Tatar: -
Danault: Still underrated. Should get a chance at PP.
Gallagher: -
Drouin: He has the effort/willpower/talent, but he lacks the consistency. I wouldn’t go as far to trade him.
Domi: He hasn’t been as good in pre-season than I expected, but he’s still the same player than last season. He’s good for 65+ points.
Suzuki: He hasn’t been the fastest player out there, but he’s definitely one of the smartest. Always well placed and missed a lot of good opportunities. Reminds me of KK last year. Will make the team for sure. He should get PK and maybe even PP time.
Byron: -
KK: Has looked good tbh, just isn’t given opportunities. He’ll be fine, don’t listen to the haters.
Weal: Truly a steal by Bergevin. He will be a great bottom 6 forward.
Lehkonen: He deserves to be higher in the lineup. He’s such a useful, versatile player.
Poehling: Should be higher in the lineup too. At the moment he’s a perfect 3C. He should get PK time.
Armia: Hasn’t been that good this pre-season, but still a useful PK player. He is so good at protecting the puck.
Mete: He needs to be more offensive. He has proven to be an offensive dynamo in the OHL, but I feel like Weber is preventing him from developing offensively.
Weber: -
Chiarot: Has been good tbh. He will be great with Petry.
Petry: Shooting those watermelons really improved his accuracy. I’m not kidding. His shot is way more accurate lmao.
Kulak: Such a solid/reliable 3rd pairing guy.
Fleury: Mature for his age. Deserves to be on the team.
Price: If you exclude his bad pass yesterday, he’s been really good out of his net.
Kinkaid: Looks like a great backup.
Cousins: Hasn’t been as good as expected, but is welcome on the team imo.
Thompson: Would be an outstanding 4C if we didn’t have Poehling.
Reilly: Has been disappointing. Idk why we signed him for two years. Has been better than Folin though. Don’t be surprised if he’s sent down.
Hudon: Has been decent and has shown the effort. He deserves a chance on another roster tbh.
Folin: Definition of a 7th defenceman. Reilly has been better than him though.
Lindgren: Might get traded tbh.
Peca/Leskinen: Will get called up eventually.
Evans/Brook: Will make the team next year.
Forwards: Your lineup is pretty much mine, except I think because of missed time in pre-season, Poehling starts in Laval. Thompson would be 4C for now.
At some point I'd like to see Tatar/Kotkaniemi and Domi/Gallagher, Drouin/Danault as forward pairings but now is not the time to shake it up.