Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
How shocked would you be if Ritchie spent time on the top 3 lines this year?
I would actually be shocked if he didn't.
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I would be shocked if the Flames never had an injury, suspension, or game misconduct penalty on their top three lines all season, and therefore were able to go the whole season without using a 4th-line forward on a higher line.
Last year Ritchie was used intermittently as a top-6 RW because the team absolutely refused to move Lindholm back to the wing and all the other options, except Mangiapane, blew chunks. Ritchie wasn't noticeably worse than Leivo, Nordstrom, or Simon in that role. If Tkachuk really is being converted to RW full-time, as it currently appears, that is much less likely to happen again.
I fault the Flames' management and coaches for keeping Lindholm at C come hell or high water. That not only made RW a wasteland, it pushed Bennett out of his logical roster spot (the one they had previously promised to try him at) and ended in pushing him right off the team. It may have maximized Lindholm's performance for the year, but it did far more harm than good to the team as a whole. I would have told Lindholm, ‘So sorry, but we need at least one good player on the right side and you're it. We have other guys who can play centre.’