Who are our Centers moving forward??

[jsb]

Assuming we're keeping most everyone currently on the team, who are our C's starting next year. I'm starting to think Sam is going to stay at 2C. So we have Jack E., Sammy and Mitts or do we put Cozens at 3C?? I'm thinking Cozens' speed matches up better with Jack and keep Rasmus the Rooster as their lineman, Sam, Skinner and Olofsson on line 2 and Mitts and either Asplund or Tage as one of his wingers and trade Risto to acquire another of his line mates. I think Mitts needs a better finisher with some muscle on his line. What say you?? I noticed this getting some play in other threads so lets discuss here.

 

[Stoner]

Whoever they are, they won't be good enough and they'll be fingered as the reason the team sucks, along with goaltending.

It is written.

[dudacek]

I go:

• Jack
• Sam
• Casey

I think Casey is better with options on either side than playing along the boards and is holding his weight at centre defensively. He is proving right now that he might be capable of being a 2C, and as Roy-style 3C I think he's ready to shine.

Next step for Dylan is to add offence to his game and think that can happen best short-term in a top-6 RW role, even though I eventually want him at centre. It's tempting to put his speed and muscle with Jack, but I think he'd have better chemistry with Sam, plus they can kinda alternate in the centre role.

[Thorner]

Eichel

Mittelstadt/Cozens

Cozens/Mittelstadt

New vet 4C 

 

I'd have Reinhart, trade acquisition, Thompson as the RWs

Skinner, Olofsson and Asplund as the LWs

(Trade could be for a LW and VO plays on the right instead - should be for a top 6 winger, though, either way. I'd try to bring in at least 1.)

Edited April 28, 2021 by Thorny

[jsb]

9 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Eichel

Mittelstadt/Cozens

Cozens/Mittelstadt

New vet 4C 

 

I'd have Reinhart, trade acquisition, Thompson as the RWs

Skinner, Olofsson and Asplund as the LWs

(Trade could be for a LW and VO plays on the right instead)

And you have the Ruoster on the bench?? Personally I think he's earned a place on the team.

[Thorner]

6 minutes ago, jsb said:

And you have the Ruoster on the bench?? Personally I think he's earned a place on the team.

No he can be on the other line or ahead of Thompson or replacing whoever it is that's inevitably injured before game 1

He could even be on line 2 LW, VO bumped down or traded

It fine to seemingly have "no space" for someone we consider good, I promise you we will have space. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Thorny

[Taro T]

Eichel

New 2C/ Mittelstadt

Mittelstadt/ New "2"C

Asplund/ New 4C

Top 2 RWs (until an injury at C occurs, or it turns out the new 2C is exactly what every other new 2C since O'Reilly left turns out to be & then 1 9f these 2 slide in) - Reinhart & Cozens in no particular order.

Top 2 LWs - Skinner & Olofsson in no particular order.

3rd line W's - Thompson & Ruostalainen.   (Forgot about R2) (If coaches do likewise  😉 ,  Any of Asplund; Bjork, if he's still here; Okposo, if he's still here; or new guy).

4th line W's - Girgensons & cut down day waiver pick up.

No idea how they get New Guy 2C.  Don't particularly care how they get new 4C if Asplund bumps up to Mitts' wing again.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Taro T

[thewookie1]

1C Eichel

2C Reinhart

3C Mitts

4C Girgensons

 

LInes for now:

Skinner - Eichel - Cozens

R2 - Reinhart - Olofsson

Asplund - Mitts - Thompson

Bjork - Girgs - Okposo

 

Cozens and Reinhart can switch depending on the situation and how they are playing individually.

1st Line: Speed and Skill can kill

2nd Line: Reinhart the playmaker with two elite shooters

3rd Line: potentially our best since 05-06

4th Line: A nice balance of speed, tenacity, and grit. Okposo is a stand in unless he LTIRetires or some random guy seizes the role.

[Zamboni]

Well, in the past few years there’s been 9  or 10 player changes every offseason,  so i’m not even gonna guess 😂

[kas23]

I would rather have Mitts be centering a line then prematurely sending Cozens into that situation. 

[dudacek]

I think you have to start Skinner with Jack and cross your fingers, even though I personally don't believe Skinner can rekindle the magic. The RW will ideally be a new acquisition with enough smarts to play on the first line and bring a physical edge.

I really like the concept of Sam and Dylan on line two. I'm OK with Victor there with them at LW in pencil, but certainly open to other ideas.

Casey and Little Rasmus seem to make each other better, so I start with that and probably Tage as well, although Tage shouldn't get too comfortable.

Girgensons and Okposo anchor line 4. I'm not adverse to moving either up the line-up as needed.

I quite like R2. Because of his smarts and his shot, he defaults into being on Jack's right to start until we get a better 1RW and looks to push Skinner down the lineup and/or make Victor or Tage expendable when we do. He defaults to 4C if he doesn't.

Bjork is behind R2 in my pecking order. He's my 13th forward if we make a move, but otherwise on Zemgus flank as 4LW to start

[inkman]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

they'll be fingered

Those contract clauses have gotten very specific 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, jsb said:

And you have the Ruoster on the bench?? Personally I think he's earned a place on the team.

Ruoster?  I like it.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

1C Eichel

2C Reinhart

3C Mitts

4C Girgensons

 

LInes for now:

Skinner - Eichel - Cozens

R2 - Reinhart - Olofsson

Asplund - Mitts - Thompson

Bjork - Girgs - Okposo

Assuming we don't trade Eichel and add more grit(which is my preferred option) my view is close to this. 

I would, however leave the Skinner-Reinhart-Olofsson line intact as I think this combo is bringing out the best in Sam and the dynamics of it work better. 

