Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
I would still much rather see him play on the second line, with first unit PP duties of course. The Flames need to give Tkachuk room to finally expand offensively with the teams best players. If it doesn't work out, fine, but at least you tried. James Neal is going to pot 25 goals alongside players like Lindholm and Backlund anyway but Tkachuk may very well evolve into a 40/40 guy for the next number of years if given the opportunity.
For me, this is a move the Flames made to provide Tkachuk the opportunity to step up while not taking anything away from the Backlund line.
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Yeah, you gotta try a few options. I have zero doubt they'll experiment a lot in preseason and early in the season with various combinations, see if various combos pop. There is certainly merit to the idea of putting Tkachuk on a more offensive-oriented line. In any event, he will certainly be a staple on the Powerplay, if he sticks with 3m or with say Backlund and Lindholm with high defensive responsibilities 5 on 5.