Off the bat

KK will be the 2C, not Staal

Gardiner will never play again

Bokk is MILES away from being NHL ready

Kukan and MoJo aren't needed... just call up some of the wolves.

You're about 1.5 high on DeAngelo.

With the extra cap, it's likely they try to bring Niederreiter back. He's been excellent with Staal and Fast on the 3rd line.

legit question : as a canes fan are you worried about next year center depth? mainly 2c and 3c. i feel staal's play is deterioating a bit and kk is still unproven. from the games i've watched KK has been very good as a 4c but was not that great jumping higher into the lineup (i know it was usually at LW and i dont think KK is much of a winger). I guess as habs we always waited for him to take the next step offensively and gave him all the opportunity last year and it never really came and he was dissapointing most of the year. I'm confident KK can eventually take the next step but i feel he is still struggling to generate offense against tougher match up. what are your feelings for next year?

Not at all. Staal's been better this year than he was in a lot of years before. He's not scoring as much, but he's never been a good scorer. He's one of the best defensive centers in the NHL, he controls the play, he's heavy on the forecheck, great in the dot, and he's 6'4. You can teach defense and faceoffs, you can't teach him to be a giant.

Kotkaniemi... I'm confident with KK. He had a spell in the top six as a C earlier this year when EVERYONE had covid and it was one of his best games of the season. If he's playing with someone like Teravainen who can help him when he's feeling under pressure and he's not centering like Necas and Jarvis as a line of children, then yeah, I'm confident. But I'd want someone with a lot of experience on his wing.

yeah, staal is a solid 3c no matter what for sure. It would definitly be smart to give him the best support possible. I'm excited to see what caroline is gonna be doing in the offseason.

Why did I believe Don Waddell was a good GM?

If you want multiple opinions on this, I will say I'm slightly worried, at least for next year. After that I am less worried

I think Staal + KK in our middle 6 next year will not give us enough offense. We went out to get Trocheck to create two offensively threatening lines up front. Staal is a great player but besides last year he hasn't been the biggest offensive threat recently. KK was great when he was pushed up the line up as a result of Covid, like Caniac2000 said, but the small sample size of working higher in the line up causes some concern.

I think after Staal moves on or takes a pay cut this deal will work better, because currently I see them both being 3rd line players that can shift up to 2nd line when needed.

With all that being said if KK does make the jump to 2C like a lot of Canes fans are expecting that would be great.

if kk manage to be a legit 2c, woth his cap hit for next 8 years that would solve a lot of things for the canes and would be a steal of a contract! i have a feeling that kk could end up more of a lars eller type, great 3c, can go on 2c for shot periods but might lack to offensive tools to generate enough scoring chance. which his a shame because kk got such a powerful shot! he is still young so he might surprise us in the coming year. thank god aho is never injured because the center line could get expose next year. thanks for your input!

Come on Eller … Kotkaniemi will be way better than Eller, he just need Power Skating lessons

who knows really, he might be or not. being an elite 3c is not necessarely a bad thing. . i just think they have a similar playing style him and eller. we all though when eller first started he could be something great and he ended being a very good 3c. kk havent proved that he is anything more so far. but he will have all the chance to prove his worth next season. i hope kk puts the doubts to rest!