R2-Eichel-Cozens intrigues me as a possibility. All 3 can skate, shooter in R2, playmaker/superstar in Eichel carrying and playmaking, and Cozens is strong on the wall and not afraid of net front presence. A good complementary mix. 

I'm not sold on Thompson or Bjork but for now, is what it is. 

[Marvin]

NOTE: I am assuming that Seattle will choose Zemgus Girgensons because they will need guys who can slot all over the line-up.

Should we think about rolling 4 lines?  Go Eichel-Reinhart-Cozens-Mittlstadt?  Something like the following with whom we have now.  (That changes in the off-season.)

Bjork-Eichel-Ruotsalainen

Skinner-Reinhart-Olofsson

Asplund-Mittlstadt-Thompson

Caggiula-Cozens-Okposo

 

[Buffalonill]

Sam is the biggest question mark does he stay or go 

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, Thorny said:

Eichel

Mittelstadt/Cozens

Cozens/Mittelstadt

New vet 4C 

 

I'd have Reinhart, trade acquisition, Thompson as the RWs

Skinner, Olofsson and Asplund as the LWs

(Trade could be for a LW and VO plays on the right instead - should be for a top 6 winger, though, either way. I'd try to bring in at least 1.)

Im a little surprised that your preference is to go into next year with Cozens and Mitts as 2/3. This is given your strongly expressed feelings about the foolishness of crossing your fingers with Casey/Mojo as the 2C last year and Hutton as your 2G this year.

Have you really seen enough good things from Dylan and Casey to feel comfortable with that?

[Taro T]

27 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

NOTE: I am assuming that Seattle will choose Zemgus Girgensons because they will need guys who can slot all over the line-up.

Should we think about rolling 4 lines?  Go Eichel-Reinhart-Cozens-Mittlstadt?  Something like the following with whom we have now.  (That changes in the off-season.)

Bjork-Eichel-Ruotsalainen

Skinner-Reinhart-Olofsson

Asplund-Mittlstadt-Thompson

Caggiula-Cozens-Okposo

 

It definitely is intriguing, the possibility of running 4 scoring lines rather than 3 & a checking/energy line.

IF (a big if) they were to try that, expect counterintuitively giving Eichel the Girgensons/Caggiula & Okposo pairing might work best as Jack will produce with anyone & lesser C's will need the support to be effective.  (Plus, Jack has played with both of those vets in the past, so he'd at least know what to expect from them.) 

[Norcal]

Eichel

Cozens/Mitts

Mitts/Cozens

Bonino/Danault or Bennett if I can

[Weave]

Still wanna see a 2C from the outside brought in.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Ruoster?  I like it.

I don’t because his name is Ruotsalainen.  So the shortened version would be Routser. Call him rooty, rooter but rooster doesn’t resemble his name. 

[Crusader1969]

I like Cozens at Center.   You want the puck on his stick to enter the zone and to be attacking with speed 

skinner. eichel, Samson

R2 , Cozens, Okposo 

asplund, Mitts, Tage 

VO , Girgenson, Bjork 

Quinn and some decent low cost vets to fill the reserves and Amerks 

I want them to keep as much cap space as possible. ONly spending enough to ensure 2 capable NHL goaltenders.  Maybe add a winger during the season, finally being buyers and using draft picks to acquire. 

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Im a little surprised that your preference is to go into next year with Cozens and Mitts as 2/3. This is given your strongly expressed feelings about the foolishness of crossing your fingers with Casey/Mojo as the 2C last year and Hutton as your 2G this year.

Have you really seen enough good things from Dylan and Casey to feel comfortable with that?

Yes, because it's an odds play. 

Last year it was a Casey who looked like he didn't belong in the NHL, and a guy who wasn't actually a centre.

The likelihood that either Cozens OR (this version of) Casey is able to adequately fill the 2 spot position is much greater in my estimation. We'd only need 1, and both I think have a reasonable shot at it. 

What's more - the guy you chose as the 2C is the Third Man, and still on my roster. So there's an escape parachute ready and waiting, which wasn't there last time with their unwillingness to try Sam at centre. 

Centre dynamics have changed

I want to bring in a top 6 player, remember, and we have enough REALISTIC flexibility right now that I think the best avenue to improvement is to bring in the best player possible - can shuffle around the configuration as we need to. 

We've SEEN the success rate of their attempts at bringing in a 2C from outside, haven't we? Even Adams' try was a derpy fail. I have no reason to think we'd succeed at bringing that player from outside in, anyways, so I target (at least 1) winger which, we've had at least a LITTLE more success with, and common perception is that wingers are more easily attained - should cost less. If a C is available, by all means, I just don't think that's the way it unfolds. 

For C, I am aiming for the checking line guy that we need. Should be an easier find than a 2C, which, as you say, is the 4th most important position on a team. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Thorny

[Thorner]

55 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I like Cozens at Center.   You want the puck on his stick to enter the zone and to be attacking with speed 

skinner. eichel, Samson

R2 , Cozens, Okposo 

asplund, Mitts, Tage 

VO , Girgenson, Bjork 

Quinn and some decent low cost vets to fill the reserves and Amerks 

I want them to keep as much cap space as possible. ONly spending enough to ensure 2 capable NHL goaltenders.  Maybe add a winger during the season, finally being buyers and using draft picks to acquire. 

Hard no

I agree with the rest of your configuration more less, excluding maybe the 4th line - can Girgs still play C? And I dunno about VO in that role. But the top three lines is pretty close to how I'd do it, maybe switch R2 and VO. And of course, KO.  

We need to supplement the forwards in a more significant way if we really want to take a shot at the playoffs. Like I said I'm looking at a winger or two and a checking vet C - KO can't come into the season as a top 6 player. 

The depth vet C add should serve us well in the playoffs. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Thorny

[GASabresIUFAN]

Dont we have a forward thread?