There is one big centre who could be available this summer as a UFA & would only cost around $3 mil in salary for a few yrs. Hanzal is not ideal as a #1 centre & probably playing above his pay grade but he would be a transitional piece until one of our young centres emerge & he can be pushed down the roster. Hanzal is 6'6", 230 lbs, experienced & an excellent faceoff guy. He is a good two way defensive forward, he can play centre or the wing, is only 30 yrs old, is a decent skater for a guy his size, he can play up & down the lineup & he had 39 pts last yr so he can chip in offensively especially, if he is playing with Stone & Hoffman.
He would be ideal to match up against any other centre in the league because he is so good defensively & because of his size, strength & faceoff ability. IMO he would improve the team & it wouldn't cost anywhere near what it would cost for Tavares, Duchene, Landeskog or Drouin. Hanzal is exactly the kind of player Paul & Brown could learn from in all aspects of the game, especially Brown who most likely will have to learn to be better defensively. If MacArthur gets hurt again, Dzingel replaces him as he did last yr, Smith moves up & McCormick takes his 4th line LW spot. This allows management to wait for the ideal trade scenario to come along & have the necessary cap space & assets in place to make the right deal or to wait for the young players to mature & begin to contribute at the NHL level.
Hoffman - Hanzal - Stone
MacArthur - Turris - Ryan
Dzingel - Brassard - Burrows
Smith - Pageau - Pyatt/McCormick
Sign me up for the addition of Hanzal. I do not see Paul or Stalberg in this roster. I still like it.
I am not fixated on the line arrangements, but Hanzel does add much needed size and strength.