I'd say all three are ready

smith is def making the team.

Boqvist should, remains to be seen if he can play top 6 tho

Anderson proved he could but unfortunately was injured, and based on competition may be squeezed out espeicially if boqvist makes the team, could be a scratch or 3rd-4th line

the competition for the last two spots are pretty much hayden 4th anderson 3-4th rooney 4th bastian 4th (did okay on first line tho) and boqvist (2nd 3rd 4th) ( maybe toss in a vote for mcleoud too)

Smith makes the roster. Boqvist gets 9 game tryout. Bastian/Mcleod (if not delt) fight for last spot.

So does that mean guys like Coleman and Wood get pushed down to fourth line mins?

More than likely it'll be Wood on 4th line and Coleman on 3rd line

3rd- 4th likely...its plausible they show up and play 2nd line with hughes/bratt or hughes/palms. but travis and coleman tg are a phenomenal shut down line, wood can flank them or play 4th line with zacha. I would rather try zacha on a line with bratt and hughes and see if playing with people who have the same/greater vision as him pays off. I think zachas primed to break out and I hope we dont bury him in the lineup. I also hope we extend him long term so we can lock up another center at a very affordable cap hit. I'm not on the zachas a bust train at all

I'm with you on this one. If you look at the players Zacha has spent the majority of his nhl career with it'll tell you why he hasn't put up great numbers yet. On top of that, he's hardly played any time on the powerplay. I think a move to the wing would be great for him , it'll take some of the pressure off him and it will give him the opportunity to play with some elite players in Hughes and Hischier.

the major piece is that he was drafted for his offensive skill, big shot, vision, playmaking. we've seen none of this, and hes proven a regular and capable defensive center and elite pker. once that offensive talent shows up this sky is the limit, there is major upside with him.

Gus for Mc and a second, not the 2nd
Or
Move Mc and Vats + for a better leftie D

Coleman and Zajac are so great at shutting down the Crosbys and Ovechkins of the hockey world, that you need to keep them together. They played really well with Wood on the wing and he adds an extra element of speed to that line.





I agree with you guys. I think a line of Zacha-Hughes-Bratt to start the season would be very interesting, especially at home when Hynes can give them sheltered minutes against the other teams bottom pairings. That being said, I am still hoping that Boqvist cracks the top 6 and we can have Hallsy-Hischier-Palms as our 1st line and Boqvist-Hughes-Bratt as our 2nd. If that happened you could slot Zacha with Zajac and Coleman, and have Wood-Mcleod-Simmonds fill out the 4th line. Zacha is so good defensively, I think him, Zajac, and Coleman would be nightmarish to play against for other teams. Our 1st, and 2nd lines would be as fast as any other in the league.

Gus for Mueller + 2021 2nd

Mc + Vats for Nurse?!

Yes and yes
Nurse will need more but the Mc bros in Edm might be fun!