The premise here is that this team does not have the depth we thought. Upfront we see that a loss of a scoring winger is devastating, Foligno is not suitable as a fill in nor is Greenway IMO and moving them up hurts the shutdown line. This gets compounded when a bottom 6 guy goes down. On the back end, Dumba’s absence has been a huge blow and Addison has not yet shown he’s a viable replacement, even if he has looked strong he’s still a 3rd pairing guy. Couple that with fading play from Goose and that is a big problem. And I won’t even touch on goaltending….
So my question is, what, if anything, can be done to add the depth needed for the playoffs? It is almost guaranteed that a top 6 player and a top 4 defender will get hurt and you need to cover that. I am specifically not addressing the C position. But here are some ideas.
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Meyers, Ben
2
925 000 $
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Probably the first and most likely option. Give them a shot in the top 6 next time an injury occurs. Both are likely more viable in that role than Foligno.
Cannot play in the playoffs but could provide opportunity to rest some guys during the lead up. This would likely have to be the plan if they want to sign him. He’s getting NHL time this year.
Adds another shooter that can play up in the lineup and on PP2. Unsure he’s fit for a 4th line role but he’s a low cost option to replace Fiala next season.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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