Time to address the offensive issues....

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

and also time to move on from the whole bronco thing....

(took piece from my post in the bronco debate thing)

It has become painfully obvious that we need offence from beyond the 1st line, and the powerplay. Personally, I think we should reunite the Gross line. Perhaps alternate macangus and Ofukany in the left wing slots in our top 6. Even though eberle and Kraus have good chemistry, its time to spead the offence around.

Mac/Ofuk - Gross - Eberle
Ofuk/Mac - Kraus - Cervany?

It might make us harder to play against instead of shutting down 2 players. And if that doesnt work, kraus and eberle always have the powerplay to use their chemistry. I think it is worth a try. I have noticed that Gross has done nothing since september, and perhaps it would be best for him to be back in the same place as he was during that time.

This would make our second line which usually has hill and leffler in it(sometimes Jagow), our third line. and then the goon squad with elder lind and mitchell, who has played well enough to get more ice time in my mind. Still waiting for strueby to step up, and hanson to find his place in the lineup.

I also think its a tad bit early to make a trade and boost the offence, as we can wait until the deadline for possible teams like Kootenay or Kamloops to possibly trade off star players if they continue to struggle. We can also see if we can fix the problem without a trade, as we have alot of time to decide who will get our last OA slot.

Any other thoughts?

[witness]

I don't think that I would split up Kraus and Eberle. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. They complement each other very well and alone I don't think they would be as effective. I have been mildly surprised with Jagow and he has surpassed my expectations, offensively.

You can call me crazy, but I think that Strueby has a huge offensive upside. He passes very well and has a good feel around the net. He plays well with Mitchell. It would be interesting to see what those two can do with an Ofukany or MacAngus.

Cerveny needs a finisher and someone to create room. Put him with MacAngus or Leffler.

Bottom line is they need more from the back end, Ofukany (but, to be fair he has been hurt for a month), Hill, Gross, and Leffler.

But, then again on the upside, who thought that Eberle would be this good?? Yeh, we all knew that he had the potential to be a top end player in the league, but as a 17 year old?? Mitchell brings much more offensive punch that I first thought he would. Kraus is starting to come around and Pyett has been good (although at times tries to do too much).

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

We already know that those 2 work really well with each other, but since those 2 guys are our primary offensive weapons, it wouldnt hurt to see if they have any chemistry with any other players, being that it is still fairly early in the season. Last game proves that we need to try a few new things, and barring a trade, those two guys are our only game breakers.

Like I said, those 2 also have the powerplay to work with if they are split up. But I guess we will see what hunt will do by next game. Its not like they are the problem or anything, so you are probably right that they wont get split up for long, if at all.

You are also right about strueby, but he still has not quite found his groove yet. He has barely done anything since the beginning of the season...but it would be hypocritical of me to suggest that it wouldnt hurt to give him a chance on a scoring line.

I noticed that he never has the puck for that long, whether its getting knocked off the puck(way too easily), or giving it away. He also needs to be smarter with the puck. He wont be able to use his talent out there if he doesnt know where his linemates are either, which I noticed was a problem for him. (basically, though it is obvious he has talent, he almost looks lost out there). I would like to see him in more scoring situations though, like PP time, or playtime with other offensive players.

As for Cervany, I think he still needs time to get more used to the N.A. game. The talent is there, but he gets rid of the puck way too fast. He shoots it right after he gets it if he cant stickhandle away from the defender, rather than passing it. He also needs to work harder on the team game and use his speed more often. If we give him and strueby some time though, they should be able to turn into a good players for us.


Oh, and I expected Eberle to be good as well, but he has made alot of progress over the offseason. he surprised me as well. I still think he should have been voted the rookie of the year, at least for the eastern conference. Robertson got lucky...

[nivek_wahs]

I just noticed that Cerveny is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury... not good.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Not again... Another euro with a shoulder injury. This one better not be as bad as kaspars' injury.