MAR/BER/SMI
HAL/KRE/PAS
FRE/LAZ/KUH
DeB/KUR/STU
GRZ/McA
REI/CLI
LAU/KAM
SWA
(RAS)
only because we can't undress all of Ritchie, Coyle, DeBrusk, Kuraly, Wagner, each of whom has been atrocious this season. they can at least be sufficiently demoted while those that don't absolutely choke move up in ice time and quality of competition and general reliance. I trust the defense and goaltending to play out just fine, but who has any faith in the aforementioned ghosts of players past? I don't see any evidence of why anybody should hold such beliefs in resurgence from significant struggles. the plus/minus chart has far more overpaid minuses than this team has iced in decades. the division between the pluses and the minuses couldn't be more clear and obvious, but that third line still dresses like coach hates his bosses and wants to get them fired before he moves on from organizational abuses.
edits: Studnicka in, Ritchie out... and is Senyshyn back? if so: swapped for Coyle. I'm good with any needed waivers or cuts to lose lossy losers, likeable or loved as they may be. I put DeBrusk back in, as he really does seem to have turned the corner since sticking through the deadline. as much as can't stand this player nor his style, routes, endurance, hustle after being beat, he really isn't the black hole he was for the past year or two. out are Coyle, Ritchie, Wagner... so now it would be Kuraly bounced if/when Senyshyn is available to play to the right of Studnicka. ...and I had forgotten Clifton, so I'd have now bumped out Kampfer with a direct swap, but Miller seems to not have dressed for practice today, so maybe I missed something there and I've juggled the defense in a bit more of a balanced way than the practice lines show. thanks for reading through this.