But they don't have 6 guys who could legitimately slot into the top6. And whether it's Coyle or Poitras on line 3, both should "give the B's an advantage most nights."
Poitras is destined for the top6, but there is some merit to doing it slowly, carefully. Putting him in the top6 puts a target on his back. "Take out Poitras you can take out the 2nd line." It also puts him up against guys like Kopitar and Bennett. Right now Coyle gets those assignments. That's some heavy lifting.
Maybe it would be better for Poitras to grow his game on the 3rd line, without those matchups and that target. He can just play, make plays, outplay other 3rd lines...
I get that perspective, but I guess I look at it this way.
The lines are frequently adjusted. To me Coyle isn’t a second line center. He might be very close to being one, but he’s much, much better suited to playing 3C.
Given that, there are lots of options for the the top two lines at wing.
If you commit to Lindholm, Zacha, and Coyle as your centers on lines 1-3, that gives the the B’s an advantage most nights…..especially at 3C, IMO.
Wingers are obviously important, but less so than centers.
Meaning, I think they are better off keeping those 3 centers in place and mixing and matching the wingers….even if it means one of those wingers is a stretch on the top 2 lines, it’s probably not as big a stretch as using Coyle at 2C.