Flowah
Registered User
- Nov 30, 2009
- 10,249
- 547
With the way Weiss looked against Toronto, it'd be hard to take anyone out for him. I don't think we have a problem with too many top9 forwards, though. We definitely have
Datsyuk
Zetterberg
Franzen
Nyquist
Tatar
Sheahan
in our top9. I'd include Jurco because of potential, so we're up to seven. after that...maybe Helm and Abdelkader? But they seem to be top9 guys either because they fill a particular role (they carry the piano or whatever metaphor Babcock is using this year), or because we're just too thin to not have at least one of them in the top9.
I know I'm a broken record with this, but my ideal lineup still has Helm and Abdelkader on the fourth line with Glendening.
I agree with you completely about Helm and Abby being on the 4th line. Even without Weiss, if we split up Z/D, we have 3 very capable centers to push Helm down there. They've always been on my 4th line in ideal lineups because of how deep it makes the team.
I just also think that neither Helm nor Abby are not perfectly good third liners. In terms of production and skillset, they are at the very least average third liners around the league. Jurco is as well. That does give us 9-10 top9 players. Add another if you include Nestrasil who I think is making a very good case for it. He's got the size and the skill and he seems to know what to do out there. He's not scoring yet but he's only 5 games in.
Hell, I think even Pulks would fit in nicely right now in the top9. He's doing that thing that Nyquist and Jurco did where they go PPG in the AHL after being kept off the big club. 3 goals 4 points in 4 games. He looked good enough to me in the pre-season. Get him a decent puck distributor like Sheahan and he could do some damage.