Agreed. The bigger problem that Laughton presents is that he has to play center, apparently. I know I keep harping on this, but if you are going to go G - Couturier - Laughton, are you going to get enough offense?

I like some of the things Couturier has done the last 2 games. Laughton? Haven't really seen much.

Here's the reality. The top line is set. Like the Couturier line with Read and Simmonds as well. That means you already have four guys - Umberger, Schenn, Vinnie and Gagner, vying for 3 spots on the third line. I think Umberger will be given LW. The fact that they have not tried Schenn at C is interesting. With Vinnie unlikely to be traded, they very well may start him at 3C.

That means 2 things. First, one of Gagner or Schenn may be traded. Second: If Laughton makes the team they probably need to move 2 players. Not sure that happens.
- TheGreat28

Long term Laughton has 2C upside, but he also has 4C downside. If the offense never comes thru at NHL level then he will be cheap to extend two years from now and not worth much in a trade so I don't see why we'd need to trade him.

But in the short term Laughton can make the team without moving anyone. They would just need to demote Manning and carry 14 forwards, or demote a veteran with VdV been the most likely casualty.

G, Jake, Raffl, Couts, Simmonds, Read, Gagner and Schenn are the only ones better than Laughton (Gagner and Schenn are debatable). That leaves a top 9 spot at C for Laughton. I'd rather Laughton get top 9 minutes in the NHL than top line minutes in the AHL.

Not sure why we need to see our young players dominate lower leagues for so long. You get better playing against better competition. Laughton is ready for the NHL.
- PhillySportsGuy

Agree. I don't know how much more Laughton gains in the AHL at this point. I think the only thing in his way is a roster spot. So if he can outplay someone, he's in. I don't think development in the AHL is a focus on what they want to do with him.

Vinny, yes.

Gagner, not sure yet.

Umberger, possibly but he looks better this year.
- funmaster18

Umberger is skating better but still has hands like rocks. I think he's perfect for the 4th line.

If we give Laughton time on the third line, we will begin to see he does a lot of little things that help the team.

It would be nice if they could work on correcting some of those mental flaws in practice and give Sanheim one more game with a different partner before being sent down. Someone defensive like Alt, LSchenn or Gudas.
- Feanor

Hopefully the competition isn't affecting him. Maybe with the drafting Provorov and the logjam in the D prospect pool he is putting pressure on himself.

If he's in the NHL, he's the 3rd line center, IMO. That's how he will make the team. So far, it seems like Vinny is his only competition, given how Schenn has only seen time on the wing.
- funmaster18

disagree. he could very easily be on the 4th line. he hasn't wowed at all though still early. bottom line is to me he has been a disappointment.

Umberger is skating better but still has hands like rocks. I think he's perfect for the 4th line.

If we give Laughton time on the third line, we will begin to see he does a lot of little things that help the team.
- PhillySportsGuy

give laughton nothing. let him earn it.

Umberger is skating better but still has hands like rocks. I think he's perfect for the 4th line.

If we give Laughton time on the third line, we will begin to see he does a lot of little things that help the team.
- PhillySportsGuy

If Umberger is on the 4th line, I think that means we have some pretty solid depth on the roster. Which would be a great thing.

Long term Laughton has 2C upside, but he also has 4C downside. If the offense never comes thru at NHL level then he will be cheap to extend two years from now and not worth much in a trade so I don't see why we'd need to trade him.

But in the short term Laughton can make the team without moving anyone. They would just need to demote Manning and carry 14 forwards, or demote a veteran with VdV been the most likely casualty.
- Feanor

I'm not sold on the 2C upside. But he's still young so it's too early to pigeonhole him. But if you really think 2C upside, then he absolutely needs to be in the AHL focusing on his offense.

I think Umberger has shown a lot more than Laughton these two games. Small sample size, but we really should give him a clean slate this year. Or at least, he's earned a little bit of rope. It's pretty evident the injuries last year affected his play. His skating is night and day better.
- TheGreat28

I've only watched 1 game (last night), but Laughton was better than Umberger last year and last night IMO.

disagree. he could very easily be on the 4th line. he hasn't wowed at all though still early. bottom line is to me he has been a disappointment.
- rinaldo

I just don't see him on the 4th line. Who plays 3rd line center instead?

Agree. I don't know how much more Laughton gains in the AHL at this point. I think the only thing in his way is a roster spot. So if he can outplay someone, he's in. I don't think development in the AHL is a focus on what they want to do with him.
- funmaster18

They can always start him on the 4th line in the NHL then let him work his way up. I feel like Hakstol wants to give Vinny every opportunity, but it's only a matter of time before Laughton or Schenn takes that 3C spot.

