Need the Top 6 to play like the 3rd line does every game. That line is fun to watch.
The top 6 is broken with Kane/Cat/Shaw/Jewels leading a charge along side 2 not big centers. Toews is literally the "enforcer" in that entire top 6. Opponents don't take Shaw and Jewels serious or they would beat their ass every single night. They are content to bully them and get them to lose their cool. Its almost fun for brutes of the league to raz them up. I feel the top 6 puts too much pressure on them to lead a charge and inspire the team instead of 95% be a hockey player.
Jewels-Carp-Smith has been the best 4th line. Saad-Kampf-Kubalik is unexpected and has great chemistry.
We know Cat-Strome-Kane can play.
This should be easy. Its a one position competition and anything else is overcomplicating it. Pairing Toews and Kane is just stupid. Toews is too good at 200 foot defense and that is lost with Kane, which is why I think we play 5-5 games, or part of it.
Our best forward defender has to be on the ice to defend. Dach or Perlini give him some physical support, or if its Nylander at least Toews ends up the guy asked to cover for the weakest man on the team (in some ways expected of a rookie like him).
For $15,000,000 Toews and Shaw can carry the weakest link until a trade is made or one of them gets better.
(Dach/Perlini/Nylander/Saarela/Trade)-Toews-(Shaw/Jewels)
Cat-Strome-Kane
Saad-Kampf-Kubalik
(Jewels/Shaw)-Carp-Smith
and I would probably rotate Jewels4th/Shaw first to mix things up.
Dach-Toews-Shaw would have a degree of chaos factor, good defense, and mixed skills. They could kind of all 3 be roamers and learn to work with that, and for different reasons you like to see all 3 able to split up the net front responsibility.
SOMEBODY WORKS WITH SHAW OR JEWELS ON TOEWS FLANK, AND THAT PERSON SHOULD BE THE 12TH FORWARD or traded for.
