Quoting: Wildwinswhen
Wow, that's a good one. I'm just reading tea leaves here, but I think putting Rask at LW, where he's never played, was a signal that he won't be Fiala's center this year.
Also, I didn't know what to make of the Pitlick claiming. If we want a 4th line guy, we have Rau, Cramarossa, and Dewar who could all be that guy.
Putting Rask at LW for the preseason means nothing. They already know what he is as a center. The team is looking for a better center than Rask to play with Fiala. They can't do that if Rask is playing center for the preseason games.
None of Rau, Cramarossa, and Dewar should be in the NHL as a regular. A 13F (Rau) or a callup (Dewar), maybe.
The team currently has 4 12/13F quality FWDs in Bjugstad, Gaudreau, Pitlick, and Rask looking like they will be on the gameday roster. None of the prospects have shown they are better options than those players either. There aren't any free agents left to sign (maybe a guy that doesn't get a PTO elsewhere?). So waiver pickups and throwing stuff at the wall is really the only way to try and improve the team.
The same goes for the 3RD spot. None of the players vying for that spot have been impressive. If I had to pick a bottom pair right now I'd take Lizotte and Kulikov out of that group.
The team just has a lot of meh players and nobody stepping up to take their spot.