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From what I've been reading on CDC, the common opinion is to bring star players via UFA to fill our needs . But are there a couple of moves, within the organization, that could be made to make the need a little less apparent? Although we will still need to sign players; do they need to be superstar quality? If it could be done from within, I think the pressure to do so wouldn't be there. Instead the focus would be to maybe sign a lesser player with potential to light it up.

Here's a line up move I think improves the depth (fill in the blanks).

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows

Higgins - Kesler - Jensen

Booth - LaPierre - Hansen

? - ? - Kassian

Hamhuis - Bieksa

Edler - ?

Tanev - Ballard

Schneider

Lack

Jensen is gonna be a force and appears ready to move up. AV needs to put him in a position to contribute right away. Kesler needs a winger he can work with and gain some chemistry with. Jensen is very smart with the puck. He will put up good numbers. Calder cup?

Higgins and Kes have always worked well and, in my opinion would work better than Booth on the second line. He can also play either wing which only adds to their depth.

Booth moves to the third line to add a sniper that, I fee,l will get the max out of LaPierre and Hansen. He also has a gritty game that could serve to shut down opposing lines. He can get the puck to the net to allow for those greasy goals third lines often get.

For left wing, fourth line, there are two options. Once again use talent from within. For me, it would be Aaron Volpatti. Tough, hard nosed winger who's not afraid to drop the gloves. His knock is his lack of offense. Although fourth liners are not expected to put up big offensive numbers, they are expected to put up a few. As of now, he hasn't done that. His other option is to become a solid defensive player. This however needs to be improved on.

My choice would be the UFA market for this position. My choice would be Brandon Prust. Again tough, hard nosed winger who's not afraid to drop the gloves. He possesses a bit more offense and may come at a fair price.

In my opinion, we need a definite fourth line center. Manny does not fit this role and we don't have one within the system. So once again I'll go to the UFA market. Paul Gaustad would be a perfect fit. Skill size and attitude. He's also familiar with Kassian who played with him in Buffalo. Perfect.

Lastly, a for Edler. With Edler' a Rookie is not the way to go. I think a good fit could be Sheldon Souray. He seems to be regaining a bit of his offensive touch and he provides a gritty tough guy on the back end. He's a career plus player and would allow Edler to continue his offensive output. They both shoot left but Edler doesn't care what side he's on. His age is a plus because MG doesn't have to commit long term. This gives a guy like Connauton a little more time to develop while still filling a need at a fair price. Who knows, Shea Weber may be a UFA next year.

So in the end my line up for next year looks like this:

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows

Higgins - Kesler - Jensen

Booth - LaPierre - Hansen

Prust - Gaustad - Kassian

Hamhuis - Bieksa

Edler - Souray

Tanev - Ballard

Schneider

Lack

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The only problem is that it's not a good idea to rush prospects. I don't see anyone in our system who is truly ready to make the jump next year, and all of them would benefit from some seasoning in the minors. The team can't afford a Suter or Parise anyways, so all of the people proposing it here are dreaming.

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Good realistic proposal that would give us an opportunity to asses the teams performance at the deadline.

I don't think Souray plays consistently enough in his own end and you didn't state what you would be getting in return for Luongo. I'm assuming that because we didn't add any players to our lineup via trade that you think we will trade him for a 1st round pick? Maybe a couple picks or propect(s) involved?

That's realistc but I wonder if we could get a good defenseman for him that could help us now?

Lately I have also been loving the idea of a Burrows - Kesler - Hansen line.

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Good realistic proposal that would give us an opportunity to asses the teams performance at the deadline.

I don't think Souray plays consistently enough in his own end and you didn't state what you would be getting in return for Luongo. I'm assuming that because we didn't add any players to our lineup via trade that you think we will trade him for a 1st round pick? Maybe a couple picks or propect(s) involved?

That's realistc but I wonder if we could get a good defenseman for him that could help us now?

Lately I have also been loving the idea of a Burrows - Kesler - Hansen line.

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