I know he doesn’t have Panarin, but it’d be extremely, extremely disappointing if our #1C who scored 48 as a 19-year-old (when he spent a good chunk of the year down in the lineup) and 61 as a 20-year-old can’t hit 50 as a 21-year-old.
We have two sample sizes with PLD, one large, and one fairly small. The large sample of course is with Panarin (start of PB&J line, then Atkinson). And the small sample (start of his rookie year, sometimes when Panarin was out of the lineup, and of course at some points last year after Duchene got here). The large sample is really really good, and a 1C in the making. The smaller sample isn't very good at all.
Now I'm not saying "pAnArIn CaRrIeD pLd" but I think Panarin did all of the heavy lifting for that line. PLD thrived being the sidekick (Or third wheel?) to Panarin. Now, he has to play center and do some of the heavy lifting himself. Can he? I think he can, but I don't think its going to be a smooth and easy transition. Especially with PLD's faceoff numbers being so putrid, we won't start with the puck much, and I fear a lot of the problems with the line is getting the puck back and getting offensive chances.
However, Texier is a real wild card. If he can be game breaker-ish then all bets are off and PLD should be fine. But PLD is up there with my concerns. Not as high as goaltending, but high.