In addition to playing a bigger role in the d-zone, just look at who is on his right wing. He went from Lindholm, who led the team in goals last year and is likely our most dynamic, complete forward, to... Dominik Simon? Josh Leivo?
Ward can talk about giving the line more O-zone starts to exploit matchups, but the revolving door on the other wing makes it hard to do that. Plus, Johnny is more adept in transition which means you need guys who can keep pace and attack at their blue line. They’re not a cycle, grind it out line like Tkachuk/Backlund/Mangiapane.
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