The predators picked up Foudy and Fagemo via waivers.
1) Foudy and Fagemo played a combined 16 games for Nashville and were both waived again. They didnt contribute and have not shown to be good quality 4th line players. Both signed NHL minimum deals this offseason. They aren't quality 4th liners, which your original statement was that you could easily obtain quality 4th line players via waivers. It didn't happen last year.
You are conflating a lack of moves with the liquidity of 4th line players.
Teams 4th lines in season usually aren't purposefully built as the year wears on. There are a confluence of issues, including cap issues, injuries, who can clear waivers and who can't. Its often a mismash of career 4th liners, guys being demoted, young guys learning, etc. For a good part of the season, its a misfit line.
To go back to my original point, teams for the most part don't care about their 4th line much until the playoffs approach.
Usually if teams are adding a 4th liner before the trade deadline, its because of injuries.
2) Of course there are a set of issues that limit the continuity of a line. That could be said for most positions on a team. I dont see the problem with having confidence in a true 4th line going into the season as opposed to a misfit line. There is always risk/potential of having to adjust during the season, but that's the case for every position on a team.
You original point was that a 4th line can be constructed via trade quite easily. "4th line is the easiest thing to fix in season if its not working. 4th liners are moved pretty frequently and easy to acquire, either via waivers or with mid/late round picks." I showed that during the offseason you can retool a 4th line, or during the deadline. However, from October to January, you are stuck with the roster talent you have in 99% of cases.
A 4th line is the easiest to "hide". They dont play a ton of minutes, you can put someone there to take a few shifts and put more responsibility on the rest of the lineup. I don't disagree. What I'm saying is if you have a great 4th line, that line will 1) Play more and keep your stars fresher throughout the season 2) Take d-zone draws and flip the ice without having to have your stars do it 3) Set a tone that even "successful" Sabres 4th lines in the past 5 years haven't been able to do.
"Dont care" and "Live with" are two different terms to me. You say teams dont care about the 4th line, I say teams live with their roster impacts on a 4th line until the deadline. Maybe we are saying the same thing...
This is more of a team construction argument with roles. In an ideal world, you are correct, you have a great 4th line that can take defensive pressure off of your top 9 forwards. In reality, the 4th line is usually used as a top 9 overflow/place to stash utility players (i.e. a faceoff guy, etc).
Why can't we support the notion of going into the season in an "ideal" state because Adams has in fact for the first time provided a solid foundation of a true 4th line that can take pressure off of the rest of the forwards? You whole point is that they dont matter, and I'm saying that as of right now, going into the season, we have the potential of a 4th line that
actually will matter
The issue is, we had a good 4th line last year. Grigs-Krebs-Okposo were fine in maintaining posession and providing defensive starts.
Did we upgrade on them? Yes
Will it matter if the rest of the team isn't good?
No
Our 4th line was OK last year, but wasn't really deployed as a true 4th line (in the way I'd like them to be). 50% o-zone starts, and not nearly as physical as I think they should be. That also falls on coaching, which is why I'm happy Ruff is here instead of Don. I say that, because these situations are nuanced, and there are tons of variables that truly determine effectiveness.
You can make your statement here about any line or group. If we brought in a new superstar, could I say we upgraded the top line, but it wont matter if goaltending doesn't hold? Of course I can.
It's totally fair to say this team still has areas that it can improve. Hell, you can say there are areas the team SHOULD have improved. But it's not weird (your word) for people to acknowledge where the team HAS improved. Maybe it's enough improvement to make the playoffs, maybe it's not. But it's not "weird" to be happy that the team has put itself in an "ideal state" for their 4th line going into the year for the first time since the LOG line had its run