rumrokh
THORBS
- Mar 10, 2006
- 10,154
- 3,382
Blues lines at practice per JR:
Saad-O'Reilly-Perron
Kyrou-Schenn-Buchnevich
Neal-Thomas-Tarasenko
Barbashev-Bozak-Neighbours
Clifford-Joshua-MacEachern
Kostin-Brown
Scandella-Parayko
Krug-Faulk
Walman-Bortuzzo
Perunovich-Mikkola
Binnington
Husso
Ellis
Assuming Clifford is being held on for his veteran presence on the 4th line/extra forward, it looks like battles are Neighbours, Joshua, MacMac, Kostin for those last 2 spots, but it sure doesn't seem like Kostin is going to make it.
I'm still not fully convinced they're going to sign Neal. There's a good chance, and I'm all for it, but I think putting Neal with Thomas and Tarasenko is a final "prove yourself" opportunity. Even more so than Neighbours' deployment with Barbashev and Bozak could be about seeing how Neighbours does down the lineup instead of with the big guns.
Kostin might not have wowed anybody, but he's a more potent overall asset than MacEachern, Clifford, or Brown. Especially when you're going back to the veteran well with Bozak and Neal, I'm not sure you need to go Fully Grizzled. At this point, Kostin is basically Blais, but with more hustle on the backcheck. If he never takes a step beyond that, I still don't see how that's a player you keep off this roster.
Let's say they sign Neal. To me, you keep Neighbours, Joshua, and Kostin. Especially if trading Tarasenko is still an option. They can still send Neighbours back to juniors or Kostin to the minors when Sundqvist is back.