I think this is pretty fair. I'm admittedly not a Howden fan, i just feel like he brings almost nothing to this point. to me, and this is certainly not a consensus opinion, he's no different than jesper fast who i wasn't particularly high on. i was fine with him when used in a bottom 6 role and pk guy, but he had no business being constantly plugged into the top 6. he literally invented ways not to score. he could put tap ins at the post into a part of the rafters happy gilmore couldn't find. and to me he was never the defensive player or pk'er he was built up to be because he just wasn't that fast. he gave fantastic effort, he had a decent brain for the game, but he was not in any way a difference maker. i get it though, most people loved him and i understand why. and to date for me howden is like a second coming but with without the strength he gained. not big or strong enough to be reliable as a defender, not a good enough skater to make up for it there or be a weapon on the forecheck,, not a physical presence, and creates virtually no offense. That said, he is still young and some of those things are fixable and he does have decent hockey sense and gives a good effort ...for me I've seen enough to be ready to move on, don't hate the guy just don't see much value added. I agree he's an nhl player though, i just think with our roster and pipeline, he's a guy that would be taking a role in the bottom 6 that doesn't add anything we need in it. but hey if he sticks around, and, much like fast, mgmt seems to love him, hopefully he proves me wrong. lemieux i like a lot when he's playing the way he needs to, but you don't see it enough. agree wish he'd simplify at times and be more of a physical menace tracking pucks and puck carriers and making noise when he gets there. i will say, granted its a one game sample size, but his one game in the bubble was by far the most effective game he's ever played. if he could somehow make that what we see even 3/5 nights he'd make us a completely different lineup overnight. and yea mckegg, digiuseppe, nieves...those are guys who should be callups for the most part. i actually thought mckegg had some nice hockey sense and was pretty reliable, digiuseppe too impressed forechecking with his speed. the thing with them, i could see either one of them being a part of one of those like bruin cup teams as a bottom 6'er. the problem with us is we pack the bottom 6 with guys like that, we left a spare d / pk specialist on the 4th line. as we round into contender status the top 6 appears well stocked with enough talent to mix and match to have some absolutely loaded lines. but the team as a whole, and the bottom 6 especially, needs to have an identity. the bottom 6 needs to be constructed with purpose. most teams that go far have a 3rd or 4th line that can be a game changer for momentum and chip in some important goals...we aren't that yet, but we aren't far off. i don't think we have much in house that fits the mold of what it'll take but could be wrong. either way i hope we make constructing that a priority in the near future
