try this next game

Spezza won't be as effective playing consistent 2nd line minutes.

Ritchie and Simmonds have to go. I get they bring grit and character to the team but they are not effective on the ice at all. Reminds me of the Babcock days when Martin was finally scratched for Kapanen and it seemed to change the entire make-up of the team. With Keefe I didn't think we'd have this problem of stubbornly putting in ineffective slow veterans whose only merit for making the team was because they could throw a check or drop the gloves. If anything have Simmonds be the extra forward so he's still travelling with the team.

I'd also like to see Kase in the top 6, and Ho-Sang with Tavares and Bunting for a game or 2. Put somewhere there who is desperate to play and remain with the team, and demote Marner until he realizes making the pretty play and setting up Matthews isn't priority #1

Simmonds has 1 goal 2 assists so yeah, that's pretty effective especially on this team where he's only had under 9 minutes other than one game where he had almost 11. Your hate on simmonds is silly and irrational. Ho-sang isn't even signed with the team so he doesn't have a contract. What they should do IMO is this.
Kerfoot / Matthews / Marner
Bunting / JT / Nylander (it's working don't mess with it)
Engvall / Kampf / Simmonds
Ritchie / Spezza / Kase

Trade Reilly for a big defensive D who can skate, with Brodie being left handed it doesn't matter if they play right or left they just need to be really good defensively so they can let Brodie do his thing. That or give Holl some time with Brodie to see if they can make it work, it's not like they have much to lose. Put Sandin with Muzz and see how that does. Try a Dermott / Liljegrin bottom pair.

Also Simmonds is 4th on the team in points.

The #1 priority has to be getting to the net for this team. They so rarely get garbage goals. Considering Simmonds is one of the only guys who does this regularly, sitting him doesn't make sense. Hell I'd give him a shot with Matthews for a game just to see if he can do something. Ritchie certainly isn't getting the job done. Marner also needs to be taken off Matthews wing. Every year he starts the same way and he ended this way in the playoffs as well. Trying to be the goal scorer and it directly hurts the team. He's wearing thin with me.

Rielly isn't the problem and he doesn't hold back Brodie. I'd expect few games like the last two where defensively the team sucks. What they need is to get scoring and that isn't going to come until the players decide they want to go to the net more. Such a perimeter team right now.