I don't like your lines. Why is Holtz on the fourth, where are Boqvist and Bastian, and why are we spending so much on Domi and ERod when Bahl is your 2LD and we could keep Tatar around?

Holtz and Clarke aren't really speed guys though. Holtz is good from slot-to-dot...Clarke also good in tight spaces.

For a speedy 4th line, maybe put Boqvist with Mcleod and Zetterl...[oh, wait]...and Tyce Thompson

Also I think we can get Bratt and Meier cheaper than that

Holts doesn't have the slightest "grind it out" style to his game, which is a big reason he hasn't played much this season. If he changes his game accordingly, he has a top-6 skill. Until then, he has AHL All Star until he heads to Europe written all over him. I hope he adjusts his "compete" level and becomes an impact player, otherwise it's going to be a painful waste of a #7OA pick.

I did also vomit a little bit in my mouth when I saw $19M tied up between Bratt and Meier... I have never envied Toronto fans and I do not wish to feel that pain of a squandered opportunity year after year

Awful analysis of Holtz. Making a player change to a style they're unsuited for is a recipe for disaster. He will be perfectly effective playing his style of game as soon as next year.

Holtz has NHL skill, but he doesn't work in the system and the knock on his game when he was drafted and to this point in time is simply he doesn't have enough "compete" in his game. I am not saying he should be a 4th liner, nor change his game to be a grinder, but he plays the game soft and passive at this point. Every single one of us (myself included) had the exact same analysis of Holtz last season as "he'll be effective next year," and we were wrong. I hope he finds that next dynamic of his game to make himself an effective option, but if asking the kid to actually compete every shift is asking him to "change his style," then I guess we'll just get what we get with the kid. As I said originally, top-6 skill and could add tremendous value, but seems on the ice he's either lazy or he's scared, and I really don't think he's scared.

I've never seen anyone say "compete" was an issue. I had seen talk about his skating and pace of play, and the former is no longer an issue. The problem right now is that he is not adjusted to the pace the NHL game moves at. I have no idea where you're getting lazy or scared from, he's been playing pro since he was a teenager and that was never an issue. I don't see that in his game, I see him processing a little too slowly.

Regardless of the issue, we can both agree we really want him to piece it together at the NHL level. A guy who scored 26 goals in 52 games in the AHL doesn't lack the skill, clearly. He had a few games in NJ where he battled hard and was rewarded with more ice time and produced. Devils didn't do him any favors by keeping him in NJ rather than Utica for the bulk of this season, but whatever it is that has prevented him from converting his obvious talent to being an effective member of the lineup, it's hard to be confident that suddenly he'll be THAT guy next season. Let's hope he completely destroys any criticism of his game and can start looking like the player we hoped we had drafted

While he definitely lacks the elite upside that he once had, he can still be a top 6 winger. I don't think this year was particularly damaging to his development, I think practicing at the NHL level has its benefits and he has little to learn beating up on the AHL for another year.