Hopefully Canes can get Ward's salary off the books at some point and use that $6M to fill in the top 9 forwards gaps you mention.
I don't love Tlusty on the top line, I think ideally they have a playmaker in the Whitney/Stillman mode to set up Staal and Semin who are at their best when they are shooting/scoring. However this is not their biggest problem.
I think JStaal is really a 3rd line center. He excelled at this with the Penguins and I think ultimately the Canes will have the best and highest paid 3rd line center in the league.
The Canes have to be hoping that Lindholm develops into the #2C. I have not been overly impressed by what he has shown so far, but he is young and still developing. I think his development is key to the Canes future success as I see him and Skinner being paired together going forward on an exciting 2nd line.
I think the Canes top 9 forwards needs more size. There is no true power forward and I think one playing next to Skinner and Lindholm would be great.
They need Ruutu to step up and play next to JStaal and Gerbe. He has to be in the top 9 and productive for the Canes to make the playoffs this year. If he can't, he needs to be moved on or out as you can't pay $5M for a forward on 4th line.
I might be crazy but I still hold out hope for Boychuk. He has more offensive upside for sure than Nash/Dwyer/Bowman or any of the 4th line guys we have so I hope that at some point his 2 way game emerges and the Canes can slot him in the Top 9, maybe as Staal's LW. We need more guys with soft hands who can score.
Great blog Matt
- grubber
First, I agree with much of what you said. A few comments:
--There are other options, but ideal would be for Ruutu to be productive on either 2nd or 3rd line.
--I became a Boychuk fan this summer when he showed up in a bad situation with an absolutely wonderful attitude. He is making progress rounding out his game and being harder to play against when not playing offense, but he is still a player that probably needs to find his way onto a scoring line and produce to stick at the NHL level.
--For JStaal, I see him as more of a Patrice Bergeron type 2nd line center. His numbers really are not that far behind Bergeron especially if you make a small adjustment for the fact that Canes just don't have 2-way forwards for that checking line role. How Jokinen did not get a longer audition at RW on his line last year, I don't know.
