its not about playing behind Jensen and Zub it's about having three pairs with elite puck movers and a solid defensive guy. it's about being able to deploy a pairing like Sanderson-Karlsson, it's about being able to take a hit in the top 4 and not having it derail the season.
And what is this team lacking most right now? team worked hard against Tampa and Florida but still didn't get much open looks because we lack guys who can unlock opposing defences with poise. like we saw Kucherov and Pastrnak do to us, and Tkachuk tonight.
our lack of a guy who sees the game like that is the biggest difference in our team vs theirs. even when Norris and Pinto come back we still need that guy. Karlsson is one of the all time greats at that specific thing.
and I don't think we have to guarantee Yakemchuk a spot just because we have a hole there. let him develop, plus having him play in the A ensures we actually have depth to call up when injuries hit, as well as letting him work on his skating and his defense.
if we get a top 6 forward how likely is it that it will be one who can drive play as much as EK? if it's just some other top 9 grinder like Amadio or Perron how much does that actually change the team?
this team play good defensively and they play hard, but they need a player who can provide a spark.
