With Coots back taking a lot of the tougher assignments Frost might have a better chance to break out offensively. He'll never be the center giroux was but I think he can be a good 2C on a scoring line.
I think atkinson would be perfect for a 3rd line that has Cates and Foerster, hes got the skating and the passing that Cates and T-force dont have, Cates can focus on the defensive side and Foerster and Cam are both responsible enough forwards to not be total liabilities even if they take a few chances, plus it gives Cam a chance to get his legs back since at 34 hes probably lost a few more steps than Coots has
When Cates plays center you automatically start without the puck . He was bottom 5 in the F ing league last year in faceoffs . He is not a center man no matter how much you and Tortès think he is but both of you like the square peg round hole thing so bomb away .
Cates can learn faceoffs, and if he doesnt i dont think Torts keeps him there but everyone has pretty bad faceoff numbers in their first few seasons but you definitely have a point
I have a clear recollection of G playing LW and taking big faceoffs anyway. If Cates has trouble figuring out faceoffs, it's entirely possible that one of his wings takes the draw, then they switch defensive responsibilities so Cates is effectively playing center once the puck is dropped.
Ya that middle 6 will be able to rotate together in different configurations easily for different situations without being mirror images of each other and I think thats the goal. TK and Coots being the 1st line for now, Frost Cates Foerster and Tippet are the middle. We're still weak on the left but Farabee and Atkinson can be up and down the lineup effectively
I think he was just using that as an example, he was talking about skill guys who need to add things to their game so theyre not just waiting for the puck
I think Jonesy might be able to start steering the ship in the right direction. He knows the league and he has an idea of where the game is trending and what other hockey people around the league are saying and doing and even though the flyers have been an old boys club the whole league is overall and you need people with relationships everywhere. We've always just isolated ourselves and wont really deal with certain teams like the Penguins. Jones knows Sakic and Yzerman on that level.
pres of hockey ops wont have much say in the players, but he'll be the guy that can bring in more strength and conditioning guys or training staff and those type of decisionsKeith Jones is a f***ing idiot when it comes to assessing players and the modern game. The only steering he should do is the Maggie Simpson variety below:
Just feed him false information so he can leak it to his media pals -- which has been his M.O. so far -- unwittingly.
Sam may have known what he was, but this team had no clue. After juniors they told him to forget everything he knew about offence and focus on being a stay at home defender.
