Yes we can't be confident that they will perform which makes it a gamble, it by no means makes them a putrid 2nd line like you've claimed. And let's face it even if we got a guy like Laine it would still be a gamble because Laine is himself a big gamble.
With the right player and the right cost to acquire I'd be all for adding a player, but there's also nothing wrong with giving that line the opportunity to see if they can perform because they most certainly have the potential to perform.
Newhook and Dach have played well when healthy. There’s no reason to believe they can’t handle second line duties. Roy is raw and a bit of a wildcard. It’s not the best second line in the league but far from the worst. It’s health that’s going to matter.
Totally fine to want to see the team improve and I get people wanting to speed things along. But the fact is we are not there yet and it’s going to take a while whether we add someone or not.
As for Laine… I don’t know. Not what I’d do but he could absolutely come in and do well. I just think he’s too risky and expensive. It feels to me like a ‘let’s do it for the sake of it so we eat up some of this extra cap space we’ve got.’
I don’t think the point made by
@DAChampion a while back that our depth needs more scoring this year is unfounded either. As much as I’m fine with the top six there will be injuries and it’d be nice to have someone back there to bring in.