We went from three years of being irritated of Ruff constantly blending the lines to Keefe stubbornly keeping lines together.
I get he’s trying to go with a more classic top six, third line checking line, and fourth line roster set up, but feels like we should just spread the wealth in the top nine at this point.
My preferred lines would be:
Meier - Hischier - Mercer
XXX - Hughes - Noesen
XXX - Haula - Bratt
XXX - Lazar - Bastian
Move around Tatar, Palat, and Cotter as you please, but I really want to see Hughes with Noesen and another heavier forward. Two guys who will open up space for him and force him to keep it more simple.