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Gnredwing

Justin Abdelkader

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Guest Crymson

He's playing center because of a shortfall at that position. He's much more effective as a winger.

Edited by Crymson

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He's playing center because of a shortfall at that position. He's much more effective as a winger.

This. Same reason why Emmerton is ALWAYS in over Jan Mursak, center versus winger. Darren Helm truly does make the entire Bottom 6. Without him, you have Abdelkader forced to center and rely on Emmerton in the 4th slot; far from ideal. Lest we forget, the third line with Abdelkader-Helm-Miller was one of our best for a good stretch of the season, before it was disrupted by the brief Franzen demotion and injuries forcing players to be dispersed throughout the lineup.

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What happened to the Wings great depth at centre then? I know Helm is out, but having Dats and Z on the same line shouldn't kill the lineup.

Z and Dats haven't been on the same line except on the powerplay. The Wings do have a decent amount of depth at center when you look at the roster. Filppula, Hudler, and Franzen can all play center. Filppula is too valuable to be centering the third line, they need him with Z. Hudler is far too small to compete and be useful at center on a lower line. Babcock will never demote Franzen to the Bottom 6.

One could actually argue that, aside from the Helm injury, the lack of legitimate, pure scoring wingers in the Top 6 is the biggest issue with the 3rd and 4th lines center position.

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Abdelkader is not the worst guy in the lineup. Hes one of the few wings who will stand up for himself and teammates. If anyone is completely useless its that softie Emmerton who brings nothing to the table.

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