Seidenberg out 8 weeks in Boston. Get on the horn Hexy

They can always start him on the 4th line in the NHL then let him work his way up. I feel like Hakstol wants to give Vinny every opportunity, but it's only a matter of time before Laughton or Schenn takes that 3C spot.
- PhillySportsGuy

So far, I am not interested in seeing Vinny at the 3rd line center position. Schenn I would entertain, but nothing points to that being Hakstol's plan so far. I think more will become clear as the herd thins

give laughton nothing. let him earn it.
- rinaldo

He has earned it. He's better than Vinny and Umberger.

I feel like a lot of people have unrealistic expectations for a third line center.

G, Jake, Raffl, Couts, Simmonds, Read, Gagner and Schenn are the only ones better than Laughton (Gagner and Schenn are debatable). That leaves a top 9 spot at C for Laughton. I'd rather Laughton get top 9 minutes in the NHL than top line minutes in the AHL.

Not sure why we need to see our young players dominate lower leagues for so long. You get better playing against better competition. Laughton is ready for the NHL.
- PhillySportsGuy

Unfortunately you can't just make decisions in a vacuum. They have a limited amount of cap space, barring a trade. They are stuck with Vinnie, more than likely. And they have a lot of money tied up in Umberger.

Plus, they were woefully inadequate in 5 on 5 offense last year. Yes, penalty kill was a big problem as well and Laughton could help with that. But so could a healthy Umberger and Read.

They have a numbers problem, and a Vinnie problem. If Vinnie can get a little spark out of the gate at 3C, maybe he becomes tradeable. If you bench him or play him at 4C, he can become a very big distraction.

What has Laughton really done to make an already difficult roster problem even worse? Has he shown enough to potentially harm his long term growth by putting him in now?

So far, I am not interested in seeing Vinny at the 3rd line center position. Schenn I would entertain, but nothing points to that being Hakstol's plan so far. I think more will become clear as the herd thins
- funmaster18

I'm not interested in it either, but I think he has to. He'll lose Vinny right away if he starts him at 4C or on the bench.

If Vinny plays himself out of the top 9, I think it's easier to take.

I've only watched 1 game (last night), but Laughton was better than Umberger last year and last night IMO.
- PhillySportsGuy

I don't agree with that.

But let's put it another way. Who has stood out more - Konecny or Laughton? Ok, everyone knows the answer. And yet the best thing for Konecny's long-term future is probably to give him another year of seasoning. So, if that is true of Konecny, and he outplayed (significantly) Laughton, why is it not true for Laughton?

Seidenberg out 8 weeks in Boston. Get on the horn Hexy
- Just5

L.Schenn for 2nd + 4th

He has earned it. He's better than Vinny and Umberger.

I feel like a lot of people have unrealistic expectations for a third line center.
- PhillySportsGuy

he hasn't earned it. wow he is better than those 2. that says a lot.

So far, I am not interested in seeing Vinny at the 3rd line center position. Schenn I would entertain, but nothing points to that being Hakstol's plan so far. I think more will become clear as the herd thins
- funmaster18

I was a bit disappointed that Schenn didn't get a game at Center. Last night would have been perfect because you know Vinnie was not going to play back to back. I really would have liked to see Umberger - Schenn - Konecny. Konecny could really complement Schenn's game. Ideally there would be a set of better hands on the other side, but they just don't have that on their roster.

They could also be giving Laughton and Vinnie longer looks to see if they show anything, with a fallback option of Schenn at 3C.

This is perfect for the NJ Devils:

Unfortunately you can't just make decisions in a vacuum. They have a limited amount of cap space, barring a trade. They are stuck with Vinnie, more than likely. And they have a lot of money tied up in Umberger.

Plus, they were woefully inadequate in 5 on 5 offense last year. Yes, penalty kill was a big problem as well and Laughton could help with that. But so could a healthy Umberger and Read.

They have a numbers problem, and a Vinnie problem. If Vinnie can get a little spark out of the gate at 3C, maybe he becomes tradeable. If you bench him or play him at 4C, he can become a very big distraction.

What has Laughton really done to make an already difficult roster problem even worse? Has he shown enough to potentially harm his long term growth by putting him in now?
- TheGreat28

I think he has shown enough. He was a good player before the concussion last year. I think he was solid last night. Vinny and Umberger have never been solid.

I agree about starting Vinny at 3C, but Laughton can get 4th line minutes then slowly work his way up the lineup. He'll get PK time and Hakstol has said he wants to balance the minutes a bit more than Berube did, so it's not like Laughton will get the Akeson 5 minutes each night. 12 minutes in the NHL is better than 18 minutes in the AHL for him. Theres really nothing else for him to learn in the AHL.

he hasn't earned it. wow he is better than those 2. that says a lot.
- rinaldo

Thats who he's competing with