Great article. The fear of Brouwer dragging down Bennett for another year is real and I would rather start the year with Brouwer having to work his way back up the lineup than with Bennett (ie. Fourth line).
Where I'm torn, and where I hope Gulutzen is bold enough to experiment, is to graduate Tkachuk from being the third wheel with Backlund and Frolik to being paired with Bennett. It creates balance, opens up a slot on that second line for someone else to learn the ropes (I have Lazar's defense in mind) and allows Tkachuk and Bennett to take their next steps.
Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland
Lazar - Backlund - Frolik
Tkachuk - Bennett - Versteeg
Stajan - Jankowski - Brouwer
Hathaway - Hamilton
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