Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
With Peters telegraphing his third line of Lucic-Ryan-Mangiapane (he says "middle six" a bunch of times, so clearly not 4th line- but I am actually excited to see this one; all the players are just lesser versions of Boston's first line of Lucic-Krejci-Marchand; so hopefully they gel just as well!) it has made me start to think about Bennett's role. I am hopeful that the way he played to end the season and into the playoffs has made Peter's think a top 6 role is necessary for him. Otherwise we will all be frustrated to watch Jankowski-bennett spinning their tires together on a fourth line this year.
Tkachuk-Backlund-Bennett actually sounds pretty good. I feel like we don't often see Tkachuk-Bennett together and I am not entirely sure why.
In this scenario though, Frolik is definitely given the short end of the stick and dropped to the 4th line. I used to think that we needed another top 6 forward but if we do acquire one, it's definitely going to be at the cost of Bennett performing this season.
Frolik-Jankowski-Dube/Czarnik could be a pretty decent 4th line, but it's pretty expensive. I am starting to warm up to the idea of getting rid of Frolik for peanuts.
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Ya this is what I've been worried about too. Hopefully they move on from the three M line regardless of whether Frolik is here or not. I think Bennett has earned that spot for extended periods. Also I think Frolik's presence with Jankowski and Dube on the 4th line would be valuable. And honestly that line wouldn't even be the worst third line in the league let alone a 4th line so it could all work out. Would probably need to move Czarnik and put Valimaki on LTIR to make it all happen but it's possible.