Reading Kevin Kurz’s article from yesterday I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach.
In the article Kurz mentions icing a fourth line of Torres-Smith-Brown. For the love of god, no. That’s a trainwreck on paper, there’s no need to make it come to life in 3D. Now, in context for what Kurz was saying, the line exists because John Scott isn’t expected to be brought back into the fold, but that doesn’t make it any better.
If you scan the rosters of the Cup Finals teams, and the Conference Finals rosters, you won’t find a line that looks like Raffi Torres, Ben Smith and Mike Brown. Big red flag.
A worry, though, is that the Pete DeBoer veterans-over-youth theory gives that thought an extended look. I like DeBoer and I think he’s a good coach. I also think coaches, like players, learn from mistakes and that he will continue to grow as a coach and not ice that type of line – but the doubt will be there until the puck drops and Petey eases my mind.
One way to avoid this is to give him clear-as-day better options. That’s where Wilson comes in. He may or may not have, depending on which journalist you choose to believe, have done something similar with Burish. Adam Burish was horrible and he ended up in the minors. That’s what should happen with Brown immediately. I’d say Torres as well but I’d also say the Sharks haven’t seen enough of him in teal to despise him to the point of demotion. Someone will just have to push Torres aside manually.
I’ve ragged on Wilson and digitally fired him all season, but the Burish demotion was a very positive step in the right direction – he just never followed it up with anymore similar good decisions – so I do have hope that he seeks out more depth in the bottom six so that a disastrous fourth line never hits the ice.
Depth winger pick-ups could be players like Erik Condra or Patrick Eaves (yes I know Eaves played most of his time with Benn and Seguin). They don’t have to be fourth line players – the Sharks can pick up depth guys to push people further down the chart. Defense needs to be upgraded – non-negotiable – but so does the depth on this team. Covering your eyes for 5 minutes a game while your fourth line skates aimlessly around the ice is not a confident approach to success.
I’m not a fan of Ben Smith, but I’m willing to give him a chance if he plays with competent linemates – ones that may make appear to be better than he is. I’m fine with that. Everyone can’t be great.
Having Erik Condra and Patrick Eaves in the lineup over Mike Brown and Raffi Torres is a much better option. I’d prefer the Sharks continue to develop their talent versus rush them to the NHL – cough, Goodrow, cough – and having Condra and Eaves would allow for that to happen while insulating the bottom six better.
In today’s NHL you need effectiveness throughout the entire roster. There really is minimal room for slugs. If you don’t have that effectiveness, and you hope to win, then you need to go out and get it. With Pavelski, Thornton, Couture and Marleau (assuming his luck turns around) the Sharks really don’t need another high-end top six player. It’d be nice, but the defence and depth need to be resolved with more importance.
What say you on Eaves and Condra? Remember, I’m not saying this overrides the need for defence – so don’t waste your breathe screaming we need a defender. I’m not down playing that, just creating conversation for other issues.
Thanks for reading.