th line a bust.

Mostly that hes just not built for regular winger duty. Hes often out of position and can't seem to line people up well for hits, which also further slows him and/or puts him out of position.
Love the guy but he should really be rotating D.

 

[JFleegs]

We dont necessarily need the 4th line to be a scoring line, we need a line that can dig in and cycle down below wear down the defense with physicality. VC doesnt fit on the 4th line. When Pac gets back it will be better.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Carty V brings the talent, Paq the centering and Maroon the grit. If we need more sand paper we have Witko as an option but he shouldn’t be a regular.

 

[AndreRoy]

Witkowski might be dropped from his starting role at some point but I don’t see him getting sent to Syracuse unless his play declines to the point where he’s an actual liability on the ice as opposed to a minimal impact plug. He was signed to a two-year deal for a reason: next season we’re going to have an extremely difficult if not impossible time retaining all of our key RFAs and having a guy making $700k who can play both wing and defenseman allows us to have one fewer player on the roster without significantly impacting effective depth (if we ever have enough injuries where Witko’s services would be required at both positions simultaneously we’ll just bring somebody up from Syracuse.) We’ll already be running a 22-man roster when Paquette comes back and we’re going to have to do it again next year; so long as Witko can be relied upon to fill an occasional lineup spot without costing us games his versatility and cheap price make him invaluable to us.

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

What about

Volkov Paquette Maroon.

Lets be honest Verhaeghe isn't really 4th line material.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Witkowski might be dropped from his starting role at some point but I don’t see him getting sent to Syracuse unless his play declines to the point where he’s an actual liability on the ice as opposed to a minimal impact plug. He was signed to a two-year deal for a reason: next season we’re going to have an extremely difficult if not impossible time retaining all of our key RFAs and having a guy making $700k who can play both wing and defenseman allows us to have one fewer player on the roster without significantly impacting effective depth (if we ever have enough injuries where Witko’s services would be required at both positions simultaneously we’ll just bring somebody up from Syracuse.) We’ll already be running a 22-man roster when Paquette comes back and we’re going to have to do it again next year; so long as Witko can be relied upon to fill an occasional lineup spot without costing us games his versatility and cheap price make him invaluable to us.

I'd be pretty pissed if Witkowski was on the roster all this year and next if I were a prospect. Volkov, Stephens, Raddysh and so on all could do much better than Witkowski right now. Witkowski is beyond on plug and shouldn't be on the ice at all. Syracuse still doesn't have a captain, Witkowski needs to take the role he was supposed to have like 4 years ago.

Verheaghe - Paquette - Maroon is a much better line on both sides of the ice. Verheaghe can attempt to use his playmaking ability to get Paquette and Maroon going offensively.

 

[HoseEmDown]

What about

Volkov Paquette Maroon.

Lets be honest Verhaeghe isn't really 4th line material.

Either is Volkov

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Either is Volkov

Disagree

 

[HoseEmDown]

Disagree

How? He's not a defensive first player, he will throw hits but isn't really that physical. He's a skill player first and foremost.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Either is Volkov

Forgot about Volkov. I know hes injured but I wonder what the plan is when hes healthy.

 

[HoseEmDown]

Forgot about Volkov. I know hes injured but I wonder what the plan is when hes healthy.

See if he can carry Syracuse. He should have a great chance to be the top offensive player down there. He needs to make them call him up with his play down there because without injuries I see no reason for him to be up. With Palat looking like his old self, Joseph looking strong as well there's just no need for him right now nor a spot in the top 9.

 

[Rschmitz]

How? He's not a defensive first player, he will throw hits but isn't really that physical. He's a skill player first and foremost.

Considering CV is on the fourth line and has the same limitations, I don't think that's the limiting factor. The other bit you said about him needing to be a top offensive player in Syracuse first, is what is holding him back. I'd still easily take him over Witkowski

 

[Master P]

Whats the word on Volkov?

 

[AndreRoy]

I'd be pretty pissed if Witkowski was on the roster all this year and next if I were a prospect. Volkov, Stephens, Raddysh and so on all could do much better than Witkowski right now. Witkowski is beyond on plug and shouldn't be on the ice at all. Syracuse still doesn't have a captain, Witkowski needs to take the role he was supposed to have like 4 years ago.

Verheaghe - Paquette - Maroon is a much better line on both sides of the ice. Verheaghe can attempt to use his playmaking ability to get Paquette and Maroon going offensively.

I’m not saying he needs to be on the ice all the time, but his cheap price tag and versatility make him ideal as a press box resident who can spell both our wingers and our defensemen as needed, both for general maintenance and as short term injuries occur (for longer term or multiple injuries we simply bring somebody up from Syracuse.) But we need somebody on our roster who we don’t mind sitting most of the time and we also need to be able to run with a 22-man roster; Witko is better suited to the former than a prospect would be and he enables us to do the latter without hurting our effective depth.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

i think we we play the heavies having witko mix in is a great ideal not sure hate on maroon? the fourth line is playing awesome

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

How? He's not a defensive first player, he will throw hits but isn't really that physical. He's a skill player first and foremost.

He is more of a two way player then Verhaeghe who is struggling to keep in the line up

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

i think we we play the heavies having witko mix in is a great ideal not sure hate on maroon? the fourth line is playing awesome

The 4th line is not playing well at all. We will give it time, but it doesn't look promising

 

[ccman68]

I like both Verhaeghe and Maroon. They do well both ends of the ice. Paquette isn't anything special but it could be worse. Definitely an above average 4th line but compared to how great our other lines are it is a bit weak I guess.

 

[Rschmitz]

I like both Verhaeghe and Maroon. They do well both ends of the ice. Paquette isn't anything special but it could be worse. Definitely an above average 4th line but compared to how great our other lines are it is a bit weak I guess.

I don't agree, Paquette is what makes the 4th line tick. 13 goals from a fourth liner is nothing to scoff at from a guy who's main job is to grind.

 

[ccman68]

I don't agree, Paquette is what makes the 4th line tick. 13 goals from a fourth liner is nothing to scoff at from a guy who's main job is to grind.

Last year definitely was solid for him. The 3 years before that were pretty bad though so I feel like last year might have been the outlier. Hopefully he proves me wrong though.