As has been said, it depends on prospect development, but a lot of that isn't just on the prospects to be honest. The other side of the coin that doesn't get mentioned as much is the training & development staff, the coaching staff, and the front office.
They have to work with these guys to get them there and respond accordingly to give them that chance. I don't mind the steps that Blake has chosen to make the roster more competitive and insulate some of the prospects, but they have created some pretty tight and ridiculous logjams and they have to be ready at a moments notice and successfully convert some of this future capital they've saved up into wins and success on the roster.
I don't want to see Kaliyev on the bottom 6, like ever. The kid requires the same treatment that Arvidsson will receive in being cemented to a top 6 center and given every opportunity to do what he's done his entire career. I know the onus put on any NHL player not to be a liability, but you have to take into account that some players are just extraordinarily gifted in certain ways and their f***ing job, in the end, is to exploit that gift to the max.
I want to see more prospects given a chance and put in situations to succeed, not just toil on the fourth line get 4 minutes of ice time, and get sent down with 0 points and a -1. The roster has a lot of stopgaps on it, it is going to be up to TMac and Blake to manage this in a non-cluster f*** sort of way and see what we have in some of these kids and move them or others as need to continue to get better and not just flip some for a 6th when they fail.
TMac has a tremendous weight on his shoulders because he needs to balance this ship perfectly and make sure it sails straight as it wobbles in both directions, and Blake's moves from here on out are going to be very critical to the teams immediate and future success. I don't envy either's situation.
