Tuch will be hurt at least to start the year

I don't see any reason why not. The only reason why I don't think Patrick would be on the Stone line is because it takes away from Stephenson, who has been a powerful offensive force, just to add another potential two-way player to a line with one of the best two-way forwards, if that makes sense. I may have worded it weird, but it checks out in my head.

Frankly, I'm having trouble figuring out what his role on the team actually is. If he improves, he adds depth to a team with great depth. Maybe, he replaces Tuch for the first part of the season until he returns, but then hopefully brings two-way game to the bottom six.

For a very good team, the center position is a pathetic...

It drives me nuts…

I get what you’re saying, I’m just thinking maybe Stone can bring him along and show him how to be that dominant defensive forward so even if the scoring never gets there he can at least be a Danault-type centre

I would be completely fine with that. I think that they have a weird window and moving Patrick into the center of Patches and Stone may worsen that line and ultimately take away from their offensive output, which has been inconsistent when it matters already. A move like that could work out in the long run, I'm just not sure how long the window is past next year with Patches, Piets, and a couple other guys aging out of their primes. It's why the Patrick trade didn't entirely make sense to me. It's either gonna be really good or irrelevant in the long run.