It's pretty obvious by Hyman being slotted into 3rd line to start they intend to have a checking line.

None of your proposed lines can fill that role.

Oh well, they're not, sucks for you.

though old and slow, thornton can still dish the puck, and using his size he's a pretty decent puck protector. He's a great passer, one of the best to ever play the game, and a big part of his moderate point decline in 19-20 was the presence of some pretty crappy line mates and a sagging powerplay.

anyways, let's play him with jimmy vesey and alex kerfoot who combined for 18 goals last year

How do you expect him to make an impact if he is always chasing the play? He can’t keep up with other teams top 6’s for 22 minutes a night.

he's a big dude who can protect the puck and he's a great passer

he'll prob share the 1LW role with some other guys like simmonds/spezza, 15min vs. 12/10 for the other 2. I'd rather play those older guys beside two elite players than put them all together on the 4th line and have them be slow af together

What I have seen from both Spezza and Thorton is that calling them slow is not really the correct word. They are not quick. That is their biggest weakness, getting up to speed takes a longer time than it used to. However, Spezza once he's up to a full clip isn't exactly slow. With this system they don't really need to be either, proper puck support and the constant turn backs gives plenty of support to get the puck deep and in control and then the likes of Thorton, Spezza and Simmonds all have a great cycle game still.