The last bolded part is dead on for me. Most people thought that he should bring in a top 6 forward or a top 4 dman, and now they're grading him against their own expectations. KA said he would be aggressive, he did not say which pieces he would be aggressive for, and as I previously mentioned he told us where he wanted to add.
He thinks his top 6 and top 4 are good enough. He's assembled a true grinding line. He acquired legit goalie depth.
So in my mind the interesting debates for his roster construction are the following:
- Are the top 6 forwards good enough? (Tage/Tuch/Peterka/Cozens/Quinn/Benson)
- Are the top 4 dmen good enough?
- Can Krebs handle the 3C role? (I was going to ask "Is it smart that KA assumes he'll be able to handle that role", but I think we know what everyone's response to that would be)
Just thinking about #1, I like the top 6. I think Benson is gonna blow up, people may think I'm delusional but I think he's a 60 point player this year. And Quinn was my prediction for our breakout player last year before he got injured. So if (and that's a big if), they can stay healthy, there's a very real chance that Skinner's and Mitts' production can be compensated by those two.
I was someone that was hoping he would bring in a top 6 player BEFORE Skinner was bought out/shopped for a trade. We needed a little bit of punch in the top 6 before the offseason began.
Now that Skinner is gone, with this roster, and their inconsistencies in play, I really don't think our top 6 is good enough to get us into the playoffs. As a whole I don't think our roster is good enough. I know we are getting Quinn, hopefully full strength and healthy, but there's a lot of offense, even if we had Skinner in the lineup that needs to happen to carry a bottom 6 that will have trouble producing. I like Benson's game, but he's going into his 2nd year, will be under a new head coach, and will need to find quite a few more gears to find a consistent offense. I have him in the 35-40 point range best case scenario.
I have confidence that the bottom 6 will provide a necessary role for the team, but I'm not counting on them for much, if any, production, which has been the issue for our team for years with our bottom 6.
The top 4 is good enough to have an effective transition game, which could/should help out, but depending on how much Ruff activates them in the offensive zone will be a huge factor. Depending how the top 4 is arranged, will also play a key role in how effective they are as a team. I would've liked an actual vet in our top 4 with playoff experience where they were key factors, instead of someone being a support player (if you know where I'm getting at).
Krebs at 3C and his role will depend on what Ruff decides to use him as. If you're looking at Krebs in the sort of 06-07 Roy role on the kid line, I think Krebs can find a decent level there. If Ruff will be using him as a role for matchup purposes (especially Defensively), Krebs will probably struggle.
While I think Ruff will have to work quite a bit of magic, the issues from the years hasn't just been coaching. It's also been the inconsistencies of the players, their inability or refusal to attack the high value areas of the ice often times (which can be attributed to who they are as players). As much as Ruff can help with the structure for the teams(which isn't a strength of his IMO), and unless he's motivating them so much they will run through a brick wall for him, the players changing the way they attack games at a consistent level will have by far the greatest impact on their success.