I couldn't agree more.
This series was not won on the first line or second line. Yes, Franzen, Hossa, and Datsyuk were cold. Malkin and Crosby didn't exactly light the place up, either. The first two lines essentially cancelled each other out.
Pittsburgh won on the the third and fourth lines. Their energy guys forechecked deep in our end and caused turnovers, leading to goals. (E.g. the first goal in game 7.) When we were in the Pittsburgh end, their energy guys harassed us at the point and caused turnovers, leading to odd man rushes. (E.g. the second goal in game 7 and God knows how many others.)
Where were our grinders? Maltby, Draper, and Homer are past it. Homer went 18 playoff games without a goal. If you want a grind line, put some young guys in who have the energy to grind. Notably, when we had Abdelkader in, he got two goals and we won two games. Whether its Abs or someone else, we need a young Maltby and young Draper and young McCarty. If Babcock made one coaching mistake in this series, he put too much faith in experience and not enough in hungry youth. If he had stuck with Abs and Leino, who knows?
I like Hossa. He led the team in goals. Despite a bad year this year, he's a proven playoff performer -- see his stats for Pittsburgh last year. If this were the pre-cap era, I'd say re-sign him, no questions asked. Even with the cap, I'd still prefer to see him stay. That said, if we need the money to get more role players, I can't say I'm completely opposed to letting him go.
