If Little is back he would Paul would definitley slot him in at 2C again and I wouldn't blame him tbh. I love Andrew Copp but I just don't think he meshes well with Laine and Ehlers style of play. He is a very good 3C though. Besides that this is probably the best we could put out there right now but knowing Paul he is probably going to put in Eakin for Harkins is my guess.

I know what Paul would do and it’s ridiculous and I disagree copp can play really well with laine and ehlers
Copp has a good possession Game and would benefit really well for laine and ehlers would work way better then little.. this also gets the most out of their lineup. Eakin probably would be in over harkens but he shouldn’t be.

I agree with that but if were talking about maximizing the most out of the top 6 I don't see why Paul doesn't put Ehlers-Scheifs-Patty together. That line was insane when it was together and no clue why it was changed. Then you could go with Connor-Little-Wheeler which would work well because Wheeler and Connor play similar games down low and Little used to have a ton of chemistry with Wheeler

Can forsure try that I just thinking a declining wheeler and a hurt all year little may not work so well id maybe even try Connor-copp-wheeler if scheif was in the middle of ehlers and laine

Even if Little IS healthy, why move Eakin right now? He played extremely well in the 8 games between Laine & Ehlers (5 points in 8 games). Until that isn't working anymore, I would leave him there. Also, why Niku over Beaulieu? Niku has not done much this year and Beaulieu has played excellent!

I’d even try mp85-scheif-laine
Ehlers-copp-roslo
Connor-little wheeler
Harkins lowry appleton

Almost anyone can look good playing with out two most gifted wingers eakin is one of the worst fwds on the team and niku is way better then bealieu p mo doesn’t give him a chance.

Yeah I agree I just think Copp needs players who play more of a direct style of game, which isn't a knock against him its just that I think he plays best that way. Copp and Connor seem to have something going and if Wheeler can play at his best that could be a good line. Ideally though Copp next year should be a 3C and we need to go after players like Cirelli or Domi for the 2C job. Chevy doesn't really have an excuse this year with the abundance of cap space we have, especially if we can CBO Little

Oh forsure ideally copp is our 3C just of course we can’t upgrade our center depth till the off season which if they can offer sheet cirelli would be amazing

I really hope so, he is honestly elite, I don't think people realize just how good he is yet

Very underrated rn. elite two way player

He's still held his own and played very well though, of course he has better wingers than he did in Vegas, but there's no need to fix what isn't broken right now. Copp (while I think he deserves a bigger role)has been tried there...didn't workout...Little has been tried there...didn't workout, same with Roslovic. Also, I gotta strongly disagree with Niku > Beaulieu. Niku has been given a shot this year and absolutely fumbled it. When he was on the ice he was such a liability defensively and just didn't produce. He has done nothing to earn a spot over Beaulieu who has actually played VERY well while healthy.

Obviously he held his own he played with our two best wingers why wouldn’t you wanna make our lineup better..? Niku wasn’t even that bad bealieau wasn’t much of a defensive guru either and niku has way better puck movement and offensive upside too

I get what you're saying! All I'm pointing out is that Copp was tried at the beginning of the season and didn't produce as hoped, so at this point is it really an upgrade? I used to be super high on Niku too but my perspective sort of changed this year...maybe it's just me but I truly didn't see much to warrant him in the line up over others. I hope I am proven wrong next year though as he does have lots of potential to become on mainstay on this team. With that being said I also hope Beaulieu is back because he was great when healthy even though he isn't much more than a 6th defenceman on this team.

it's crazy how many people think he's overrated. There are not many players in the league that are elite offensively and defensively.

Its just because he is on Tampa and is still a young guy, its pretty impressive for a guy his age to be playing like that, He is basically a young Bergeron. Maybe not quite at his prime level defensively but I think he is capable to be a better offensive player.

For the most part, when fans attribute the team/system to a players success, it's usually because they don't want to admit the player is as good as he is.

At 5 v 5, Bergeron is slightly better offensively but theyre about the same defensively (this season). Bergeron is much better on special teams.

Yeah no doubt he should be the number 1 target for every team looking for an upgrade at C this off season.