What do you do with him?
You put him back on that top line with Lindholm and Toffoli, and give them a little more leash.That is our best chance at a legitimate "high octane" line! They didnt' really mesh early, but Huberdeau came out flat; frankly Lindholm and Toffoli took a while to get going this year too! With Lindholm and Toffoli finding their games again, it's time to get that line rolling. Give our best players the chance to gel, getting those three clicking on a line would likely alleviate our Power Play woes as well.
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Mang and Dube always seem to get something going when they are on the ice together, and Kadri would add the physicality to carry the play with two trigger men who can pounce on rebounds.
Backlund has been a major key to developing both Dube and Mangipane, I think he could provide the right guidance for Pelletier, and Pelletier would bring some offensive spark to that third line.
Ruzicka should be centering that 4th line, he's put up 20 points in 39 games this year, and he can carry the play! Plus I think he could learn a lot from Lucic!
I know we aren't getting the best out of Huberdeau at the moment, but he's also been playing his off wing. Prior to that he was playing with Lucic, (All love to him) but Lucic is definitely a 4th liner at his best.
It feels like we droped a fully tuned F1 engine into my Focus! Could it work? Sure? Is it needlessly tedious? Absolutely! And it is definitely not the most effective use of the engine. I think that the talent is there, it's just not being used effectively. Maybe this is Sutter making him see what it's like defending either side of the ice, so he never feels out of position? I'm just convinced that regardless of tactics, it's time to get our best offensive weapon back on the top line. He's going to need that time to adjust for a Playoff run and it's looking like it might be a sprint to the finish from here on.
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