It's not the chic thing to do right now since dogging this club is popular but this isn't that bad of a club for next season. I've never seen a club have so many injuries to key players as this bunch did this year.
If Couturier comes back healthy, and he should, a top line of Farabee, Couturier and a FA signing such as Forsberg or Gaudreau would be very nice. Hayes is starting to look healthy again. Hopefully Laughton recovers from his concussion. Frost or Laczynski as the fourth center and the Flyers are decent up the middle. Wings they have no trouble there.
The future may well depend on the ability of the defense to stand up to expectations. Need to extend Sanheim. York is going to be a player. If Ellis can get well, the D will be fine. It wouldn't surprise me if Provorov is swapped out for another defenseman. Zamula, Attard and others can fill out the bottom of the blue line. Hart is the real deal. Sandstorm or Ersson can back him up next year.
Give this bunch intelligent coaching that will utilize the skills of the players and not tamp them down and they should be in the hunt for a PO berth next year. There is solid depth in the system-Foerster, Wisdom, Desnoyers, O'Brien, etc. They need to be developed and utilized properly. This season has just been a nightmare of a fluke.
